Planning Context
Under current Government housing targets, Cheltenham needs to deliver at least 808 new homes every year. This is substantially more homes than have been delivered in Cheltenham historically.
The scale of the challenge is clear:
Against a minimum requirement of five years housing supply, the council can demonstrate just 2.69 years (as at 31 March 2025) of deliverable housing land.
Delivery of just 65% of Cheltenham’s housing requirement (December 2024) over the most recent three-year period, well below the 75% threshold required by the Government’s Housing Delivery Test.
2,623 households are currently on the housing waiting list.
Average house prices in Cheltenham are 19% above the national average.
The Council’s growth strategy identifies large strategic sites to address this need, including Elms Park (with outline permission for over 4,000 homes) and the Golden Valley. Despite years in the planning system, meaningful delivery of homes remains someway off. Deliverable sites that can contribute homes now are therefore urgently needed.
A new Strategic Local Plan is in preparation for the period to 2043. Early evidence confirms that Green Belt release will be needed to meet housing needs, and the land here is already identified as a potentially suitable location.
A strong case for Green Belt release
In 2016, the Government’s Planning Inspector examining the Joint Core Strategy concluded that exceptional circumstances existed to release part of this site from the Green Belt, and recommended the boundary be redrawn along Hyde Lane. Hyde Lane forms the northern boundary of the proposed development.
The Inspector’s conclusion remains highly relevant: this is a sustainable, well-contained location on the edge of Cheltenham, where a clearer and more defensible Green Belt boundary can be created.
The site, when assessed against purposes of the Green Belt in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), clearly makes a limited contribution with its Green Belt designation primarily reflecting its location, not its function:
A. No unrestricted sprawl: the site is contained by the railway line, existing development and Hyde Lane with a natural, physical barrier provided by Hunting Butts Ridge. Development represents a logical rounding-off of the settlement, not an extension into open countryside.
B. No coalescence: over 2.5 kilometres of open land separates the site from Bishops Cleeve. This gap would remain intact and be reinforced by the site’s distinct northern boundary.
C. No harm to historic character: the site is separated from Cheltenham’s historic core by extensive modern development and plays no meaningful role in preserving its character.
The site can therefore be classified as ‘Grey Belt’ land under paragraph 143 of the NPPF. Development for housing would not be ‘inappropriate’ in Green Belt terms.
For Grey Belt development to be acceptable under the NPPF, it must satisfy the ‘golden rules’ set out in paragraph 156.
This scheme has the ability to meet all three:
1. Affordable housing: The required level of affordable housing for Grey Belt sites can be delivered, with the exact proportion and tenure mix to be agreed with the council.
2. Infrastructure: Proportionate contributions to local infrastructure will be secured through a Section 106 legal agreement with the council.
3. Green space: Substantial publicly accessible open space is provided, including Hunting Butts Ridge as parkland, new green corridors, and recreational routes. The scheme will deliver a minimum of 10% biodiversity net gain.
Notwithstanding the site’s ability to be defined as Grey Belt, it is considered that the site can demonstrate Very Special Circumstances on the basis of the very substantial benefits of housing and affordable housing delivery.
It is expected that the benefits of the scheme will very strongly and demonstrably outweigh the potential limited harm to the Green Belt.