Tewkesbury Borough councillors have backed a petition to consider the impact of flooding when deciding where to allocate new housing in the district.
More than 100 people signed the petition, which also calls on the council to consult with parish councils and the relevant government agencies when developing new plans.
They say the council must take into account the cumulative impacts of new housing built since 2014 and the effects of climate change.
Twigworth resident George Sharpley, who is the local lead on flooding for the villages, said he was very pleased with the outcome.
“I’m very pleased that it was unanimous. We need more control on this issue,” he said.
“We await to see what the actual wording of it is but it’s great to see that councillors have recognised the problem that we have.
“The issue is the lack of proper council scrutiny of flood risk proposals from developers, as the vale is gradually filled with housing.
“The pressure of the joint core strategy allocation has, we believe, led council flood-risk officers to accept proposals of flood-risk management which are well short of accurate and safe.
“For instance, the road next to a proposed 32-house development off Down Hatherley Lane is mapped by the applicant as having a one-in-seventy-five-year chance of flooding, which in actual fact happens every few years.
“Another example is the new site at Yew Tree Farm in Twigworth, where the flood-risk assessment (approved by councils) had the site rated at ‘low to very low risk of surface water flooding’. Last winter all work was suspended on the site for over six weeks due to surface water flooding.
“Not only the volume and pace of building are having an adverse effect, but the piecemeal nature of it is adding to the potential for disaster, the lack of a strategic overview and plan.
“A number of properties close to sites under development flooded during the winter which had never flooded before – not even in 2007.”
The council approved the recommendation to ask officers to look into the issue.
The points raised by the petition will be considered as part of the council’s strategic flood risk assessment which will be prepared in connection with the review of the joint core strategy.
