British beauty spot to be swamped by 3,500 new homes as locals rage at 'ludicrous' council plans

Locals have branded the scheme "ludicrous" and formed a campaign group, United Against Glynchbrook, to oppose it.

"It is ludicrous for a number of important planning and logical reasons," retired obstetrician John Heap, 74, told the Mail.

"We are being dumped with it simply because one farmer in the Forest of Dean has said he is prepared to sell the land."

The council's own assessment concluded the Glynchbrook site was "unlikely" to meet the necessary criteria for development.

The study found the location would "cause landscape harm" and "potential harm to heritage", while being "poorly" located 10 miles from Gloucester.

Transport concerns were also flagged, with the report warning the site "could lead to high reliability on transport by car".

Despite these findings, the proposal was approved in a tied vote, with Green and Labour councillors backing it.

Independent, Liberal Democrat, Conservative and Reform councillors all opposed the plan.

Of 10 potential sites considered by the council, eight were deemed "unlikely" to satisfy the required standards.

Residents fear the development will overwhelm local infrastructure and replicate past failures.

"The A417 is at capacity already and they want to push another 21,000 vehicle movements per day on to it," electrician Neil Goodall, 59, from Redmarley D'Abitot, said.

"If the road is flooded, which it has been, all these vehicles will be going down the small country lanes, driving to Gloucester and Cheltenham."

Mr Heap warned the Glynchbrook site sits on an established floodplain that floods completely every year.

Locals worry the project could mirror Coed Darcy in South Wales, where promised facilities including schools and shops never materialised.

But a council spokesman defended the ongoing process, saying no decisions had been finalised regarding any individual site.

"All potential locations are being assessed against a range of evidence, including flood risk, transport and access to services, landscape and environmental impacts, and sustainability considerations," he said.

The council said it had written to central Government to challenge the housing numbers but confirmed no response had been received.

A public consultation on the Glynchbrook proposal remains open until Wednesday.

Any sites taken forward would face further detailed assessment and would need to meet all relevant national and local planning standards, the council added.