It's official. Three candidates from each of the four main parties.

Each voter has three votes!

Wotton Town Council is uncontested.

#Northibley #WottonUnderEdge

My informal notes and personal comment from the Town Council meeting on Monday that I attended along with SDC Cllr Braun. GCC/SDC Cllr Cohen had sent apologies along with a few other town councillors.

A few members of the public were present but none wanted to speak at the public forum.

The Chairman said that he had visited the new Charfield station site and checked out the parking consultation. There will be a £2.80 charge for the day which may have gone up by the time the station opens. There is a possibility of residential parking permits. There are two community groups committed to fighting residential parking. The Chair said parking should be free to prevent people parking on residential streets.

Both the County and District councillors' reports were taken as read. Cllr Braun mentioned the current state of play with the Local Plan. SDC want a final report from the inspectors so that their observations can be incorporated into the new plan.

Town councillors are now being asked to consider installing a new VOIP system for broadband and telephones at the Civic Centre. The Chair said that fibre to the premises was required to replace the existing copper cables. Apparently,this cabling will not be installed before 2027 as Openreach are behind in their national roll-out. The programme has been put back twice already. Chair and deputy seem content to delay making any decision and continue as is. No merit in pressing ahead right now. Approved. Next to agree membership of Walkers are Welcome. Deputy chair says the PROW partnership was asked to consider joining. 2 stage process. £70. apply for provisional membership. There are 6 criteria, if ratified one can apply for full membership. Then Town Council can use the Walkers are Welcome logo. 300 parishioner signatures need to be obtained (that's a big ask, there were only 270 responses to the community plan!) along with councillor support. The local steering group could be the PROW partnership. Cllr asks what Wotton gets out of it. Clerk interjects; We do we need to promote because it's a national organisation that promotes tourism. Wotton is known locally but does not have such a high profile as Dursley, for example. Approved

The council was asked to purchase colostomy friendly bag shelves for Civic Centre toilets. Three quotes £583, pressed steel £188, and £306. inc vat. Recommended option 3 as it has anti-bacterial coating. Cllr asks where are the five toilets? Where lacking in all buildings I think was the response. Approved

To agree to a stall at the Christmas under the Edge. The Council is on the final push to achieve the target for the crowdfunding of the Symn Lane Play Area Improvement. £58,557 pledged of £93,669 with 28 days to go. How to get attention, Clerk says company (or was that Theresa?) will produce boards. Pledge QR Code £2. Clerk wants the stall sited near the Town Hall. Approved.

The Budget 2025/26 was noted as were accounts for payment. The expenditure on Pride window stickers of £40 was queried as Cllr thought they were a donation from Cotswold Letterpress

Planning. Council to consider pre-application consultation of Proposed Telecommunications Upgrade at Land at Avonshire Plant, off Tabernacle Road. Even though comment is pointless Cllr thought it appropriate to fire questions back. To who? the applicant or the planning authority? Questions which maybe of interest to residents. Sigh, I really don't understand what purpose this serves.

Next up to consider a report from Stripe Consulting on Symn Lane Car Park planning application S.23/2101/VAR. Council had already sent off one set of comments to planning last Thursday. This is to take into account further comments from Stripe and how council deals with them.

Deputy chair says 2 stages are required to go through comments to ascertain if they need more advice. Then decide the sorts of comments to go to planning. Chair says comments need to be in 25th Nov. to allow SDC/DCC members time to look at them. Fairer to allow more time.

A lengthy discussion ensues on the detail of the eight points raised by Stripe in their report. Most of these points related to construction work already undertaken or addressed by conditions on the planning permission already granted. A Cllr commented that huge amounts of work had been done on this but none of the Cllrs are qualified to comment so what is the point? Shouldn't the developer and planners sort all this out? Other Cllrs commented that cars on the various car park diagrams, supplied by Stripe, were shown on the wrong side of the road. [The item under consideration was a variation to an application that has already been approved. I don't think this important point was properly explained to the new councillors.]

Myself (exhausted) and Cllr Braun left the meeting at this point for a catch-up meeting in the car-park.

#WottonUnderEdge

I spent Sunday afternoon up in Westridge Woods with a group of local residents and other councillors. We are all wanting to see sensible forest management at Westridge Woods unlike the last time the company, F&W Forestry, undertook work up there.

As one of the ward's three district councillors I raised my concerns in a well researched open letter to F&W Forestry. Unexpectedly, they responded, not by acknowledging the shortcomings of prior works and maybe a promise to do better, but by accusing us of stirring up a “hate campaign”. WOW! Anyway, the local project manager seems a bit more in tune and attentive to our concerns which is a relief tbh.

