We remain committed to keeping the community informed throughout the planning process for Podsmead’s regeneration.

In 2017 Gloucester City Council made a joint commitment to work with us, the County Council and the city’s MP to bring positive change to Matson and Podsmead by co-ordinating resources, land, planning and community consultation. We have engaged extensively with GCC on the plans, including contributing to the costs of a planning officer to work within the Council’s planning team. We are confident the plans we submitted for the regeneration of Podsmead are both robust and reflective of the wishes of the Podsmead community.

Our planning application was submitted in June 2024, and we have continued to respond promptly to all requests for additional information to aid their scrutiny of the plans.

Following the most recent round of consultation ending at Christmas, 12 queries where shared with GCH during January which we have responded to in full and ahead of the deadline for the March Planning Committee. We hoped this would allow us to be on site before 31st March, a requirement to guarantee access to the £20 million Homes England funding.

Over the last 3 weeks the council has made several new requests including:

• A request to identify and fund improvements to open spaces away from the Podsmead development site. We have been able to identify suitable land and estimate to cost of the additional work to be at least £200,000.
• A request for the Highways Authority to reconsider their original submission related to our project. This review is expected to take at least four weeks and will require a feasibility report costing approximately £40,000. It may also lead to a requirement for GCH to make further significant financial contributions towards highway infrastructure beyond the development site.
• A request to revise and make changes to drainage plans on the development site. Our application already included a comprehensive drainage plan for the site, and we would have expected this issue to have been raised much earlier in the process.

  As a result planners have advised us that our application will not be presented at the March planning committee meeting. Moreover, the additional financial requirements could affect the overall viability of the scheme, leaving the future of the redevelopment uncertain.

  We are working as hard as we can to compile the necessary information and address all the council’s new requests. We are also reviewing funding options hoping to ensure the scheme remains viable and deliverable While we remain committed to delivering a project that benefits the entire community, these setbacks highlight the complexities involved in ensuring a successful regeneration.

  We will continue to update you as the situation evolves. For any questions or further information, please contact us at customer.experience@gch.co.uk.