Clear political divisions emerged at Stroud District Council’s full meeting last week, as the Green administration successfully passed a motion opposing the Labour Government’s proposed rollback of environmental protections.

The motion, proposed by Deputy Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun, criticised Part III of the Planning & Infrastructure Bill, which would allow developers to bypass on-site nature protections by paying a “nature restoration levy” to fund habitat improvements elsewhere. The Bill has drawn widespread condemnation from national environmental bodies – including the Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, and Woodland Trust – and has been branded “the worst attack on England’s ecosystems I’ve seen in my lifetime” by environmental writer George Monbiot.

Despite an official Labour Group position supporting the reforms, numerous Labour councillors broke ranks at Thursday night’s meeting to back the Greens’ motion, highlighting how many Labour councillors remain concerned about the government’s approach.

Cllr Braun said:

“Like Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust and others, we’re calling for Part III to be withdrawn. Letting developers pay to destroy irreplaceable habitats like Rodborough Common or the Severn Estuary is a dangerous precedent. It’s naïve—or underhand—to suggest these special places can simply be replaced elsewhere.”

Labour group leader Cllr Katy Hoffman defended the reforms, citing the urgent need for housing and system overhaul. But Green councillors argued that the focus should be on building the social and affordable homes we need and this should start with the 1.4 million houses that already have existing permission.

Green group leader Cllr Chloe Turner added:

“This isn’t just about wildlife — it’s about people. Access to nature is essential for health and wellbeing and must not become a luxury. Every community deserves nature-rich green space on their doorstep — not compensation schemes that excuse destruction.”

Thanks to the Green-led motion, the Council’s Chief Executive will now write to local MPs urging them to oppose Part III of the Bill. Since the meeting, the Government has proposed minor amendments, but leading nature organisations warn they do not go far enough to stop the weakening of environmental protections.

Pictured: Cllr Catherine Braun, who proposed the motion, with Cllr Chloe Turner, Green group leader.

Notes:

The motion’s resolution reads as follows:

Council RESOLVES to: 1. Request the Chief Executive of the Council to write to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, relevant Secretaries of State, as well as local MPs, expressing the concerns in the motion on pages 189-192, and calling for the withdrawal of part 3 of the Planning and infrastructure Bill.

2. Ask our district’s three MPs, Dr Simon Opher MP, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, and Dr Roz Savage MP, to oppose measures in part 3 of the Planning and Infrastructure Bill.

3. Share this resolution with neighbouring councils, local civic groups, nature organisations and the local press, to encourage wider opposition and coordinated advocacy.

4. Adopt Gloucestershire’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy, to include bringing it to full council, as soon as it is available and in such a way as to become a material consideration in planning decision making.

• The full supporting text is available here:

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Green councillor Chloe Turner is the new Leader of Stroud District Council, following last night’s annual general meeting.

She takes over from Green councillor Catherine Braun, who now becomes her deputy.

Councillors of all political parties voted overwhelmingly to appoint Cllrs Turner and Braun to their new roles, with just two abstentions.

Cllr Braun had been Group leader for four years and Leader of the Council for almost three years and has stepped into the role of Deputy Leader to find a better balance with her day job. She also continues as a councillor for Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley and Stinchcombe.

At last night’s meeting, Greens were unanimously confirmed in leadership roles for the following roles:

Chair and Vice Chair of Council – Cllr Kate Kay / Cllr Matthew Sargeant

Chair and Vice Chair of Strategy & Resources Committee – Cllr Chloe Turner / Cllr Catherine Braun

Chair and Vice Chair of Environment Committee – Cllr Martin Pearcy / Cllr Tricia Watson

Chair and Vice Chair of Community Services & Licensing Committee – Cllr Martin Brown / Cllr Beki Aldam

Chair and Vice Chair of Housing Committee – Cllr Gary Luff / Cllr Lucas Schoemaker

Chair and Vice Chair of Development Control Committee – Cllr Martin Baxendale / Cllr Helen Fenton

The Audit and Standards Committee cannot be chaired by a member of the administration group, and so Labour councillors Bob Hughes and John Callinan were confirmed as Chair and Vice Chair respectively.

Cllr Braun thanked council officers, Green colleagues and the leaders of the other political groups for their help during her time as Leader. “We have agreed on most things across all political groups, which reflects our culture of collaborative working. I’m particularly proud of the work we have done together on the council’s priorities in the new Council Plan, which stand us in good stead for the years ahead.”