Every year, thousands of residents, visitors and Cotswold Way walkers hit the public footpaths that wind through this privately‑owned 41‑acre wood.

The Forestry Commission has recently handed out a new licence that builds on the one granted in 2022.

Back in 2022 Stroud District Council was consulted because the woods, shown in this map (new works overlaid on the original 1951 map), are covered by a Tree Preservation Order that was granted back in 1951. SDC raised no objection to the proposed 'thinning' works and the licence ran for five years and allows up to 30 % of the canopy to be thinned, spread evenly across the area.

However, many of us have been worrying about this next felling phase, which includes both “regeneration felling” and “clear felling” after the less than satisfactory “silvicultural thinning” project in 2023.

I have concerns about the scope of these new works relating to the TPO and I'm awaiting a response from the SDC Arboriculture Officer.**

Ash die‑back is hitting Westridge hard and one of F&W Forestry's objectives is to pull out the ash trees showing die‑back symptoms. Additionally, their plan breaks the wood into compartments, approving 13 zones for this “regeneration felling” (removing a few dominant trees so younger ones can grow) and three zones for “clear felling” (clearing almost everything). We've been told that the cuts will happen in small pockets and won’t exceed the hectare limits set by the Forestry Commission.

Councillors and locals know how important it is to deal with ash die‑back, but we want it done carefully and respectfully in this historic wood. So a new resident group, Westridge Woodland Watch, has been set-up which will share info about the forest work and track progress. If anyone wants to join get in touch with me or Cllr Catherine Braun.

** Update 10th December 2025

I was at a somewhat tetchy site meeting with F&W Forestry, the Forestry Commission and various councillors and residents earlier today. But as the walk progressed the mood became generally more positive and it turned into a good opportunity to improve mutual understanding of the felling work that’s underway. I had to zip off half way around to get back to Ebley Mill.

Also, I have now received the update from the Arboriculture Officer at Stroud:-

They say that SDC were not consulted about the recent works under the Tree Preservation Order (TPO) and have asked the Forestry Commission to guarantee future consultation on any licenses affecting protected trees.

However, on reviewing this new license, they say they would have issued a “no objection” response.

The original license allowed silvicultural thinning to improve tree health, while the new license focuses on dealing with diseased ash trees, regeneration, and clear‑felling, with strict restocking requirements for all zones. No further action is needed at this time.

SDC have alerted the Forestry Commission to concerns that the works might exceed the scope of either license, requested monitoring of the work and asked that the Parish Councils be kept informed. If any additional issues arise regarding compliance with the license, they recommend contacting the Forestry Commission directly. This is their e-mail address. southwest.fce@forestrycommission.gov.uk or write to their South West Area Office:-

Forestry Commission Bullers Hill Kennford Exeter EX6 7XR

#WottonUnderEdge

My informal notes and personal comment from the town council meeting on Monday that I attended along with SDC Cllr Braun. GCC/SDC Cllr Cohen had sent apologies.

Extraordinary Town Council Meeting

The primary purpose of this short meeting, prior to planning, was to approve the candidates who had put themselves forward for co-option on to the Town Council and in short order Paula, Fred, Lesley, Becky and Ros were sat in their seats. Congratulations! Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!

The first task was to approve the minutes of the meeting of 29th September 2025. I know that the Civic Centre Solar Project was discussed. One item of business was to approve payment for the Town Hall works and it seems the total cost of the project was inadvertently disclosed so had to be removed from the approved minutes. Also wording clarified that the monies on the loan application were for capital work as opposed to maintenance.

Next was to approve quote for installing the memorial bench plinth for Terry Luker on Synwell Green. The works have already been done. A new Cllr. asks if three quotes were sought. Below threshold. Next to ratify costs for materials to refurbish the 80+ benches in the town. 10 benches have been identified for repair. £1652. Recycled wood. Survey 18 months ago. A new Cllr. asks about sponsorship for benches. Another new Cllr. asked about people wanting to purchase benches. Approved. The another ratification of payment for lighting work done to prevent electrical circuit trips. £1267. Had to be done urgently no time to seek alternate quotes.

Next up the Council is required to review data handling practises to comply with new external audit requirements by end of March 26. Cllrs told it's a complicated procedure. A whopping £3995+vat which is unbudgeted will have to be taken out of 'professional fees'. Chair asks if this is this an annual or one off fee. It's a review, giving a report of things to be implemented along with training. Cllrs have a habit of forwarding e-mails with personal information, so data hygiene needs improvement, for example. The company running only has a few spaces left on courses and is holding them. The company is called Breakthrough communications – specialist for town and parish councils. Mayor thinks they're a monopoly. Clerk reminds council that they've just lost the deputy clerk and the clerk cannot do all the work needed to be done. Cllr says GDPR is mandatory. Assertion 10 – NALC is part of audit. Approved.

