As many will know the Forest of Dean constituency contains the council ward of Highnam with Haw Bridge, which falls within the Tewkesbury Borough Council area.
As a result, I regularly take the opportunity to engage with the Borough Council and on Friday, I laid out my concerns to its Chief Executive regarding the Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Strategic Local Plan (SLP), which is currently out for consultation. The aim of the SLP consultation is to explore the key issues affecting the three areas under its remit, chief among them being how many new homes should be planned for and where they should go.
One of the options being considered to meet the SLP area's current housing needs is to create an entirely new settlement in the area between Churcham and Highnam which could comprise over 4,000 new homes.
I would strongly oppose this approach and, should you be interested, I have set out my reasoning in my letter below.