She said she fully supported Cllr Turner in the new role. “Chloe brings a wide range of leadership and engagement skills to the Council Leader role, as well as extensive experience as both a district and county councillor, so she’s very well placed to lead us through the next chapter of the council’s work and local government reorganisation. Most importantly, Chloe brings a real passion for the people and places of Stroud district.”

Cllr Turner said she had learned a lot from Cllr Braun, calling her “a source of stability and collaboration, with a generous and open style of leadership”.

Previously, Cllr Turner had taken over as Leader of the Green group from Cllr Braun (who becomes her deputy in that role too).

Cllr Kate Kay (Green), unanimously re-elected as Chair of the council, pointed out that, following the selection of a new Leader of the Labour group, the leaders of all the political groups on SDC are now women.

Green: Cllr Chloe Turner;

Labour: Cllr Katy Hofmann;

Liberal Democrat: Cllr Linda Cohen;

Conservative: Cllr Lindsey Green.

Cllr Turner said after the meeting: “I’m excited to be taking on this new challenge, and grateful for the support of fellow members of all parties in taking up this role. I’ve admired Catherine’s leadership enormously, and she leaves this council in excellent shape, with an ambitious Council Plan for better services for our communities and benefits for climate and nature. I’m looking forward to overseeing delivery of our Plan, and continuing to stand up for Stroud District’s communities, local services and our environment in the ongoing path towards local government reorganisation.”

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Cllr Chloe Turner has been unanimously elected by the Green district councillors at Stroud District Council as their Group Leader.

She takes on the Group Leader role from Cllr Catherine Braun, who becomes deputy Group Leader. 

Cllr Braun had been Group leader for four years and has stepped down to find a better balance with her day job.  She continues in her role as district councillor for Wotton-under-Edge.

Cllr Turner will also be the Green Group’s nominee for Council Leader at the District Council’s Annual General Meeting on May 22, with Cllr Braun being the nominee for Deputy Council Leader. 

Cllr Turner is district and county councillor for Minchinhampton.

Cllr Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “We’re delighted that Chloe has agreed to take on both these roles. As an experienced district and county councillor she is well placed to lead Stroud District Council through whatever the future holds with potential reorganisation of local government, keeping the focus on creating fairer, greener communities.

“Chloe is very well-respected locally for her commitment to supporting residents and her advocacy of climate, nature and social justice issues, and we are all excited for this new chapter.”

He added: “We want to say a huge thank you to Catherine. During her time as Leader, our councillor group, the wider Council and all of SDC’s many partners have benefited enormously from her insightful and collaborative leadership, and we’re very grateful that she has agreed to stay on and support in the Deputy Leader roles.” 

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Cllr Maisey was elected to Stroud District Council last year for the Severn ward, which includes the Parishes of Arlingham, Eastington, Frampton on Severn, Fretherne-with-Saul, Great Oldbury and Whitminster.

He served on the Environment and Development Control committees.

Cllr Maisey was the agent for Simon Opher MP’s successful parliamentary campaign last year.

Cllr Catherine Braun, leader of the council, said: “I was shocked and saddened to learn of Richard’s passing. I really enjoyed working with Richard and his good humour, commitment to local residents and cross-party engagement on environmental and many other issues always shone through.

“He will be sadly missed at Stroud District Council, and I’d like to extend my sympathy to his family and fellow Labour councillors, as well as to his colleagues and friends in the communities of the Severn Ward.”

Cllr Adrian Oldman, coordinator of Stroud District Green Party, said: “I would wholeheartedly echo Catherine’s sentiments about Richard. He was a thoroughly committed champion of the environment, a pragmatist, and an extremely hard working Labour activist. I’d like to send my sincere condolences to Richard’s family, friends and his Labour Party colleagues.”

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The Green Leaders of Forest of Dean District Council and Stroud District Council have confirmed that they remain open to considering the options for one or two unitary councils in Gloucestershire. 

The proposals setting out the current options about how local government in the county should be reorganised, were submitted to the Government on Friday (March 21).

Cllr Adrian Birch, Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, said: “We are open to considering all the options for new unitary councils and supporting the one which gives the best future for our local communities.

