A BIG public debate on the number and location of homes to be built in the Forest over the next 12 years is to get underway.

But the document containing the proposals has a second, more immediate function – to defend the district against speculators trying to build in more sensitive areas.

Members of the Forest of Dean District Council endorsed the Allocations Plan – which envisages another 2,857 homes in the district by 2026 – and agreed it should go out to public to suggest amendments.

Without even a draft plan in place the authority would be undermined in arguing against planning applications which go against policy, councillors were told.

Cllr Brian Robinson (Con, Mitcheldean), the Cabinet member in charge of planning policy said there were already a number of applications in the pipeline that the council would want to refuse.

He said: "I feel we should accept this plan as it stands – there is ample opportunity for concerns to come up through public consultation and to be considered at a later date.

"It will be about six months before we can bring back the consultation responses, our views on that, and finally approve the plan.

"In the meantime we have a number of applications in that are speculative applications outside our plan area and we need to make as strong as case as possible that this is our current position – it may not be our final position –and that the allocations in this plan are the ones we intend.

"If they are not in this plan we don't intend them to be accepted."

The original proposal was that the council "endorse and support" adopting the plan but Labour councillors successfully argued the word "support" should be taken out.

Cllr Bruce Hogan (Lab, Lydbrook and Ruardean) said: "Removing that word makes our position clear – that this allocations plan is endorsed by council and it is approved for consultation.

"Supported could be read to mean every dot and every i but it is a consultation document."

Cllr Don Pugh (Lab, Pillowell) said he would be concerned if the document was weakened because of plans, to be shown at an exhibition, for homes on farmland near Yorkley School.

Cllr Philip Burford (Ind, Hartpury) said he was reluctantly supporting the plan because changes affecting his ward, agreed when the proposals were put together, had not appeared in the final document.

Away from the council chamber, residents of Berry Hill are concerned about proposals to build homes on land at Lower Lane, Five Acres.

They turned up to a meeting of Coleford Town Council's planning committee which was to have had a presentation from Gladman Developments – but the company's representative had to pull out at the last minute.

The site behind the filling station is not included in the district council's Allocations Plan.

A spokesperson for the Forest Council said: "To date we have not received an application from Gladman Developments in relation to land at Lower Lane, Coleford. We understand that the developers are currently undertaking a pre-application consultation with the local community before submitting an application."