Stroud Valley housing plan agreed by councillors

Plans for 9,600 new homes to be built in the Stroud Valleys and Vale up to 2031 have been agreed.

The plan is part of Stroud District Council's core strategy outlining housing and employment over 20 years.

The majority of the homes are already in the planning pipeline but another 2,400 homes are yet to be agreed.

It has now been decided those houses will be spread across North East Cam, Sharpness and Stroud Valleys areas. The strategy was approved on Thursday.

The government is expected to sign off on the proposal next year.

'Resist developers'

Stroud District Council leader Geoff Wheeler said he accepted the plan with some reluctance because he was not in favour of all of its features.

"But we accept the necessity of getting a plan in place so that we can resist those developers who are looking around for spare sites," he added.

The authority is run by a coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Green Party.

Leader of the opposition Conservative group, Keith Pearson, said he was "happy" that despite the current economic climate, a plan for the future had been agreed.

He said: "We've done what is right for the district by approving a local plan that we can get on the stocks."