“In recent weeks, there’s been much discussion about the one-unitary and two-unitary council proposals, but it’s too early to decide which one to go for, in the absence of more evidence about their impact on local services and democratic representation. Wide community and stakeholder engagement will also be essential to inform our final decisions ahead of the deadline in November.” 

Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, added: “The bigger picture for devolution, and arguably the more important decision for Gloucestershire, is which strategic authority we want to align with, as that’s where any additional powers and funding will be secured for the county. All the evidence we’ve seen so far points to Gloucestershire joining the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

“This would allow us to stay connected to our regional capital in Bristol and to remain within the South West region. We have strong ties to WECA through alignment of our economic sectors, joint projects, and our shared West Country identity. This alignment would also build on the work of the Western Gateway pan-regional partnership, which strengthened working across the West of England region and Wales.”

Both the Forest of Dean and Stroud district councils have agreed to consider any future unitary council options in relation to a set of principles, in addition to the Government’s tests for financial viability.

These principles include: maintaining delivery of council services at a local level; securing economic prosperity which meets the needs of all, particularly the most vulnerable; a focus on long-term effectiveness not just short-term savings; protection of the environment with ambitious nature recovery and climate action; recognition of our strong local identities; support for parish and town councils and the voluntary and community sector; a balanced structure which does not exacerbate wealth imbalances; and the strengthening of local democratic input and representation.

NOTES

Forest of Dean District Council principles for Local Government Reorganisation

Item 9 – Forest of Dean District Council, para 4.3

https://meetings.fdean.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=120&MId=5583&Ver=4

Stroud District Council principles for Local Government Reorganisation

Item 3, paragraph 3.3

https://stroud.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=143&MId=1587&Ver=4

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Green Party councillors have been appointed to lead Stroud District Council, at the council’s Annual General Meeting, held last night (Thursday May 23) at Ebley Mill, following the recent local elections.  

Cllr Catherine Braun was elected to continue as Leader of the Council, with Cllr Pete Kennedy appointed as Deputy Leader.

Cllr Kate Kay becomes Chair of Council, with Cllr Matthew Sargeant taking the role of Vice-Chair of Council. 

Cllr Braun said: “The Green Party councillors are committed to working constructively with all councillors, regardless of political party, in the interests of the people of Stroud district. At the local election, we promised that we would work to restore trust in politics, and collaborative working is central to that pledge.

“As Council Leader for the past two years, I’ve found that by working in a cross-party way, we can generally agree with other councillors on the issues that matter, whether that’s investment in new social housing, action for climate and nature, or community initiatives to improve health and wellbeing.” 

Cllr Braun added: “I’m delighted to have such a fantastic team of Green councillors to form the new administration, including councillors with great experience of their role, and others who bring fresh ideas for ways to improve services to our communities. Although the Green Group doesn’t have a majority on the council, we are now the largest political group, and by taking an inclusive approach, we commit to providing effective leadership for the district”. 

Deputy Leader Cllr Pete Kennedy, who is also the Green Party parliamentary candidate for the Stroud constituency, said: “We are grateful to the tens of thousands of people who put their trust in the Green Party at the local elections, many of whom did so for the first time. We are committed to delivering on our manifesto commitments: warm and affordable homes; a clean and green district; thriving market towns and villages; public services that work; and restoring trust in politics.

Cllr Kennedy added: “We have a proud history of doing things differently in Stroud district. As a minority Green administration, we will provide clear political leadership of the council, while building cross-party consensus wherever possible. I want councillors from all parties to know that they can work with our Green leadership team and contribute fully in committee and council meetings. I believe the more we can all work together, the more we can achieve for the communities we are elected to serve.”

After the council elections on May 2, no party won the 26 councillors required for a majority. Greens won 22 seats, Labour 20, Conservatives 7 and Liberal Democrats 2. 

Last night’s council meeting confirmed the membership of council committees and working groups, as well as representatives on outside bodies, such as the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel.

The elected committee chairs and vice-chairs will work closely with committee members and council officers to develop the council’s strategies and oversee service delivery.

