A family-run Gloucestershire housing developer has been revealed as the new owners of a four-acre site with planning permission for 25 homes.

Forest of Dean-headquartered MF Freeman has bough the property off North Oak Homes Ltd, the residential arm of Worcestershire-based property development and investment group Maximus.

The site, which was sold for an undisclosed sum, is at St Weonards, west of Ross-on-Wye, although early signs are MF Freeman has a fresh vision for the site.

It has already staged a public consultation at St Weonards Village Hall to outlined plans for a potential development of 32 houses that built on and improved the existing consented scheme, outlined below.

"The updated development proposal was well-received by attendees," according to a statement from MF Freeman.

"It offers considerable advantages over the existing scheme, including the provision of 11 affordable homes; the inclusion of a public space that better integrates with the village, making it far more useable for the community; an improved mixture of house types and sizes, including six two-bedroom homes, nine three-bedroom homes and 6 4-bedroom homes; and a new bus stop and footpath for the village, amongst other contributions to local services and infrastructure."

Planning permission on the land to the west of A466 allows for 25 homes, nine of which are earmarked as "affordable housing" and a mixture of two and three-bedroom accommodation.

The remaining 16 properties would be a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom homes available on the open market.

The plans also incorporate a new footpath along the A466, linking to the existing path further up the hill by the primary school, allowing access to the village facilities.

Jon Hickton, managing director of Maximus, said: "We are pleased that our focus on strategic land, sourcing land opportunities and working with landowners to facilitate the entire planning and sales process has borne fruit once again.

"This is a prime example of the opportunities that exist and that we can help to bring forward."

Maximus is a privately-owned property development and investment group launched in 2001 which is described as having experienced "rapid growth and success over the past 18 years".

Its key focus is on strategic land, sourcing land opportunities, working with landowners to facilitate the entire planning and sales process. The company has a current land bank of just under 1,000 acres spread over 12 sites.