An important consultation about planning development in Tewkesbury has launched.

Tewkesbury Borough Council is seeking the public's views on changes that are required to be made to a crucial planning document - the Tewkesbury Borough Plan - before it can be formally adopted by the Council.

The Tewkesbury Borough Plan provides detailed and locally specific planning policies on issues in Tewkesbury Borough, such as housing, employment, retail, the urban and natural environment and transport. It also includes smaller-scale sites allocated for housing and employment development.

The plan will, when adopted, form part of the council's Development Plan together with the Joint Core Strategy - the over-arching strategic planning document for Gloucester City, Cheltenham Borough and Tewkesbury Borough which sets out how much growth needs to be accommodated in these three areas and the broad strategy for how that growth will be delivered.

The Main Modifications to the document are changes to the version of the plan that was previously submitted by the council for independent examination by a Government-appointed planning inspector. The examining inspector considered that these changes are necessary to allow the plan to proceed to adoption, after which it will accrue full weight in relation to all planning decisions.

The council is required to publish the Main Modifications to the Tewkesbury Borough Plan for a six-week period of public consultation. All responses will be submitted to the Government Planning Inspector for consideration as part of the examination process.

The consultation will seek views on the Main Modifications only - not on any other parts of the plan or matters relating to earlier representations or hearings.

The consultation will run for six weeks from Monday 1 November to Tuesday 14 December. Any comments received after this deadline cannot be accepted.

Councillor Rob Bird, Leader of Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: "The formulation of the Borough Plan involves a period of significant appraisal and public consultation, and these modifications represent the response of the government planning inspector to the version of the plan we submitted earlier. Members of the public are now invited to comment on the changes that he has indicated should be made, and I would urge anyone who wishes to have their say on the future growth of the borough to submit their comments by the December deadline."

To read more about the plan, the consultation process and to make comments, visit Tewkesbury Borough Plan main modifications consultation — Tewkesbury Borough Council 

To make it easier to submit responses, an online consultation form has been set up and Tewkesbury Borough Council are encouraging people to use it to make their comments.

The plan is also available to view at the Public Services Centre on Gloucester Road in Tewkesbury, and at libraries and advice centres throughout Tewkesbury Borough.