A NEW development that will put the heart back into the village of Cam should be completed by summer 2009.

The development will include council offices, a community café, shops, houses, apartments and a village square.

The site, which lies at the junction of Cam High Street, Chapel Street and Cam Pitch, is geographically in the heart of Cam and would be a central point for the village.

The parish has been waiting for the village development for nearly 14 years and councillors are "excited" it will soon become a reality.

Cllr Margaret Nolder, county and parish councillor for Cam, said: "People in Cam have been thinking this will never happen but it really is becoming a reality and we are so pleased.

"I am very excited that the first brick will soon be laid and we will finally have this brilliant development for everyone in the village."

Stroud District Council are now in the process of choosing a developer for the project and they anticipate work beginning in early summer of 2008.

Caroline White, from Stroud District Council's regeneration team, said: "We have just received bids from seven developers and we will now be looking to assess them. We need to make sure we are getting the best bidder for the district.

"We anticipate the job will take around nine to 12 months, which would mean a completion date sometime in summer 2009."

The specifications of the houses and flats have not been decided, but Mrs White said there will be mix of smaller and larger properties.

Cllr Nolder added: "My hope is that the area will become a hive of activity. The idea for the café is that it will be a place for adults and the elderly to sit and chat in the day and when the children come home from school it will be somewhere warm for them to meet up.

"It is really going to be a community facility and hopefully everyone in Cam will be pleased to know it will soon be built."