26th July 2024

It's always great to be involved in a celebration and I started this week being part of the Centenary celebrations at Stroud Vision Centre.

Independent business like theirs are the backbone of our town and the service they provide is testament to their longevity.

This week it was also the Consultations & Highways Committee meeting and we certainly had a full agenda of topics to over. The Town Council is a consultee in planning matters, so we do not have the power to give approval, but we do provide an opinion (if we have one) on applications on our patch. This then gets fed back to the District Council and, at each meeting, we look back on their rulings and see if our comments seemed to be heeded. In addition to the list of applications for consideration we had a short presentation on some revised plans for the Market Tavern site. A few months ago a public consultation was held and there was a good body of feedback. Of course, as with any consultation of this type, the views gathered were broad and varied - from those who are keen to see the site put into use and embrace that this can mean change, to those who feel it should stay as it stands or try to resurrect the past - and all the variations between. I'll not steal their thunder by sharing the plans, but I will say that the revised designs ensure the views across the valley are maintained (possibly improved), space that many asked for has been added and the scale does seem to make sense too. This is an important gateway location into the town and we need something that is both functional for the current time and attractive (as much as the latter is very subjective). I look forward to this being revealed in the not too distant future.

Town Councillors have a good rapport with their District Council counterparts, which is a good thing because it enables us to work together and share ideas. This week I managed to squeeze some time in to talk to Cllr Moore, the new District Councillor for the Uplands Ward (long overdue, and my fault for the delay). Different Wards in our towns have different strengths and different challenges too. Keeping that dialogue going is important as it helps ensure we have a shared understanding and can look out for the same things where needed. Community Meeting Space is not abundant in the Uplands Ward, so this was a strong topic of discussion at our meeting.

An update or two ago I talked about bins, and it is really good to see progress being made. In the London Road outdoor car park there was a small litter bin that used to get regularly filled overnight, and the birds tended to pick through it (putting much on the floor by morning). The District Council had noted that and have added a new bin that is more bird-proof and a better capacity. So it's only a bin, right? Not in my eyes - each step we take that is positive is a good step forward. We have many steps to take, of course, but this helps tidy up a place and make it look better for everyone compared to before. Even a bin - the right bin - can made a significant difference to the look and feel of an area.

Until next time, enjoy the Olympics (if that's your thing) and I look forward to sharing my next update with you.

As an elected member of the local town council, I value transparency and accountability in my interactions with constituents. Please note that while I serve as a councillor, the views expressed on social media are my own and do not necessarily represent the official stance of the council as a whole.

For official responses from the council, please direct inquiries to council@stroudtown.gov.uk.