Housebuilder Eutopia Homes has submitted plans for the development of 315 homes in Gloucester.

The homes will replace a disused former railway depot near the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, a brownfield site Gloucester City Council has wanted to redevelop for over a decade. The Local Plan indicates it is suitable for redevelopment of around 300 new homes.

Designed by Darling Associates Architects, the project will provide 228 apartments and 87 townhouses.

The development will provide a brand new pedestrian route between Gloucester's Horton Road and Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, which will then open up to Armscroft Park and beyond. Creation of a new connection point at this location is said to have been a long-held ambition of the council.

Eutopia Homes acquired the eight-acre site - a five and 15 minute walk from Gloucester train station and the city respectively - from Network Rail in December 2021. Extensive community consultation has been undertaken to reflect the city's economic, housing and environmental requirements.

The development hopes to create almost 500 direct and indirect jobs annually during the construction phase, estimates Eutopia Homes. It also predicts a further £10 million will be added to the local economy each year once built.

The four apartment buildings will reach a maximum of five stories and include studio, one and two beds. There will be two and three bedroom townhouses - all homes have access to private outdoor space through a balcony or garden.

Environmentally focused features include the provision of more than 500 cycle spaces for residents and visitors to encourage walking over car usage. There will be six pocket forests, green play areas, an open park, bird and bat boxes, and landscaped frontage.

The proposals are said to provide around 20 per cent biodiversity net gain, realised through biodiverse roofs, the retaining of existing trees and planting of new ones.

There will be a mixture of contemporary and traditional apartment buildings and townhouses - some of which will have gable roofs. Homes will be clad in a mixture of reclaimed and textured flemish red brick and connected by green frontage and courtyards.

Lorna Henderson, director at Eutopia Homes said: "Gloucester, like many places up and down the country, is experiencing significant supply-demand imbalances in its local housing market. The potential of this brownfield site has never been realised despite valiant efforts from the council to do so, and we are pleased to deliver on its long held aspiration for connectivity between Horton Road and Great Western Road.

"The transformation of this site will play an important role in supporting the growth of this fantastic city and deliver much needed housing of the highest quality. We have adopted a people over cars approach at every turn, with ample green space and sustainability considerations running throughout."

Eutopia Homes is a mid-market, design-led developer targeting locations involved in urban regeneration projects. It has existing sites being developed Birmingham, Salford and Exeter. Gloucester marks the third time the company has purchased land from Network Rail following acquisitions in Exeter, where it plans to deliver 140 homes across two developments.