A bid for up to 635 new houses has landed on the desk of Stroud planners.

If approved, the new development, on fields north of Stonehouse and towards Standish, will include a new primary school and playing fields.

Cheltenham-based construction giant Robert Hitchins is seeking to convince Stroud District Council for the go-ahead on 78.2 acres of land to the northwest of Stonehouse and, as reported in Punchline in June, the latest bid follows on the heels of an application from the same developer for a first-phase development of 2,250 homes on 111 acres of land south of Grove Lane in Whitminster.

If the mixed-use development is approved, at least 30 per cent of the properties will be affordable housing, the developer has told planners, while a new primary school would take up 3.1 acres of the site.

The bid outines "a mixed-use development comprising the following individual, severable and self-contained elements; up to 635 dwellings, a primary school, sports and recreation facilities, children's play space, associated works including infrastructure, ancillary facilities, open space (including allotments), landscaping and access."

The development, the bid states, would also be "an opportunity to create an attractive and sympathetically designed place to live and play.

The landscape-led scheme promises to deliver:

● A connected network of attractive streets and spaces.

● Verdant, tree-lined avenues.

● Formal parks, play areas and primary school.

● Around 20 acres of wide-open, natural green spaces.

● Homes of all sizes to meet a range of needs.

A design and access statement, from Bristol-based Pegasus Group, also indicates that the project would make "a major contribution towards the emerging Garden Community, building on the employment, retail and residential developments approved to the north.

"The development will create housing choice and provide areas of accessible public open space, whilst improving public access across the site connecting the wider pedestrian network," it adds.

"The delivery of the primary school alongside the housing element will support both the existing and proposed communities, complementing the existing town.

But objections to the bid are already piling in.

A schoolteacher resident of Blackbird Court in Stonehouse said: "I agree that open space and allotments are very important, but more space needs allocating to a large secondary school. They are already full and as a parent I worry about my child's education - will he get a space to learn and thrive? Will there be adequate resource? Will there be space for high quality education if numbers have to keep increasing? As a primary teacher I worry about the emphasis on opening primary schools and leaving too many spaces in other local settings, who are already stretched financially."

And a resident of Great Oldbury said: "I firmly believe that the current development proposal is not sustainable due to the lack of essential facilities in the area. It should not be permitted until adequate local amenities are already in place."

Nick Housden, County Councillor for Stonehouse, is urging residents to let planners know their feelings.

He told residents on social media: "I have said before I believe the planning system at Stroud District Council is flawed and broken, but like with BerryFields and others if enough people give a view then it can have a big affect."