Joint Core Strategy - Developing the Preferred Option

The Joint Core Strategy will establish how Gloucester City Council, Cheltenham Borough Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council will work together on a cross boundary basis to produce a long term strategic plan for the area up until 2031.

The scale and uniqueness of the Joint Core Strategy area presents the three councils with numerous challenges and requires a long term commitment, a sharing of resources and a political understanding if these challenges are to be met effectively.  Whilst the three centres Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury town each have their own distinctive character it is recognised that there is a strong functional and economic relationship between the three centres providing access to shops, facilities, open countryside, transport and infrastructure.  The Joint Core Strategy is the document which will guide the enhancement of the area establishing how the three local authorities will respond to the pressures and challenges which the area faces ensuring that it is able to compete with other centres.

In response to the freedom afforded to councils to devise their own housing and employment targets the three councils have produced their own local growth projections to guide the development of the area.  A considerable amount of time has been spent preparing this document and as part of this we have consulted with a wide range of stakeholders and organisations, reviewed existing evidence, commissioned new studies and consulted with local residents and businesses.

The Joint Core Strategy will establish a clear set of ambitions for the area focusing development at Gloucester, Cheltenham and Tewkesbury town.  It is also recognises that the rural settlements in the Joint Core Strategy area play a crucial part in the heritage and individuality of the area both at present and in the future.

There is a recognised need and an agreed political consensus to produce the Joint Core Strategy in guiding the development of the area up to 2031.  We believe that the options presented in this document provide a clear approach as to how the Joint Core Strategy will manage the three competing pressures; economic, social and environmental in order to ensure that development in the area is sustainable for both present and future generations.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your contribution to the development of the plan and encourage you to participate further so that you can continue to influence the decisions made for your area.

To aid participation, a series of consultation questions are set out in this document. Your views are welcomed on these and any aspect of the JCS 'Developing the Preferred Option' and its supporting evidence base.

This consultation has now closed.

Consultation Documents

• Joint Core Strategy - Developing the Preferred Option
  This document builds upon previous public consultations and sets out the vision for the JCS area to 2031 and a number of emerging options for how this can be achieved. Included within this document are the potential employment and housing requirements for the JCS area. A number of strategic allocations to meet development requirements for 2011 - 2021 are identified based on our assessment of consultation and evidence base work carried out to date. Options for broad locations to deliver development requirements post 2021 across the JCS area are also identified.
  13 Feb 2012 08:08
• Joint Core Strategy - Developing the Preferred Option (10.4Mb)
  13 Dec 2011 16:10