RESIDENTS are being invited to make their voices heard in a bid to ensure future development in Stroud district is done in the right places and in the right way.

Stroud District Council is now consulting on the future of the district and would like to hear people’s views about how they want the area to develop up to 2040.

Planners from SDC will be available to listen to the public’s views on the Draft Local Plan at open public exhibition sessions , as well as being able to take responses online.

Developers who are promoting major strategic sites will also be available to speak to separately at the open sessions.

A Local Plan is a blueprint for development in a district, which maps out where homes, employment and leisure uses will go.

Consultation on the Draft Local Plan will last nine weeks and starts on Wednesday November 20, ending on Wednesday January 22.

The Draft Local Plan is a refinement of the Emerging Strategy which SDC consulted on last year and contains a number of key changes.

Some sites have now been removed from the plan, in Dursley, Minchinhampton and Standish, due to concerns of the impact on the Cotswolds AONB.

Some growth is now proposed at sites in Frampton-on-Severn and Whitminster and new sites with employment potential have been identified.

One of the council’s key challenges is to meet a 40 per cent increase in the target set by Government for new house building – if the new plan is not approved Stroud District Council could lose control of where homes can be built.

Public exhibition dates:

• Friday 6 December: Cam Parish Hall, 2pm to 6.30pm.

• Saturday 7 December: Cam Parish Hall, 9.30am to 12.30pm.

• Friday 13 December: Sharpness Village Hall, 2pm to 6.30pm.

• Saturday 14 December: Sharpness Village Hall, 9.30am to 12.30pm.

• Monday 16 December: Slimbridge Village Main Hall 2pm to 6.30pm.

• Tuesday 17 December: Slimbridge Village Main Hall 9.30am to 12.30pm.

An extra exhibition date in Berkeley is to be confirmed.

The plan can be viewed at parish and town council offices open to the public, public libraries, SDC offices, or online at local.plan@stroud.gov.uk