Wotton-under-Edge Community Drop-in Event

Date: Sunday 18th May

Venue: Town Hall 2pm to 5pm

Everyone is invited to see what’s happening in the town

There will be displays from our many fabulous community groups and organisations on what they have been up to and their aspirations for 2025.

You can check out plans and progress by the Town Council on the major repairs to the Town Hall and Chipping Hall, the rebuilding of the Old Town Toilets, refurbishment of Symn Lane Play Area, and the development of the new Symn Lane Car Park.

An opportunity to have your say on the Town Council and the Town!

Bluecoat School Busy Bees serving Town Hall Teas downstairs.

Upstairs you will be able to chat to the community groups and Councillors and see what is happening!

#Wotton #StroudDistrict #Gloucestershire

PS. On a personal note, sadly, I cannot attend but I’m getting back to some sort of fitness. I’m in the shop three days a week (Tue, Thu & Sat 10-3pm) now and on track to resume normal council duties by the end of the month. I’m dealing with casework in the background, contact via e-mail is preferred.

The Green Leaders of Forest of Dean District Council and Stroud District Council have confirmed that they remain open to considering the options for one or two unitary councils in Gloucestershire.

The proposals setting out the current options about how local government in the county should be reorganised, were submitted to the Government on Friday (March 21).

Cllr Adrian Birch, Leader of Forest of Dean District Council, said: “We are open to considering all the options for new unitary councils and supporting the one which gives the best future for our local communities.

“In recent weeks, there’s been much discussion about the one-unitary and two-unitary council proposals, but it’s too early to decide which one to go for, in the absence of more evidence about their impact on local services and democratic representation. Wide community and stakeholder engagement will also be essential to inform our final decisions ahead of the deadline in November.”

Cllr Catherine Braun, Leader of Stroud District Council, added: “The bigger picture for devolution, and arguably the more important decision for Gloucestershire, is which strategic authority we want to align with, as that’s where any additional powers and funding will be secured for the county. All the evidence we’ve seen so far points to Gloucestershire joining the West of England Combined Authority (WECA).

“This would allow us to stay connected to our regional capital in Bristol and to remain within the South West region. We have strong ties to WECA through alignment of our economic sectors, joint projects, and our shared West Country identity. This alignment would also build on the work of the Western Gateway pan-regional partnership, which strengthened working across the West of England region and Wales.”

Both the Forest of Dean and Stroud district councils have agreed to consider any future unitary council options in relation to a set of principles, in addition to the Government’s tests for financial viability.

These principles include: maintaining delivery of council services at a local level; securing economic prosperity which meets the needs of all, particularly the most vulnerable; a focus on long-term effectiveness not just short-term savings; protection of the environment with ambitious nature recovery and climate action; recognition of our strong local identities; support for parish and town councils and the voluntary and community sector; a balanced structure which does not exacerbate wealth imbalances; and the strengthening of local democratic input and representation.

#LGR #StroudDistrict #ForestOfDean #EnglishDevolution #UKPol

There has never been a more important time to get involved with town and parish councils as there are increasing roles and responsibilities for them coming down the track.

Great write up by Alyssa Pearce from the Amplify Stroud team.

https://amplifystroud.com/devolution-for-stroud/

#Gloucestershire #StroudDistrict #LGR #EnglishDevolution

I'm thinking of drumming up support for a motion at my local District Council to get them to dump their X/Twitter account.

Does anyone know of any other UK local councils who have done similar?

Please boost.

#X #Twitter #LocalGovernment #StroudDistrict

It was a pleasure to attend Stinchcombe Parish Council earlier in the week along with SDC Cllr Braun and GCC/SDC Cllr Cohen. An un-welcomed speculative development was discussed.
https://listed.to/@eco_g/57687/stinchcombe-parish-council-meeting-december-2024

#Stinchcombe #SDC #StroudDistrict #Stroud

"Wotton-under-Edge is claiming to have pulled a U-turn on a downward retail trend that saw a high number of empty premises on the town's Long and High Streets from the period of the Pandemic to the beginning of 2023."

https://www.punchline-gloucester.com/articles/aanews/retail-masterplan-yields-dramatic-results-in-cotswold-town

#Wotton #StroudDistrict #Glos

Fantastic array of events coming up in 2023 from @minchcan, part of our district's #ClimateActionNetworkForum. So excited for #TheGreatBigGreenWeek #Strouddistrict #Minch #Minchinhampton #proudtobestroud #green #environment

Are you working on practical initiatives to reduce carbon emissions or build community resilience in #StroudDistrict?Join our Climate Action Network forum for free support. You can find us on FB https://buff.ly/3ZprPV9 or drop us an email on [email protected].