SHARPNESS could be home to 1,500 houses in the near future as developers look to build a garden village, complete with a school and shops.

The public are being invited to a consultation event to find out more about the aspirations for the development on land either side of the B4066 at Sharpness.

Led by GreenSquare Group and involving Hunter Page Planning, work has been carried out on the proposals for the last two years.

The plan is to create a new garden village of 1,500 homes that will be delivered in Stroud District Council’s local plan period up to 2031.

The development has the potential for a new village centre with a food store, small shops and offices.

In addition, the provision of other services including a doctors surgery and a new school, will assist in complementing local services.

New bus routes will also be a key feature.

Two public exhibitions are being held, with one being at Sharpness Village Hall on Tuesday, July 1 from 4pm until 7pm and another on Wednesday, July 2 from 4pm until 7pm at Old Town Hall, The Shambles in Stroud.

Jo Curson, head of development at GreenSquare, said: “We hope people take the opportunity to come along to our public consultation events about the proposed development in Sharpness.

“The events will give them the chance to find out more about the ideas we have for this site – and give us the chance to hear their thoughts, concerns and ideas.

“As a locally-based community-focused developer, this is a very important part of the process for us.”

Jamie Lewis of Hunter Page Planning said, “We look forward to hearing from the community about this exciting proposal.

“We have been working on this project for over two years and have already undertaken significant technical work on the site in relation to landscape and visual, ecological, flood risk, arboriculture and highways matters.

“Development on this site will help Stroud District Council fulfil its increased housing obligations in a sustainable way using existing highways infrastructure. Given the strategic importance of this site we have widened the normal consultation area and not limited it to the adjacent communities.”