Green belt river boost for Littlecombe site (From Gazette Series)

Green belt river boost for Littlecombe site

THE redevelopment of Cam and Dursley received a huge boost this week when a planning application was granted for the reopening of a local river.

As part of the Littlecombe village project, St Modwen Developments Ltd and the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) were given permission by Stroud District Council on Tuesday to reopen the River Cam, which currently sits buried under the Lister Petter site.

The development, located between Church Road in Cam and Long Street in Dursley, will ultimately create 600 homes, 1,000 jobs and provide a variety of community facilities.

Anne-Marie Rutter, chairman of Dursley Town Council's planning town improvements committee, said the approval by the district council to reopen the river was a positive sign.

She said: "It's great to hear that the Cam River plans are moving on. I hope it looks as good as the artistic impressions we've seen.

"I'd feared these plans were all pie in the sky - well, it certainly looks like the pies are falling down now."

It was initially hoped to keep the river covered until building work had been completed on the site but investigation proved the river culvert was not strong enough to support construction work.

The approval by Stroud District Council will mean the overall Littlecombe development is a step closer to reality.

Dennis Andrewartha, chairman of Cam Parish Council said the reopening would be a boost for the whole area.

He said: "It is exciting about the river opening up this will mean the people of Cam and Dursley will see something happening.

"The river opening will be a wonderful Green Belt through the middle of the valley."

The development control committee at Stroud District Council also gave their thumbs up this week to the proposed change of purpose of The Towers on the Littlecombe site.

SWRDA and St Modwen Developments Ltd were forced to apply for the change after the site attracted no interest from companies for running The Towers as a hotel. The developers can now convert The Towers into 13 assisted-living units and build a 45-bedroom nursing home facility.

Dursley town Council had given the nursing home application its support last month and was pleased with the approval by Stroud District council.

Cllr Rutter said: "I'm delighted to hear about this news. The residential home could employ about 90 people which can only be a good thing."