THE fate of a controversial housing development in Cirencester is set to be decided from December this year.

According to Cotswold District Council, as many as 2,500 homes need to be built in the Chesterton Farm area by 2034, which would increase the town’s population by as much as 40 per cent.

One group of residents known as Save Our Cirencester has been collecting signatures from those opposed to the development and will hand a list of more than 2,200 signatures to the council on September 23.

Spokesman for the group Mark Pratley explained that the group was gaining more and more support as their aims were for a sensibly sized development rather than a sprawling expansion to the town.

He said: “I’ve been canvassing for the past five weeks on the doorstep and I can tell you had we gone to people and said ‘no more development’ we wouldn’t have gotten much support.”

“People don’t want to live on a building site or the next 15 years.”

The group is continuing to gather support from people in and around Cirencester ahead of a council meeting on September 23, where they will make their case which will then be discussed by the council.

Cllr Paul Hodgkinson commented on the development, saying that there needed to be an upgrade of the town’s sewers and roads before a large development went ahead.

He said: “Although I understand that Cirencester needs to take its share of new housing, needed for young people in particular, it’s just the size of the development that’s a problem for me.”

“There also has to be a better dialogue with residents as it concerns me that the council has been ploughing ahead with development as if it is a fait accompli.”

Cabinet Member for Forward Planning Cllr Nicholas Parsons spoke in defence of the council’s plans from his experience of two local plans since his first election in 1995.

He explained that the number of houses and the laborious process of planning was imposed by central government and could not be changed at a local level.

Cllr Parsons added that the consultation starting in December would allow people to have their say and argued that although the Chesterton site had been identified in previous planning documents the number of homes to be built in Cirencester is not set in stone.

He concluded: “But, we live in a democracy and if after the elections we get another council who want it somewhere else they can start the process again.”