A public consultation on the Strategic and Local Plan (SLP), a document that will set out a blueprint for new development in Cheltenham Borough, Gloucester City and Tewkesbury Borough, will open for feedback in January 2024.
Members from Cheltenham Borough Council voted to approve the consultation at a meeting of its Full Council on 11 December, joining Gloucester City Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council whose members approved this first stage of the plan in November.
The consultation document will be available before Christmas with formal engagement commencing next year. Residents and businesses will be able to take part in the consultation via an interactive online consultation platform and a programme of engagement events will run throughout January and February 2024.
Tewkesbury Borough Council’s Chief Executive and Senior Responsible Officer for the SLP, Alistair Cunningham OBE, said: “I’m pleased the Strategic and Local Plan consultation has been approved by all three district councils.
“We want to hear from as many people as possible in this early planning stage, including young people, to shape future development of the places where they’ll live and work, now and in the future.”
As well as establishing a vision for development, the SLP will explore policies that will be needed to inform planning proposals. Important revisions to national planning rules have also recently been published and the SLP consultation will be an opportunity to explore what they mean for the area. The councils will be particularly interested in responses to the following broad questions:
- What should the area be like as a place to live by the end of the plan period? What must we do to deliver this vision?
- What local issues and opportunities should the plan address?
- How much development is needed and are there any priority locations for growth? What should be the role of the Green Belt?
- How could development be delivered in a way that meets the vision for the area?
- How should the SLP respond to climate change and nature recovery, and how should this be balanced to ensure Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Borough thrive for our residents, businesses and visitors?
For more information and to sign up for notifications about the SLP, and other planning policy consultations, visit strategiclocalplan.org or contact us at info@strategiclocalplan.org. Details about in-person drop-ins and online events will be published shortly, along with further information about the SLP, and other planning consultations.