Stroud District Council has begun the search for a development partner to transform Brimscombe Port into a waterside community.

Plans for the former industrial site include more than 150 new homes alongside commercial, retail, community and leisure use, public space and the reinstatement of the canal basin.

The council has committed £1.16million to make the site ready for a developer with its strategy and resources committee approving the move to find a developer last week.

Plans to create a new waterside community move forward

Council leader Councillor Doina Cornell said: "This is an exciting opportunity to redevelop a brownfield site and build a community within a community.

"The existing buildings are at the end of their life and developing the site will bring a significant number of homes to a district which desperately needs them."

The council is the lead development partner in the Cotswold Canals Connected project with Brimscombe Port the intended final destination at the eastern end of a nine-mile stretch of waterway.

Councillor Martin Whiteside, who represents the area, said: "This project is building momentum and it's important the views of local people are taken on board and incorporated as much as possible.

"The development should be at the heart of Brimscombe and provide a sustainable community for generations to come."

Once a developer is agreed, a planning application for the project will be drawn up with opportunities for public consultation.

Read more about the role canals will play in Stroud's future, see the latest online Punchline magazine.