25th October 2024

It was a pleasure to open the new Ducklings Toy Shop store on Saturday. Ducklings has relocated to a bigger store within the Five Valleys Shopping Centre from Union Street, where they were based when they first came to Stroud four years ago. Many towns have lost their toy shops, so we are very fortunate to have a strong, independent toy shop within our town; a business loved by young ones and adults alike, selling quality products that kids cherish.The Regeneration Working Group, led by the Town Council with the District Council, County Council, Chamber of Trade and Civic Society, work together to improve our town. One of our joint recommendations was to have a counter on the London Road Multi-storey (Brunel Mall) Car Park. Very often you can witness cars circling the outdoor car park looking for a space, where indoors there's an abundance of space that can't be seen. The end result can be people leaving, which has a negative impact on our economy. It's taken a little while to source the best solution, and it's going through a bedding in period, but this looks great and I feel it is set to make quite a difference. This is an example of how the Regeneration Working Group can bring the right parties together to make improvements for those who use the town. Incremental steps bring bigger improvements and change.Part of the mammoth task to refurbish the railway station bridge entered a new phase as the span was removed for restoration. The station is a gateway into the town, of course, and the bridge far more than just a utilitarian structure. Whilst it may not be unique, it certainly is important and had visibly fallen into such a poor state of disrepair. That it is being refurbished is a good thing and I trust the work to bring accessibility to the station (that is not currently tied to this refurbishment stage) is also progressing well - our next Regeneration Working Group Meeting should include an update on that.Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and I look forward to sharing the next update.