The chairs and vice-chairs of committees are as follows:

Community Services & Licensing 

Chair: Beki Aldam (Green, Thrupp)

Vice-chair: Marisa Godfrey (Green, The Stanleys)

Development Control 

Chair: Martin Baxendale (Green, Stroud Valley)

Vice-chair: Helen Fenton (Green, Chalford)

Environment 

Chair: Chloe Turner (Green, Minchinhampton)

Vice-chair: Martin Brown (Green, Bisley)

Housing 

Chair: Gary Luff (Green, Painswick & Upton) 

Vice-chair: Lucas Schoemaker (Green, Stroud Trinity)

Strategy & Resources 

Chair: Catherine Braun (Green, Wotton)

Vice-chair: Pete Kennedy (Green, Painswick & Upton)

Audit & Standards 

Chair: Bob Hughes (Labour, Dursley)

Vice-chair: Martin Pearcy (Green, Coaley & Uley)

One committee (Audit and Standards) will be chaired by a Labour councillor, in line with the convention that this role is not held by the administration party.

Pictured: The new SDC Green group outside Ebley Mill on Thursday night.

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The government has still not made a decision on Stroud District Council’s application (known as a Strategic Outline Business Case) to reopen the station, which was submitted in September 2022.

The Department for Transport had promised a decision by the end of last year, and local campaigners have been very frustrated about the subsequent lack of action.

Cllr Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, said: “We are pleased that the minister finally made good on his promises to visit Stonehouse to talk to campaigners and it was helpful to discuss the business case for the Stonehouse Bristol Road station with him, and the wider context of strategic planning for the district. Now all we need is a yes or no decision on whether the Conservative government is willing to fund the next stage of the work to develop this vital transport link.”

Cllr Turner, who chairs the stakeholder group, said: “After many years of campaigning by Stonehouse Town Council and others, we gained £50,000 from the Restoring our Railways fund to pay for the initial application. The Strategic Outline Business Case was duly submitted and since then there has been silence, despite a Green peer asking questions about this in Parliament. 

“There are a series of tests to pass in the reopening of a station, and we want to know – on behalf of everyone in Stroud District – if the government can now support us in moving to the next stage of review, or if not, what further information they need from us and our partners in the rail industry. We also want assurances that a decision is going to be made before the General Election; and we want a realistic timetable for the station being reopened.”

Cllr Kambites, who is Mayor of Stonehouse and who has been involved with the campaign for more than 10 years, said: “We asked for this visit for two reasons: to put our case to the minister, and to ask whether the government has made a decision and, if not, when they will make it. I also want to explore alternative ways forward if the Restoring Your Railways scheme won’t fund the reopening of the station.”

She added: “We were very disappointed that the minister still hadn’t decided whether we could proceed to the next stage. The re-opening of Bristol Road station would have so many advantages for Stonehouse and the Stroud valleys. We really can’t put it off any longer. Not only would it support the local economy, but it would also improve the quality of life of local people and, perhaps most importantly, would reduce the negative environmental effects of travelling to Bristol and the south-west.”

Pictured, from left to right: Carol Kambites, Catherine Braun, Chloe Turner.

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The Green Party has announced its ambitions for the Stroud District Council elections in May.

With 14 councillors currently, the Greens have been part of the ruling alliance on the council since 2012 and have led the alliance since 2022.

The party aims to build on its success by fielding candidates for all 51 council seats in each of the 27 district wards, with the aim of becoming the majority party and retaining its leadership of the council after May 2.

“By working cooperatively with our Independent and Lib Dem colleagues we have kept the Conservatives out of power for over a decade, ensuring that local council services are maintained and improved, and that there is support for our market towns and rural villages,” said Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun.

“These years of being in power in Stroud have given us a huge breadth of experience in local government, and shown the Greens to be knowledgeable, collaborative and financially responsible.

“Our existing team of councillors work hard, all year round, in their wards to instigate positive change in the district and they bring to the council chamber real insight into the issues affecting their communities. A recent independent poll showed Green-led Stroud District Council has one of the best approval ratings in the country.

“Our experienced existing councillors are now joined by a strong, enthusiastic team of new candidates, who are embedded in their communities, involved with local organisations and campaigns, and committed to the Green ethos of social and environmental justice.

“Continued Green leadership of the District Council will enable the council to continue with its priorities of warm, affordable homes for all, a cleaner, greener district, support for residents’ health and wellbeing, and working in partnership to promote local business.   

“In the local elections on May 2 we urge voters to ignore the very different national political situation and vote Green, for collaborative politics and a bright future for Stroud district.”

Pictured: some of our candidates at Coaley Peak on Saturday before going canvassing and delivering leaflets.