Council then approved the October accounts for payment, appx. £45k on various items. The ongoing costs of the Old Town Toilets which has been closed for the last eight years or so, for ongoing water and electric fees were queried. Clerk informs the cllr that this is alwasys raised by new cllrs. It is cheaper to retain than remove. (personal back of a beer mat calculation £25 per month over 8 years = £2,400, if this is the cheaper option I'd hate to see the more expensive one!). Approved with quite a few abstentions, I guess because the new Cllrs, having not seen backing papers, felt uncomfortable.

The rescheduling of the inquorate Town Council meeting of 20th Oct to the 3rd November 2025 to enable consideration of the items on that meeting’s agenda.

The meeting closed.

Planning Meeting

I don't normally attend planning meetings but because of the previous meeting and the Symn Lane item being on this agenda myself and Cllr Braun decided to stay. This meeting was due to consider a somewhat controversial application that straddles some land between Shepherds Leaze and Water Lane. Consequently, about a dozen residents were in attendance to voice their concerns. Kindly, prior to the start of the meeting, the Chair spoke with everyone and offered to bring this application to the front of the agenda so they didn't have to sit through the whole meeting. :)

S.25/1969/OUT Land At 45 Water Lane. Outline application for the erection of six dwellings The meeting was paused to allow the residents to speak: The first resident was worried about wildlife conservation. They live next to the site and have seen bats, newts and badgers living in this habitat. They were appalled that the trees there were removed. The report accompanying the application says there are no ponds on the site but the insist there are ponds there. Also worried about contamination of the site and a decline in wildlife. Another resident points out the Shepherds Leaze is a narrow road with a school on the junction. There is on-street parking, both sides, all the way down. The proposed entrance to this development is close to the only passing point. They are also concerned that there are only two parking spaces per house. The existing tee junction will become a cross roads. Road markings. The access point will take away 5 or 6 parking spaces. Another resident uses part of land under licence. Flooding is a big concern. 26 years ago their house completely flooded. Poor drainage. Issues with subsidence due to trees. Others voice concerns about parking and concerns about school traffic being horrendous. Road signage put out on verges to people to stop parking inappropriately were parked in between! Another queried the reports volume of traffic recorded as low (recorded in the wrong place). Another mentioned that their garden had fallen into land due to poor boundary maintenance.

The meeting then resumed Cllrs concerned about the access road width. Bin lorry doesn't have to enter site meaning residents will have to take waste close to the site entrance. The meeting gets bogged down trying to locate pre-app advice. It's hopeless trying to do this on the fly a waste of everyone's time and people getting frustrated. Finally the chair sums up with the main issues. Biodiversity, Traffic survey, loss of parking, flood risk in fz1 but flooding not considered significant and width of access.

Most of the public left the meeting and the rest of the new applications were considered.

S.25/1810/HHOLD Bradley House, Bradley Green. Erection of 2 storey extension Support.

S.25/1899/FUL Lion Lodge, Park Lane, Ozleworth. Installation of 4 no. passing bays to existing single lane Support

S.25/1924/HHOLD 30 Cherry Orchard. Erection of a two-storey side extension and a single storey rear extension Objected to shortening of the garage and making aperture smaller rendering it unusable as a garage whilst no. of beds going up from 3 to 4 therefore worsening the general parking issues in the vicinity. Issues with light and overlooking neighbours.

S.25/1470/LBC Royal Oak 3 – 5 Haw Street. Installation of perimeter protection to rear flat roof providing a fire escape. (Retrospective) Apparently Historic England are normally reluctant to comment. Not this time. Cllrs commented it looks like scaffolding. Whilst they do need fire exit they need to rethink the design. Not in keeping. Better solutions can be found. Object

S.25/1745/HHOLD 6 Potters Pond. Replacement rear extension and new fenestration New cllrs. immediately seized on the pedantic processes that shroud/cloud planning applications relating to listed building. This application, to me, seemed quite straight forward. An extension on the rear of a listed building. Out of sight and clearly distinguishable from the main building. New cllrs. realised that these building have to be fit for living in as well as maintaining the heritage after long discussion the the chairs motion to object fell, another motion raised by a long serving Cllr to support passed. Wow. The long serving Cllr smiled...... no longer standing alone, I feel.

S.25/1746/LBC 6 Potters Pond Same discussion again but on the listed building aspect this time. The voting was tied this time and the Chair cast his vote, deciding to object.

