Joint Core Strategy
Latest JCS updates can be found on the link above.
The document is in the hands of a Government inspector who will judge whether the plan is sound and can go forward in its present form.
We have challenged the JCS over inflated projected housing figures and the need to redraw Green Belt boundaries.
Ian Bickerton from Cheltenham Alliance has recalculated the required housing numbers upto 2031, using the following equation
Number of Additional Houses by 2031 = (Population Increase / Household Size) + Number of Current Houses
Area No of Current houses Population Increase by 2031 Household Size No of Additional Houses required by 2031
Gloucester 50363 143900 2.41 9347
Cheltenham 50929 131200 2.25 7382
Tewkesbury 35126 97300 2.31 6995
The values for population increase and household size are taken form the latest population projections from the ONS which were published in May 2014.
This gives a total of 23724 houses, for the JCS area, required by 2031.
(the JCS propose over 30,000)
With the housing stock of 18900, this leaves approx 4850 houses to be located on strategic sites over a 20 year period.
Although the latest JCS document doesn't state their exact calculation method , we believe it is likely to be a combination of overestimating the increases in population and/or underestimation of average household size.