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The leaders of the progressive alliance running Stroud District Council are delighted that government inspectors have agreed to their request to pause the examination of the draft Local Plan – which sets out where future housing development should take place.

The examination process will be paused until December 5. This allows seven months to resolve road- and transport-related issues with the relevant authorities, and a further three months for public consultation.

Planning Inspectors raised concerns on August 4 last year about three aspects of the draft Plan: the capacity of M5 Junctions 12 and 14; the viability of the proposed pedestrian and cycle bridge over the motorway at Wisloe; and the viability of public transport options at Sharpness.

On August 29, the Council asked for a pause in the examination process to allow time to resolve these issues, and following further correspondence, the inspectors have now granted this pause.

Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of the Green group, said this week: “We are very pleased that our request has been granted by the Inspectors. They know that we are committed to resolving any outstanding issues with this draft Local Plan, so that it can be adopted, to provide protection to our local communities from speculative development. Local residents look to us to control the location and quality of new housing and economic development sites, and to ensure that new homes are built for people, not profit.”

Conservative councillors on Stroud District Council in January called for the Plan to be withdrawn completely. This option would have been “disastrous”, say Alliance leaders.

Cllr Natalie Bennett, Deputy Leader of the Council and Leader of the Independent Left group, said: “Withdrawing the draft Plan would have left Stroud district without a local plan for years, allowing developers to play the planning system and guaranteeing approval of speculative housing developments on appeal, without the required infrastructure, and with lower building and environmental standards.” 

At a national level, the Government now requires all local authorities to work towards having up to date local plans in place and has recently blocked four councils from trying to withdraw their local plans from the inspection process.

Cllr Robin Layfield, Leader of the Community Independents group, added: “I very much welcome this helpful response from the inspectors and the support that they have shown for our efforts so far. It’s now time that the Conservative opposition got behind the Local Plan and worked constructively to see it through instead of shouting from the sidelines and attempting to make political mischief in an election year.”

In their letter the inspectors say they decided to agree to a pause after corresponding with Stroud District Council, National Highways, Gloucestershire County Council and South Gloucestershire Council. They say: “We are keen to continue to work proactively with Stroud District Council throughout the duration of this Examination.”

Cllr Ken Tucker, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, added: “We will not sit back and see our communities short-changed by developers, which would be the direct result of withdrawing the Local Plan as the Conservatives requested. Thanks to this pause in the examination process, we can now work to resolve the final issues and lock in the strong community and environmental protections that are built into our Plan.”

For background information, click here:

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The leaders of the progressive alliance that runs Stroud District Council have welcomed the Conservative group’s request for an Extraordinary Council meeting about the Local Plan, saying it will clear up the misunderstandings and inaccuracies shared by Conservative councillors. 

The Conservative group petitioned for an Extraordinary meeting after their Leader missed the legal deadline to submit their questions to December’s full council meeting. This Extraordinary meeting – on Thursday January 25 – will incur additional cost to taxpayers: the cost in terms of staff time and resources of holding an extraordinary council meeting is over £1,400.

“We welcome this opportunity to update the public on the progress of the Local Plan, including the recent and positive letter received from the Planning Inspectors on December 18,” said Council Leader Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of the Green group. “Having previously raised concerns about the capacity of two M5 junctions to support new housing developments in Stroud district, the Inspectors have now welcomed the “constructive engagement” of all parties and the Joint Action Plan which we have developed with partners to address concerns about transport capacity issues.

“This is also a good opportunity to talk about the importance of the Plan and its strong policies for community infrastructure, carbon neutral development, renewable energy and nature; and to clear up any misunderstandings and inaccuracies that have been spread by opposition councillors.”

“However, we are concerned about the additional, unnecessary cost that will be incurred by this meeting. It seems unfair that the taxpayers of Stroud will have to pay for the basic error made by the Tory Group leadership in not asking their questions when they had the chance to do so at the December meeting.

“The Conservatives are desperately trying to politicise Stroud’s Local Plan as a short-term gimmick for the local elections in May, but their political stunts keep backfiring. They don’t have any solutions to the complex issues in the Local Plan other than giving up, and they’ve shown that they couldn’t even get the basics right by failing to submit their questions in time for the Council meeting.”