S.25/1977/TCA 10 Valley Road Silver Birch removal It was felt there was not enough info to comment.

The some planning application appeals were noted.

Licence Application 25/00976/LAPRNW 40 Long Street To note that an application for a Tap Room has been received by Stroud District Council. The chair informed the council that the application had been withdrawn so discussion was curtailed. (I'm not sure this is accurate though, I believe that the single resident who had lodged an objection at SDC has withdrawn it) The TC didn't receive notification of this application although I checked and confirmed that it was sent by SDC . WTC's cyber defences had quarantined it apparently.

Symn Lane Car Park development The clerk updated council by saying that the developer had started talking with SDC again. They were alerted to this when I published information on my blog that had slipped into the public domain. The clerk wanted sight of the schedule of works, as it's just the revised plan on the planning portal. WTC asked a consulting company called Stripe to get involved close to the end of the work being done on the car park a few years ago. They produced a report listing various items that would need addressing before handover. SDC also asked their surveyor to have a look at these issues too. WTC combined these two reports into a 'schedule of works'. This formed the agreement negotiated by SDC CEO a year ago to get the car park completed by Spring 2025 with a backstop of September 2025. Having reengaged with SDC but still not talking to WTC the developer has asked for Stripe's contact details but the clerk implied that Stripe will only talk to/take instruction from WTC as they are the client. ¯\(ツ)/¯

As always, you know where I am (Cookability) if you have any questions or just want a chat. #WottonUnderEdge

Revised plans have been posted on the SDC Planning Portal; search for application S.23/2101/VAR.

The main changes being the additional area with disable parking spaces off the internal road, updated landscaping and the start of the link footpath to the swimming pool (within the site).

There's now a possibility that the application will come before the December Development Control Committee (DCC).

This means that I'll finally get to present the petition (started in December 2023) about the removal of the car parking spaces on the bank. Presenting this petition was a pre-election promise! I also promised to get the car park finished ASAP. lol. A newbie councillor mistake...... :(

Town Council will be consulted on this application, probably at their November planning meeting. Site history here.

North Nibley Parish and Stinchcombe Parish Council meetings

Both these meetings were very early in the month and it seems that I forgot to e-mail out my reports. So here are the links; North Nibley here and Stinchcombe here.

Wotton-under-Edge Town Council Meeting

Unfortunately, the council meeting on the 20th October couldn't proceed as it was inquorate. Very disappointing for the six candidates hoping to be co-opted onto the council.

An extraordinary meeting will now be held on the 27th Oct at 6:30pm BEFORE planning with another extraordinary meeting then being held on the 27th AFTER the planning meeting. Dealing with the co-option and urgent business. Agendas are here.

If there is agreement at the first meeting on the 27th the original meeting of 20th October 2025 will be rescheduled to 3rd November 2025 to enable consideration of the items on that meeting’s agenda. I hope I've got that right!

As always, you know where I am (Cookability) if you have any questions or just want a chat.

#WottonUnderEdge

Wotton's newest Litter and Dog Waste Bin has been installed on the corner of Westridge Road. 🎉 🎇 🎆 🎊

It is hoped that this will alleviate the capacity issues of the bin across the road at the top of Little Acre and encourage dog walkers not to leave dog poo bags along the route of the footpath, in hedges and on people's driveways etc.

Ideally, positioning the bin up by the pony paddock might have been better but, trust me, the procedures and processes do not permit this. If you are at all interested I've kept some notes on the a previous blog page.

Anyway, I knocked on a few doors up on Westridge Road on Saturday offering some stickers that the private land owners can put on their boundary fences etc. The stickers remind forgetful dog owners that not cleaning up after their dog can lead to a fixed penalty notice or prosecution (up to £2,500, I think).

If you were out when I called and would like one, let me know in the shop (Cookability), I have a few spare.

If you ever see a bin overflowing you can report it directly here which can, eventually, prompt a change in the collection frequency by Ubico, the contractor used by SDC.

#WottonUnderEdge

My informal notes and comment from last nights town council meeting that I attended along with SDC Cllr. Braun and SDC/GCC Cllr. Cohen.

Normal formalities, no apologies and no declarations of interest. The previous minutes were approved with a minor amendment explaining concerns regarding a solar panel grant.

At least twelve people present for the public forum. The public forum is where residents can ask direct questions of the council and raise issues that concern them. As SDC and GCC councillors attend these meetings as members of the public this is the only time that they can ask questions too. I asked the following questions:-

• Regarding item 10. Could the really interesting complete project list be published on the town council web site so that residents can follow them? No definitive answer was given but I guess it could always be asked for with a Freedom of Information request.

