Another "important" step on the 20-year-long winding road to the development of Brimscombe Port was taken on Thursday when a date was given for locals to meet the developer, St Modwen Homes.

Councillors at Stroud Distict Council voted for the consultation event to now go ahead on Thursday December 12 at Stroud Brewery and Tap Room in Brimscombe.

The date was anticipated by Punchline on the day before SDC's Strategy and Resources Committee backed an updated version of the Heads of Terms for the development agreement.

An SDC spokesperson said: "District Councillors have approved an important step towards creating a new waterside community - and everyone is welcome to give their views on the proposed development next month."

They added: "Once the Development Agreement has been signed, a planning application for low carbon homes, community facilities, commercial space, public realm and a restored canal basin is anticipated to be made in the Spring next year, and the public's views will be taken into consideration before it is submitted."

The committee has now resolved to ask SDC to make a £630,000 investment in the site by buying and letting new commercial space which will form part of the development. The units will sit alongside some 150 homes, of which 30 per cent will be affordable council provision, for rent and shared ownership.

So far, SDC has contributed £2.6m to the project at the former canal port, while government support of £2.78m has been loaned by Homes England, and granted by the One Public Estate Programme to help make the former industrial site viable for development.

SDC said the nunbers reflect the chalenges posed by the site "given the complexity of the work needed by the developer to take the site out of the flood plain, to address additional costs such as ground contamination, to reinstate the canal and port basin, to deculvert the River Frome and to install a new access road".

Within the council's Local Plan, the area is allocated for 150 dwellings, canal-related tourism development and employment uses.

SDC added: "Emerging proposals for Brimscombe Port were consulted on in 2022, and St Modwen Homes has been working with Stroud District Council to progress the scheme, taking on board that feedback. St Modwen Homes has also sought pre-application advice from the Local Planning Authority and the South-West Design Review Panel. Sustainability and nature will be a focus, with a requirement for the development to meet Building with Nature and Building for Life 12 standards."

Brimscombe and Thrupp Parish Council continues to be updated monthly on progress of the project.

Council Leader Catherine Braun said after the meeting: "Community engagement is key to the success of this project and I am delighted that there is so much interest in this next phase of work. St Modwen Homes will be consulting before Christmas, and is committed to ongoing provision of information and engagement, which will include working with local schools and stakeholders."

The drop-in consultation session will run from 3pm and 7pm on December 12, but views can also be submitted to St Modwen here from that date.

Comments can also be emailed to the developer here by Friday, January 17, while the proposals can be viewed at the council's Ebley Mill offices until the same date.