Sharpness Vale
We are excited to share our vision of building a new community at Sharpness Vale, Stroud. We are here to listen to your views on our proposals for the next 15 years and how we make it work for the benefit of all.
Our goal is to shape a development that isn’t just designed for the future residents of Sharpness Vale, but also brings tangible benefits to the Berkeley area. These benefits include new public spaces, job opportunities, and enhanced local facilities, such as improved public transport.
The next fifteen years - laying foundations for the future
- Building a greener future at Sharpness Vale, where homes, jobs, and nature come together to create a self-sustaining community for Gloucestershire’s growing economy
- Creating over 1,700 jobs and supporting Gloucestershire’s position as a leader in science and technology
- 50% accessible green space, with new nature reserves and wildlife areas
- Powered entirely by renewable energy, homes will be a model of sustainability
- High-performance fibre optic broadband for working from home, reducing the need to commute
- 2,750 homes, with 1,000 energy-efficient homes, 300 designated as affordable housing, by 2035
- Green transport options, with a Mobility Hub, EV charging, cycling, and scooting routes
- Fostering creativity and entrepreneurship in a cutting-edge business park to fuel Gloucestershire’s growing knowledge-intensive economy
- A community where people can walk, cycle, and access key services within 15 minutes
- Bringing together a diverse range of housing options, from modular homes to traditional styles
Sharpness Vale – illustrative masterplan for 2040
Key Design images
We’re committed to creating a place that blends modern living with the natural environment. Our design will create sustainable, healthy, and well-connected communities, where residents can access education, shopping, community, and leisure spaces all within a 15-minute walk.
Connecting nature with the community
Nature will be at the heart of the community at Sharpness Vale, which will be built around its natural assets to protect and enhance biodiversity.
With vast green spaces, sustainable practices, and a focus on biodiversity from the outset, we are creating a neighbourhood that will thrive and evolve alongside the environment.
BY 2040 WE WILL DELIVER THE FOLLOWING:
- 50% of the neighbourhood as publicly accessible green spaces
- 35 hectares of a new Wildlife Reserve and Wetland, 52.9 hectares of Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace, protecting Severn wildlife designations
- Rich native woodlands, hedgerows, wildlflower grasslands and reed beds, absorbing carbon and creating a healthier community
- Areas for Sustainable food production
- Recreation areas, including parks, sports and play areas
- A web of green corridors through the neighbourhood to link homes to nature
The vision for 2050
This will be more than just a collection of homes—it will be a vibrant, self-sufficient community designed for the future. We aim to abandon fossil fuels, reduce the need for long commutes, and enhance local biodiversity.
The result will be new public spaces, job opportunities, and enhanced local facilities, such as improved public transport, for the benefit of all those who live in the Sharpness and Berkeley area.
- A self-contained community; Where residents can access education, shopping, community, and leisure spaces all within a 15-minute walk.
- Efficient green transport: Reducing car reliance by designing a new central transport hub in Sharpness. It will feature bus services, cycling paths, and electric vehicle (EV) charging points available to the wider community. This infrastructure will be ready to accommodate future railway services as part of the broader transport network.
- Green spaces and biodiversity: Over 50% of Sharpness Vale will be green space accessible to the wider community, with new wildlife reserves and areas dedicated to biodiversity. This will support local ecosystems, increase green cover, and help absorb carbon.
- Knowledge-intensive enterprise: Including a purpose-built business park, supporting Gloucestershire’s growing technology and knowledge economy. This will create local jobs and boost economic activity locally and county-wide.
- Sustainable homes for the future: 5,000 energy-efficient homes, built to the highest standards of build quality. These homes will be designed to be heat-efficient, minimising energy use and eliminating the need for fossil fuels.
Sharpness Vale: A key part in Gloucestershire’s future
Gloucestershire is evolving rapidly, driven by new development, a dynamic economy, and the urgent need to tackle climate change.
A growing population: With increasing demand for housing, services, and infrastructure, Sharpness Vale will help meet these needs by creating a sustainable, desirable community for Gloucestershire’s future.
A diversifying economy: Gloucestershire is set to become a national hub for intelligence, security, and cutting-edge industries. We have enterprises of the future like Cyber Valley, which focuses on digital communications
and advanced technology, and Severn Edge, a low-carbon energy campus that pioneers renewable energy and nuclear innovation. Sharpness Vale will accelerate this regional growth.
Climate change adaptation: As the county prepares for frequent flooding and extreme weather, developments like Sharpness Vale will be part of Gloucestershire’s strategy to combat climate change.
Sustainability at its core: By eliminating fossil fuel dependence, reducing travel emissions, and promoting biodiversity, Sharpness Vale showcases how communities can be built to thrive in a greener future. This approach contributes to the region’s broader Western Gateway partnership, a pan-regional effort to drive low-carbon growth.
Enhancing local roads for a growing community
As Sharpness Vale develops, improvements to the local road network will be essential to support safe and efficient travel for new and existing residents.
We have identified vital junctions where enhancements will help accommodate increased traffic, improve safety, and ensure smooth regional connections. While these preliminary designs reflect our current assessments, we continue refining them based on community feedback and technical analysis.
Connecting nature with the community
Nature will be at the heart of the community at Sharpness Vale, which will be built around its natural assets to protect and enhance biodiversity.
building high-quality, sustainable homes
Our homes will be a model for sustainability. They will be diverse in design and construction, offering options that range from modular and self-build homes to more traditional-style properties.
Creating new jobs and prosperity
Sharpness Vale will catalyse innovation, providing a business park that will strengthen Gloucestershire’s growing position in the knowledge intensive economy as a leader in science, technology, and innovation.
Travelling longer distances
We are working to make sustainable long-distance travel easier and greener, connecting residents to major regional destinations. Some solutions will grow with the development of Sharpness Vale ensuring the long-term vision will revolutionise how we travel
The next fifteen years - laying foundations for the future
Our planning application for 2,750 homes is designed to reflect the current capacity of national infrastructure, including the motorway network. We aim to expand further and complete our 2050 vision as the capacity of Junction 14 increases.
Designing and creating a new community: a vision for sustainable living
We’re committed to creating a place that blends modern living with the natural environment. Our design will create sustainable, healthy, and well-connected communities, where residents can access education, shopping, community, and leisure spaces all within a 15-minute walk.
Getting around locally, quickly and sustainable
Walking, cycling, and wheeling will be Sharpness Vale’s transport methods of choice. We will create a 15-minute neighbourhood, where every resident can reach shops, schools, work, leisure, and community facilities without relying on their car.
View all the consultaion boards
Click below to view all of our consultation boards to see the project in full.