The idea of creating a new 2,000 home garden village in Gloucestershire would not have meant a nearby market town would get fewer houses, according to civic chiefs. agreed last week to consult the public on its draft local plan - the blueprint for development in the area until 2041. Some 6,600 homes will need to be built by then and the main focus points for development include Lydney, Beachley near Chepstow and .
However, during the council meeting on May 30, questions were raised over the now shelved plans for a new purpose built settlement between the A40 and A48 near Gloucester. (Progressive Independents, Newent and Taynton) asked where they had planned to build the new village and how many acres of agricultural it would have covered. She also asked if its creation would have meant Newent would be allocated fewer new homes.
The draft local plan suggests some 600 houses will be built at a new strategic site to the south east of the historic market town. However, council leaders said in their response that the proposed size and exact location of a new settlement had not been determined at the time when it was being considered. And had they gone ahead with the scheme Newent’s housing allocation would have been similar.
"No, the numbers for Newent are approximately the same,” local plan cabinet member Sid Phelps (G, Lydbrook) said in his response. "If the local plan strategy had not been changed, then yes of course there may have been less pressure on other parts of the d.