• Item 11. the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) monies. Some date back nearly 5 years, after which it has to be handed back to SDC. I asked how much unspent CIL monies are being returned to SDC? – The mayor confirmed that none were being returned.

• Item 15, I commended Cllr. Derek Thomas for obtaining a £2k SDC Climate and Nature Grant

• I was able to confirm, following a packed town council meeting in May, that GCC had finally given permission for SDC to install a new dog poo bin on the corner of Westridge Road. Hopefully this will alleviate the issue with dog poo bags being discarded inappropriately by dog walkers. A new stile has recently been installed by the land owner too.

Next up were a number of residents who live along B4058 Coombe Road. They are aware that the new administration at the county council is open to implementing lower speed limits, across rural and urban areas of Gloucestershire where there is public support and where they are appropriate for the location.

One resident who lives on Coombe Road says that the driveways are hidden. Some cars travel at 50mph+ in this 30mph zone. He has spoken to police before. There is no footpath/pavement on the side of the road where the houses are, the pavement is on the opposite side. Although the route is popular with walkers it is a dangerous place to cross. Pedestrians have to walk in road which is dangerous. Another person says that someone was recently fined recently for excess speed (50mph). Since the re-opening of Rushmire it's worse. Others who may have spoken would just repeat what had already been said.

Barbara Lawrence, 84/85 bus route campaigner spoke about the new WECA/South Glos/Glos restored bus route Y8. She had been invited to zoom meeting to sign off the new timetable. However, the new timetable won't get people to college/work at a reasonable time. The sign off is imminent and she asked for more time. Two bus routes the earliest you can get to Yate is 9am. The latest will get you back to Wotton at 7pm. The clerk is writing to the MPs to the new WECA mayor. Engagement has been good. Her next correspondence will add earlier and later times.

Cllr. Linda Cohen says the new administration at GCC is open to new 20mph areas. They want to make sure there is proper consultation with residents. Then see what's possible without TROs which cost £15k and can take several years (Traffic Regulation Orders). One cllr. is concerned about lack of enforcement that comes with this idea. He feels that in the end enforcement will come down to town council having its own speed cameras. Cllr. Cohen says that the community can make it enforceable, it's not onerous as Kingswood have demonstrated. Not a lot of cost involved. Kingswood send out letters to the offenders.

The mayor says he is not against the idea and has some experience as he is a highway engineer. The traffic management works he was involved with didn't work because police wouldn't enforce. So had to build road bumps. Cllr. Cohen says; Lets start at the beginning. We need to get the will of community first. A cllr. wants to advertise in Wotton Directory to tell people that there's stigma associated with speeding. Cllr. Cohen reminds everyone that the worst offenders are local people. Deadline of 19th September. Mayor suggests that cllrs. have a think where 20mph should be (or other limits) and send to clerk. After a fortnight they'll discuss. Clerk wants public to be consulted too and will put something into the upcoming Wotton Directory.

The public forum finishes and the meeting is now closed to comment from members of the public.

Item 8 is brought forward (County Councillor's Report) because Cllr. Cohen has to leave to attend another parish meeting. She highlighted school crossing patrols to help get children ready for the darker evenings when school goes back. Also, mode shift, a 5 minute bubble around the school to encourage walking and cut down on car use. She was asked about Symn Lane car park. The works have to be completed within the time frame [September backstop, I think] or the developer will lose their bond. When she spoke with SDC CEO they felt confident that the developer would deliver.

Next up, back to item 6, Britannia Mews. A resident of Britannia Mews has written to the council concerned about overgrowth on an area of land next to the stream in Marchesi Walk. The trees have not been maintained and the area is overgrown. There is a need to make the land safe. However, the land is not under town council ownership. A cllr. says that in 2018 these trees were included as part of the town council's tree survey. They checked ownership at that time and not town councils so stopped surveying them. Bearing in mind the financial consideration not being town council's land why take it on? Another cllr. says it's time for town council to show leadership and take ownership sort out the problem. I missed the conclusion.

Cllr. Cohen had already taken questions on the county councillor report. Cllr. Braun mentioned that SDC had agreed that their preferred option was to align with WECA in the upcoming Local Government Reorganisation(LGR). The decision was driven in part with the alignment of public sector boundaries.

There is a consultation running on LGR. To date half the respondents are coming from Stroud District, please respond to shape the outcome.

The meeting went on to discuss accounts. The council's insurance was renewed and cllrs. appointed to carry out internal audit. The Budget 2025/26 was noted. The town council now owns the telephone kiosk at Old Town which needs to go onto the asset register.

There was an update from some of the ongoing projects around the town.

