Consultation has begun on the proposed Gloucester City Plan - the council document that the city council says contains "ambitious plans" for the city.

Signed off by the council last month, the plan is now subject to six weeks of public scrutiny and opinion before it gets submitted to the Planning Inspectorate.

According to the council, the GCP contains details of 22 sites for residential, employment, mixed-use sports and community development.

It also details how 972 new homes will be built "providing much-needed supply in the city."

Announcing the start of the consultation period the council said: "The GCP contains ambitious policies and development opportunities for new homes, employment development and mixed-use and community spaces.

"Despite the city having a limited supply of land for development, the GCP identifies 22 potential sites that make the most efficient use of what land is available.

"Sites have been included drawing from the ongoing and targeted 'call for sites', land on the brownfield register and a review of internal land assets.

"The plan goes further than the adopted Joint Core Strategy, as it stipulates that 25 per cent of the housing that comes forward must be affordable. The JCS looks to 20 per cent as a starting point.

"The plan seeks to support healthier communities as it limits opportunities for hot food takeaways, encourages more active travel, seeks more tree planting and reductions in air pollution and promotes high quality green infrastructure.

"There is also an obligation on developers to put in place measures to prevent falls from tall buildings.

"As Gloucester City Council has recently declared a climate change emergency, this is also factored into the plan.

"There are policies on flood risk and water efficiency, the promotion of sustainable transport, the use of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the delivery of more green infrastructure such as trees, hedges and biodiversity gain on sites."

Head of Place for Gloucester City Council, Ian Edwards, said: "Development of land in Gloucester is essential as the city continues to grow and prosper.

"The Gloucester City Plan puts in place important policies and structure on how we'll go forward.

"This plan was supported by all of the Council after undergoing very thorough questioning by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

"It has already gone through 4 rounds of public consultation, and the comments we received informed its development to this point.

"The public now has another opportunity to tell us their views on the draft plan so that it can go on to the next stage."

After the consultation which runs until December 20, the draft plan will be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate prior to a public examination.

The Gloucester City plan can be read and commented upon at: https://gloucester.inconsult.uk/consult.ti/cityplan.presub/consultationHome