The building of 1,100 homes along with community facilities and infrastructure at Cheltenham's Golden Valley has been given the green light.
The second of four outline planning applications which make up the £1 billion Golden Valley development, Cheltenham Borough Council and Tewkesbury Borough Council both approved the scheme from Brighton STM Developments Ltd and Midlands Land Portfolio Ltd (MLPL) at extraordinary planning committee meetings this week.
Cheltenham councillors described the scheme as 'extremely critical' to meeting local housing requirements, according to Carmelo Garcia, local democracy reporter, while the developers will also make a £5 million contribution to the M5 junction 10 project – seen as key to unlocking the potential of the Golden Valley along with the 4,000-home Elms Park development.
The housing will be made up of a mixture of market and affordable housing, which could include retirement or extra care accommodation for over 55s.
Around 23 per cent of the homes, or 252 in total, will be affordable housing – less than the 35 per cent target for the scheme. Cheltenham planning officers explained that due to the level of infrastructure required, developers felt that delivering 35 per cent would make the scheme unviable.
The plans include the building of new roads and junctions, a primary school and children's nursery, a GP surgery and a mixed-use community hub, along with the provision of green spaces, sports pitches and walking and cycling routes.
Councillors felt the reduction in affordable housing was 'justified', while others noted the positive impact the scheme will have on the existing community at Springbank, through access to the new facilities.
It comes after Cheltenham Borough Council's developer partner HBD secured outline permission for its mixed-use development at the Golden Valley, comprising flexible commercial and community space, hundreds of new homes and associated infrastructure, in July 2025.
The remaining applications for development on the parcel of land known as West Cheltenham consist of a second from HBD for 443 homes and flexible non-residential space; and one from NEMA Golden Valley Limited, for mixed-use development comprising business, community and residential space.
