NO ONE has been left in any doubt that there is enormous strength of feeling against the recommendation to build 300 new houses in Berkeley.

From the more well thought out economic and social reasons to the more blunt but equally valid "we just don't want them" argument, residents will not stand for having such a large development dumped on them.

Of course, Stroud District Council has an obligation to provide more than 9,000 new homes in this planning period, but with such large schemes they have to be better considered than has been here.

The road network is not adequate enough for existing users at the moment, never mind with additional private and business traffic. Lorries are falling off Alkington Lane with the frequency of lemmings plummeting down a cliff face and the town centre has limited parking facilities. Berkeley's amenities would also be required to multiply in size to support an increase of a third in population.

As things stand the recommendations just do not make sense.

However, new homes must be built - and Government policy means that people in this area cannot bury their heads in the sand.

Young people who have little hope of getting onto the property ladder would be very grateful for the affordable housing that such a development would bring.

A well thought out scheme involving development of the town's whole infrastructure would be required for this even to be considered. Current recommendations fall well short of that.