Flood concerns spark calls for housing rethink

Residents are urging councillors to abandon plans to build 3,000 homes in an area which could be at risk of flooding.

Forest of Dean District Council is looking at the possibility of building the homes at Glynchbrook, which is between the M50 and Redmarley D'Abitot.

However residents are urging the council to consider alternative sites after the council's own assessment of the 113.8 hectare site revealed multiple areas were at risk of flooding.

A spokesperson for the council said it "recognised the concerns" from residents and was assessing "a range of potential sites to meet the required housing numbers".

While an assessment by the council also found the proposed site was "unlikely to meet sustainability assessment criteria", it is yet to be ruled out for development.

"No sites have been fully agreed at this stage, and further work and discussion will take place in January, when all options will be considered by the council," the spokesperson added.

Resident Phil Waring, 66, from Lowbands, said he was "astounded" to hear the council was "considering a whole new town in an area" that would "dramatically increase the risk of flooding".

He said: "I support the council wanting to build, but there are plenty of places in the district that are more suitable like Coleford or Lydney."

"If it goes ahead it'll cause chaos," he added.

Resident Louise Bennett, 59, said while the council "has the right idea" and people have "got to have homes to live in", the area was unsuitable.

Ms Bennett also said the site would be "cut off" as it does not have a train line and "there aren't any secondary schools for miles".

Glynchbrook was one of 10 possible sites for new towns considered by the council - eight of which were found to be "unlikely" to meet the criteria for development.

However, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the authority's report did find that one site, in neighbouring Churcham, was "likely" to clear the bar for building.

The council's housing targets were increased by the government from 330 to 600 new dwellings a year in December 2024.

A decision on any future development will be made in January.

Once agreed in principle, the council said it would work with developers and relevant agencies to ensure future developments meet all necessary standards - including mitigating against flood risk and making sure appropriate infrastructure is in place.

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