£45m investment plans for deprived area of Gloucester kicked out by councillors

Just how hard is it to reduce the housing waiting list? Very hard. After eight years in the planning a £45m investment plan for one of Gloucester’s most deprived areas was refused last night.

Dear readers,

A slightly earlier edition this week - mainly because of the news below in our main story, all about the end of plans for a major investment in Gloucester.

The decision last night (Tuesday 1 July) to refuse what would have been a major development in a deprived part of the city with a high need for housing highlights just how difficult building homes can be in the UK and the ongoing issues around housing shortages and planning.

From the pressures on planning officers to the demands on housing associations and local authorities to build homes, the rising housing waiting lists and the responsibilities of councillors to their constituents, as well as the pressure from the public - this had it all.

But while it was bad news for those on the housing waiting lists in Gloucester, at the other end of the Golden Valley it was a different story - albeit on a smaller scale.

This morning (Thursday 2 July) it emerged that the same body that earmarked £20 million towards the defunct Gloucester Scheme (Homes England) has also given £2.8 million to another project at the other end of the Golden Valley.

And Cheltenham Borough Council has now named the contractor that will lead on that project - to build 17 apartments and seven houses at 320 Swindon. All of which will be available through social rent and shared ownership.

You can read the press release on that one here.

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Best regards,

Andrew.

Andrew Merrell (editor).

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£45m investment plans for deprived area of Gloucester kicked out by councillors

Just how hard is it to reduce the housing waiting list? Very hard. After eight years in the planning a £45m investment scheme for one of Gloucester’s most deprived areas was refused last night.

A scheme described as a “once-in-a-generation transformation” of one of Gloucester’s most deprived areas, that has been eight years in the planning and would result in a £45 million investment, was dead in the water last night (Tuesday 1 July).

After winning £20m from Homes England and spending the last eight years working on the project, and working closely with the city council - to build 170-plus ‘social rent homes’, business space and invest £1.3m in public spaces in Podsmead - Gloucester City Homes saw the scheme refused by councillors from the same local authority.

Back at the start of the year the city council had surprised GCH by asking for extra feasibility sudies and reports to be done that meant the plans could not be consider by the committee in February as planned.

At the time GCH had warned this put the regeneration project at risk as the Homes England funding was conditional on work starting in March 2025.

It was an unexpected enough request to prompt GCH’s chief executive officer, Guy Stenson, to say that the council had thrown it a “curveball” that could jeopardise the vital Homes England funding.

Luckily Homes England subsequently extended its deadline.

But now, after dusting itself off and working to bring the project back to the planning committee before the new deadline, GCH has been left stunned once more. Its disbelief obvious.