Old Town Toilets – The clerk had met with toilet specialists who had been out twice and confirmed that they can't rescue the existing building and are looking at demolition. Power and asbestos has to be taken into account. The clerk has reached out to Renishaw to see what they are doing with the site. Costs and design need to be revisited. The clerk reminded cllrs. that there is a standing invite to go to Kingswood to check out their public loos.

Discussion on the Symn Lane Play Area and using reserves to reach the Stroud Funding target. There will be an update in August.

The mayor realised that the chairman’s announcements had been over looked earlier. He mentioned that he had been to the AGM of the Gloucestershire Association of Town & Parish Councils where there was a talk on Devolution. He will circulate the handouts when he receives them. Ditto for the experiences of Glastonbury Town Council. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Following a lengthy discussion the decision to use CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) payments for the Symn Lane Play Area Improvement Project was put off until August.

Next up was to agree community consultation to support the public work loan (£300k, from memory, I think) for the town hall work.

It was agreed to extend community consultation. Carter Jonas has speced the work and they are about to go out to tender which are due back end August. A late September start is expected. Timber first then stonemasons for windows, then external decoration. Public works loan. Have planning approval. Working with Carter Jonas to match what govt. asks for in application. If the precept needs to be increase, provide evidence of public support and how public were consulted. Need details on that for local accountability and transparency. Clerk wants to put this in the upcoming Wotton Directory and social media. Govt. can approve within 15 days if the application is right.

Then onto heritage centre lease. A few legal issues needed answering. Sitting around a table would save time and costs. But one cllr. not happy wants it drafted so town council speaks with one voice. Therefore town council sees and agrees then meets with the heritage centre. Voted, agreed. Clerk is clear...... the solicitor needs more info to do work and every e-mail has a cost..

Bolster Wotton. The clerk gives an update along the lines that I reported last week. The next Bolster Wotton meeting will be about parking.

The mayor says that there are some reports going around stating that the Symn Lane Car Park is a 'Town council led project' and that's not true. I had to interject to say that I thought he was referring to a report of mine from a Town Council meeting a year ago, the first and only Symn Lane car park meeting that I have been invited to. He confirmed that it was.

Cllr. says that Thornbury now charges for their car park and from speaking to stall holders they say that trade has dropped off with charging.

Rural England Prosperity Fund: All REPF & SPF capital grants for 2025-26 have been fully allocated for round one. Submitted applications will be kept on a reserve list, in case further funding becomes available. However, Wotton ward has done pretty well all things considered.

The clerk gave an update about the market towns vitality fund. SDC has a new director of place; James Brain and they are having a rethink. The clerk had more up to date information than my briefing notes. Although the scheme has now closed projects are well underway around the district. Wotton received funding for Festive lights and associated wall fixings which will also be used for hanging baskets and other displays and some foldable external display boards totalling £29.4k. There is some residual money in the fund which will be distributed between the settlements, I thought for marketing, but things may have moved on according to the clerk.

Solar panels on the civic centre roof have been agreed in principle. Previously Cllr. Thomas has obtained three quotes and has experience on installing them. The Chair is wanting to form a working group to work out a plan. All grants need community engagement. Evidence base not there yet. However, Cllr. Thomas has managed to obtain a £2k Stroud district council climate and nature grant to go towards the capital and a display board in the civic centre hallway. Another community co-op offer £5k grant was discussed. There was considerable confusion about the type of display required. But once the backing papers were read it became clear. The working group will meet September 16th 7:30pm Bradley room.

Ash dieback project tree replacement planting offer from GCC. Need to identify a local organisations to work with. The verge outside Cotswold edge golf course was mentioned. November deadline for suggestions.

There has been a blip of crime incidents in the town recently and the local policing team have been here a fair bit. A man selling knives became quite aggressive with a shopkeeper. Some anti-LGBTQ+ incidents also being pursued. The Sports Foundation had their shipping container broken into last week. A stolen tractor was and left by new road allotments where power tools were also found. Knapp Road allotments an angle grinder was used on padlocks stuff stolen. Cllr. Barton working with allotment holders. CCTV wanted but power supply and signal difficulties. The police are increasing patrols... Businesses are aware.. All goes to show the need for a strong neighbourhood police team. Run of the mill ASB with school end and rubbish being left all over.

It was noted that Wotton Day Centre will hold its final session on 31st July 2025 after more than 40 years’ service to the elderly people of the town. The clerk will write and thank them.

Travelling home to Stroud, the top of Rushmire was closed again. :( So diverted via Dursley. Only to discover that the road via Uley was also closed. Sigh. :( #WottonUnderEdge

Following a meet up with Cllr. Braun, we went to a meeting for Bolster Wotton last Tuesday evening at the Chipping Hall along with Cllr. Cohen. I took some informal notes.

