How Stroud District Council will meet the Government-set challenge of finding room for 12,800 new homes in the next 20 years is set for public debate.

Councillors and planners are expected to consult on a growth strategy for the district, and they want the public to tell them what they think so they can feed that in to the Local Plan - the blueprint for development - until 2040.

The 12,800 target is driven by a high need and relatively high cost of housing - that target has to be reached or the council could lose some control of the planning process and Government could dictate where homes go instead.

New garden villages, brownfield regeneration, linear parks and new greenfield sites are all likely to up for debate.

Elected members of the Environment Committee are being asked to approve public consultation from October 23 to December 18 on the growth strategy when they meet on Thursday, September 13.

The main areas proposed for development in the strategy are:

• Cam: Consolidation of growth to the north east of the town linking the parish centre with improved facilities at Cam and Dursley railway station and completing the linear park and local cycling and walking network; new housing development, community and open space uses to the north west, improving access to Jubilee Playing Field and creating a landscaped buffer between the existing edge of Cam and the M5 motorway. Regeneration of brownfield sites is proposed for Cam, Dursley and Stonehouse.
• Dursley: Supporting town centre improvements; housing development and open space uses to the south east; improvements to the local cycling and walking network.
• Stonehouse: Supporting town centre improvements; extensions to planned growth to the north west of the town including enhancing community facilities and additional open space; supporting improvements to the canal corridor and local walking and cycling routes.
• Stroud: Regenerating large-scale brownfield sites for housing, employment and canal-related tourism; supporting the better use of edge of town centre sites and public realm improvements; supporting improvements to the canal corridor and local walking and cycling routes.
• Newtown/Sharpness: A new garden village community incorporating housing, employment, shopping, community and open space, with the opportunity to transform local transport facilities and access to new and enhanced facilities for existing residents and businesses.
• Wisloe (south of Cambridge and Slimbridge): A new garden village community incorporating housing, employment, shopping, community and open space with the opportunity to improve access to local facilities for existing residents and businesses whilst protecting the setting of existing villages.
• At Berkeley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Painswick, Brimscombe, King's Stanley, Kingswood, Leonard Stanley, North Woodchester and Thrupp: Smaller development sites will be focused on meeting local housing needs and on enhancing or delivering new services and facilities which have been identified as lacking in those places.

In the current Local Plan period from 2006 to 2031, the target for Stroud District Council is 11,400 homes, of which 5,120 have been built and 1,400 have been allocated. Currently 456 homes per year are being built in the Stroud District. However the new National Planning Policy Framework announced in July raises the target to 638 per annum - the nearest to this figure in Stroud District was 573 homes in 2014/15.

Environment committee vice chair George Butcher said: "The council will have to find space to accommodate these homes and new developments, so it is very important that this whole process is carried out by looking at the district as a whole - I would urge everyone to respond to the consultation and help shape the future of the district."

Subject to approval by the Environment Committee, the council will conduct consultation from late October through public exhibitions, town and parish council meetings, direct communication with stakeholders including the public and individual groups. More details will follow later this month.

Any queries or suggestions relating to the consultation can be directed to the Planning Strategy team on local.plan@stroud.gov.uk  or 01453 754143.