Cllr Braun pointed out that she already updated councillors at the December Council meeting, and there will be nothing new for SDC councillors to discuss or decide at the January 25 meeting. At this stage of final examination, the Local Plan is now entirely within the control of the Planning Inspectors.

Cllr Natalie Bennett, Deputy Leader of the Council, and Leader of the Independent Left group, said: “It seems that the Conservative councillors and MP are kicking the local plan between themselves as a political football without doing anything constructive to actually resolve the issues. The MP has said our request for a pause in the planning inspectors’ examination to resolve the motorway network transport issues is ‘ludicrous’. But this opinion is quite at odds with the government inspectors, who have never ruled out a pause and who have said in their latest letter that they are open to a pause of up to 12 months.

“There are some obstacles still to resolve but we are pleased with the latest feedback from the inspectors mentioning our ‘detailed’ work with partners and ‘achievable’ timescale.

“These comments recognise the serious and constructive work we have been doing with National Highways, government, and the local transport authorities, who all recognise the importance of having a planned approach to new development.”

She reiterated the Alliance’s earlier call for all parties to unite behind the plan, saying that in the absence of a Local Plan, homes would be built without the roads, schools and infrastructure needed, and in places that are not suitable for development. “It would be like the Wild West; it would be like Christmas come early for greedy and irresponsible developers. But perhaps this is what the Conservatives want, given the fact that about 20% of their donations come from property developers.”

Cllr Robin Layfield, Leader of the Community Independent group, pointed out that district councils have no direct influence over motorways and highways, so resolving traffic capacity issues on the M5 junctions, as requested by the Planning Inspectors, requires the cooperation of National Highways, government and the local transport authorities – as well as funding from central government.

“Even the Conservatives acknowledge the M5 traffic problems, admitting that junction 12 is already ‘a safety hazard and at capacity’. So they should be backing our efforts to get the junction upgraded and asking our MPs to demand a commitment from national government to fund it. This district desperately needs new homes, which is why these new housing developments are an important part of the Local Plan.

“Effective and sustainable national and regional infrastructure planning is clearly best done in partnership by national government, public agencies and local councils.

“But ultimately, the national government is responsible for long-term infrastructure planning and funding – and integrating that planning with their own home-building targets and with transport planning at a regional and national scale. This is something that the government has consistently failed to do, having abolished regional planning and having failed to fund the additional infrastructure necessary to support new homes.

“Instead, they have put the burden on under-funded councils and local Tories are complicit in this, whether through ignorance or intention.”

Cllr Ken Tucker, Leader of the Liberal Democrat group, added: “Gloucestershire County Council has been helpful in working with us to respond to the Planning Inspectors concerns about transport issues and get the plan over the line. Now what we need is for everyone to get behind the Plan and campaign for the government to fund the necessary road improvements.”

He also called for the investment from central government to go further than just upgrading motorway junctions – the only part of the transport system that the planning process focuses on. “Instead of simply building more roads, we need properly integrated transport planning that includes an improved, reliable and frequent bus service (instead of further cuts to services) and safe routes for walking and cycling.”

ENDS

Notes

Background: The Local Plan proposes new housing developments for Stroud district required to meet central government-imposed housing targets of 12,600 homes by 2040. The new Local Plan has been in development since 2017 to replace the existing Local Plan, which is now nine years old. The final step for the Council to gain approval for the Local Plan is an ‘Examination in Public’, which began in March 2023.

In August 2023 national planning inspectors raised concerns about the capacity of the M5 junctions 12 and 14 to handle the extra traffic likely to be generated by the new homes.

Since then Stroud District Council (SDC) has worked with partners to address specific areas of the inspectors’ concern, including the issue of motorway junction capacity.

SDC asked for a six-month pause in the Local Plan examination process to allow time to address the issues raised. Almost 70% of the homes needed for Stroud district to meet the Government housing targets, could be delivered without increasing traffic pressure on Junctions 12 and 14 and the council is providing further evidence to the inspectors on this issue.

Alliance responds to comments by the Planning Inspectors in August 2023: https://stroud.greenparty.org.uk/news/2023/08/29/stroud-district-councils-green-led-alliance-leaders-back-the-local-plan-to-stop-wild-west-development/

Further information on the Local Plan Examination:
https://www.stroud.gov.uk/environment/planning-and-building-control/planning-strategy/stroud-district-local-plan-review/local-plan-examination

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