Marketing the town

A quick welcome from the town clerk, Andrea. Then straight into a presentation from Tony Davey. He's a retired IT product manager and has helped improve many companies. He's also the Mayor of Stroud and interim chair of the Nailsworth business group. He has good contact with SDC and leads on tourism, supported by officers there.

Hastily typed notes: Tony's presentation covered where Wotton fits into the various tourism campaigns going on, run by different organisations. Visit England, tourism month. Then there's Cotswold tourism. Then Visit Gloucestershire. Stroud district, eight market towns a reasonable area to target. Significant money, funding, plus volunteers work. Quick win.

On the pre-event questionnaire 81% of respondents wanted people to spend more money in the town. 75% wanted people to stay longer. 57% wanted more people to come in the daytime etc. Need to bolster evening economy. Wotton directory good way of tapping into target audience. Flyers – local, bus adverts. Nailsworth has done some effective work that could be replicated. Evening shopping maps & leaflets.

The presentation can be downloaded from the Bolster Wotton Facebook Group which is for local businesses only.

Events

Fred from Good Food under the Edge gave an update on the Long Street Summer Social Event planned for the 30th August 2025.

Lots of work going on. The Road closure notice had come through earlier. The roads marked in red will be closed from 6am -10pm for the event. Thanks for all your cooperation to help keep the event safe. There's also a fundraiser running with SDC Stroud Funding.

Nicola from Nicola's Fabrics and Crafts has organised a Bath Sews road trip on the 2nd August – from 10am. Please use social media to follow, share and tag.

Andrea gave a quick talk on the Symn Lane Play Area Improvement which also acts as an attraction for people visiting with children. Again there is a SDC Stroud Funding campaign in train. Please support it if you can. Planning has recently been obtained for work to start on the Town Hall. She also mentions that they are waiting on the developer to submit plans for the new Symn Lane Car Park.

Cllr. Thomas mentioned 1hr parking restrictions in the high street. Some people park all day in the same spot preventing genuine customers from parking on the high street. Each parking space is used up to 9 times a day if the restrictions are observed. It seems the Facebook group Wotton Traffic Warden Watch is used to notify the various people who overstay to move their cars when a traffic warden turns up. One business thought this is acceptable behaviour so their customers can park longer than permitted. I had numerous complaints from residents and businesses alike in the run up to last Xmas with the increased traffic warden activity. I'm fairly certain it was targeted at these over-stayers. Traffic wardens scare away customers and the level of policing that we have had traditionally seems about right to me. Act responsibly people!

As I'd been on the go constantly since 10am I was flagging badly by the break so I gave my apologies and left! But it was a worthwhile event. Thanks to Andrea, the town clerk, for organising it.

#WottonUnderEdge

🌳There was a huge turnout for the Annual General Meeting of Wotton Community Land Trust on Monday evening at Blue Coat School. The Committee members have been working hard over the past year, and it was great to hear that they are now close to purchasing Brown's Piece / Hack Hill.

If you'd like to help to secure the future of this wonderful green space for the community and for nature, please do consider donating and becoming a member – with links on the WCLT website: www.wclt.org.uk

Further fundraising is planned this summer at Town Hall Teas on 10th August, where there will also be a silent auction for a beautiful Rob Collins painting, which has kindly been donated to WCLT.

The Committee has started to develop plans to manage the site over the short, medium and long term, to support nature and wildlife, improve the footpaths and to create a place that is great for people to visit and enjoy. We were assured that there would be many opportunities for everyone to get involved with practical tasks across the site too, as soon as the land has been purchased.

Thanks to Cllr Catherine Braun for this update #WottonUnderEdge

My informal notes from last nights Town Council meeting that I attended along with SDC Cllr Braun and SDC/GCC Cllr Cohen.

Normal formalities. No apologies. The mayor and deputy declared interests in item 8b. A dispensation had also been sought for the same item (in case the council was inquorate, I think) but was not invoked. Maybe it was sufficient for councillors to leave meeting? The mayor mentioned a circulated e-mail and items 9,10,11,17 were to be deferred to the next meeting. The minutes of the meeting of 19th May 2025 were approved.

Only one member of the public present, Dominic Driver, who was due to speak on later on behalf of the Wotton and District Recreational Trust.

The mayor brings item 8b forward. Cllr Smith and Claydon leave the room so that the grant application from the Recreational Trust can be considered. Dominic offers background. They are seeking £1,200 to keep the trust viable for the long term otherwise it would probably have to disband. They need to complete the transition from a trust model to a more modern CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation). He views that Recreational Trust as important to the town in making it a social vibrant community, on a par with the Sports Foundation, Wotton Pool, the walking club etc.

