Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and Gloucester Councils have now all agreed to consult on a draft Joint Core Strategy (JCS).  The consultation of the draft JCS will take place from 15 October 2013 through to 26 November 2013 [Update 8/11/2013 – note that the deadline has now been extended to 13 December 2013], and will provide a map of likely locations for future growth.

The Councils’ evidence suggests that there is a need for approximately 33,200 new homes across the JCS area up to 2031, along with 83 hectares of employment land to accommodate 21,800 new jobs.

Clients are advised to contact us as soon as possible if you have land proposed to be allocated in the plan, or you would like us to consider representing land not currently included in the draft JCS.  We can also prepare representations regarding the other draft policies in the JCS including the plans to secure revised levels of affordable housing from development schemes.

The draft JCS deals with strategic allocations for around 15,000 new dwellings with the remainder to be distributed to existing urban areas and other settlements in Tewkesbury Borough.  Please note that the JCS only deals with strategic planning policies, and strategic allocations including suggested amendments to the Green Belt boundary; the three individual Councils will need to plan for around 18,500 new dwellings within their administrative boundaries through individual plans in due course.

This further requirement for housing is split down roughly into 7500 for Gloucester, 4500 for Cheltenham and 6500 for Tewkesbury.  More detailed figures can be found at Page 8 of the draft document.  The Draft JCS indicates that all of the proposed employment land will be allocated on strategic sites in the JCS.

For further information please contact Simon, Becky or Mark.  You can also download a copy of the draft plan here [Note that the file is 12MB and the plan may be subject to revision when it is published for consultation on 15 October 2013].