Gloucestershire residents will have more say on garden town plans

Residents will "get to have more of a say" on how a 10,000-home garden town, near the M5, takes shape.

The controversial project which is planned near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was paused for a review earlier this year.

The development could see up to 10,195 homes built in the Ashchurch area.

Tewkesbury Borough Council leaders want to regain trust in the Tewkesbury Garden Town project and will engage with businesses and community groups.

At a council meeting on Tuesday, council officers said it was crucial to understand the extent to which communities had lost trust in the project.

They say that trust will need to be rebuilt by the council over time through a "genuine commitment" to working with parish councils to deliver the programme.

Council leader Richard Stanley said: "I am under no illusion there is still a lot of work to be done, but as leader of the council I am pleased with the commitment to the new approach, which is clearly in line with the recommendations in the gateway review of the programme."

The council will also run a series of workshops from October.

They will explore views on the garden town, and stakeholders will be asked to feed into an emerging "charter" document that will directly shape the delivery of the garden town.

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