The Recreational Trust is responsible for the land at Dryleaze where the Bowls Club is located and the land at Streamsfield. It was formed in 80's. Change is needed, new foundation from which to build and attract new trustees. Unlimited liability really doesn't really work for new trustees. They are down to a minimum with the secretary & treasurer standing down. Need new trustees to energise and raise income. Transition to CIO has used up reserves. Didn't expect legal fees to be as high. Negotiated them down. But to complete transition will take another year or not a not a going concern, so in a bind. The CIO does exist, cost + legal to move obligations over. £1k required to complete transition, £200 to run for another year. They don't want to come back every year. Wants to stand alone. Next meeting will plan exit strategy with or without grant. So a problem for the Bowls club and Streamsfield is threatened without the funding.

Question from cllr. No income from bowls club? Nominal sum, Dryleaze community hall possibly could be a revenue stream. The clerk confirms that there is £10k in contingency or general reserves. Motion passes.

The mayor announces that Cllr Jane Tyler has resigned as a Town Councillor. He has thanked her for the time spent on council. The mayor notes that he took part in Pride parade on the weekend.

GCC Cllr Cohen spoke on her report. Most importantly an update on the sinkhole on Coombe Road. Wessex water thinks it's down to them. Due to attend Tuesday morning. Leaving GCC barriers in place. If it is Wessex the barriers will be replaced. They appear confident can sort within 2 weeks. She will put out something out on Facebook

[Update: Wessex Water were indeed replacing the barriers this morning (17th), see photo. Speaking with the site manager he confirmed that it will be sorted within two weeks. He has a holiday booked to Fuerteventura on the 5th July and he's no intention of changing the booking! So shouldn't interfere with the re-opening of Rushmire.]

The mayor spoke of his dissatisfaction about the traffic chaos in the town each time the motorway closes. He has asked that GCC Highways have a meeting with police, National Highways and SDC to devise a strategic plan for the area to action should this happen again. He has experience of a plan like this working in Birmingham. Cllr Cohen will raise the matter.

Cllr Braun notes recent correspondence from National Highways about capacity at Junction 14 that's due to be announced shortly. Cllr Cohen says once motorway closes the A38 clogs up instantly then people use sat-nav in an attempt to circumvent.

Cllr Cohen expresses some frustration and feels a bit overwhelmed with the sheer amount of casework.... Like myself much of it is about Town Hall, Symn Lane car park, Old Town toilets, Rushmire Hill etc. etc. She wants to reach out to the Lions to help with weeding. She points out that there are just three of us (1xGCC and 2xSDC Cllrs) just six of you (town councillors). We need more energy. Why can't we attract more capacity? Need to think about why the council is losing cllrs and how to attract new ones.

The clerk thinks councillors need to be out there in the community, showing advancement on projects to complement what is put in the Wotton Directory. Mayor thinks everything that can be done is being done and maybe county and district councillors should also serve on the town council. Cllr. says people should self help keeping town tidy rather than sitting back and expecting other people or the authorities to do it.

A cllr. says this is a problem for many organisations, they all have difficulty. People just do their own thing and so not want to get involved in wider issues. Mayor thinks it's all down to Covid and the retirement age increasing. Cllr Cohen says all this is nonsense, we need to buck trend by being proactive the other parishes are doing really well. The councils at North Nibley, Stinchcombe and Hillesley are well populated and well run. Indeed, North Nibley is at capacity! Snappy agendas loads of projects happening, people want to be part of that. A cllr. asks about the age of their cllrs. Mostly younger.

The clerk interjects, with the weeding why don't cllrs put a call out, tidy up morning, focus on town council. Make an agreement with a local cafe for bacon baps afterwards, TC has hi-vis jackets and litter pickers. Great way of getting out there. Need to man stalls at street party and have cllrs out there. Questionnaire going out in Wotton Directory to form a strategic plan.

Mayor says lots of large projects taking capacity, then demands to know why Linda, Catherine and myself aren't serving on the town council? I was surprised that Cllr Cohen even dignified the demand with a response, but she complied to explain why she couldn't. I could sense my blood pressure rising. Cllr Braun obviously felt awkward but answered. I felt it a wholly inappropriate question for an elected official to ask of anyone at a public meeting. I chose not to answer and left the meeting. I took some time out, to calm myself, and thankfully no medication was required. I unreservedly apologise if this came across as unprofessional, I just wasn't able to continue.

I understand Cllr Braun and Cohen left soon after.

Edit: Changed Horsley to Hillesley.

#WottonUnderEdge