SDC Councillors' Report
1st June 2025
Along with residents' casework and in addition to council and training meetings at Ebley Mill, Cllrs Kitchen, Braun & Cohen attended the regular council meetings at North Nibley, Stinchcombe & Wotton-under-Edge.
Council meetings
Link to meeting agenda and documents in the committee title.
Development Control Committee – 20 May
- Hunts Grove Phase 4, Hunts Grove Drive, Hardwicke, Gloucester, S.20/0103/REM
- Reserved matters application for a community building, grass playing pitches, an artificial pitch, tennis courts, a local equipped area of play (leap), car parking and associated infrastructure.
- Changes to the 2024 scheme. Issues around S106 cost cap which takes precedence, design of building and pitches, Sports England unhappy and Highways had drainage concerns, ecology too; bat roosts and newts. Now more community hub than sports hub.
- Officers confident a good compromise has been reached but councillors are very unhappy.
- Parish council unhappy about reduced scale and cost cap and want management transferred to them
- Crest, the developer, accept it's their responsibility for the delay, but have worked with parish council to deliver
- Lots of discussion on failure to deliver on a S106 and consequences thereof
- Permitted – despite all the Councillor reservations etc.
- Video recording
Full Council – 22 May
- Chair, Vice-Chair, Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council were appointed.
- Cllr Kate Kay, Cllr Matthew Sargeant, Cllr Chloe Turner & Cllr Catherine Braun respectively.
- Wonderful and moving tributes for former Cllr John Marjoram, Cllr Richard Maisey & Richard Bloodworth.
- Appointments to SDC committees, chairs and vice-chairs and other council appointments
- Gareth has been appointed to Audit & Standards and lead for the GCC Police & Crime Panel
- Linda has been appointed to Strategy & Resources
- Catherine has been appointed to Audit & Standards, Strategy & Resources, One Legal Management Board and the Constitution Working Group
- Appointment of a new Monitoring Officer
- Video recording
Other news
- The Council is running a short survey on how it consults and engages with its communities and stakeholders to ensure that they are listened to and can influence decisions that are made.
- Stroud District Council has won a national award in recognition of its outstanding work to protect the safety of its tenants.
- Councillor Chloe Turner has been elected the new Leader of the Council for the 2025/26 civic year.
- SDC's website is easier to use with the Recite Me features. Further feedback is needed on what other improvements could be made.
- Hope for Tomorrow, a Stonehouse-based charity, has been selected by Stroud District Council’s staff and councillors as their charity of the year for 2025-26.
- Look out for SDC News: bringing council updates to your doorstep. An online version can be viewed here.
- The tennis courts at Active Lifestyles Stroud, in Stratford Park, have been named Park Venue of the Year at the LTA – Tennis For Britain county awards!
- Two Stroud residents have been sentenced for animal welfare offences after dogs were found in poor, filthy and cramped conditions.
Prepared by Cllr Gareth Kitchen based on councillor activity in May with updates from Cllr Linda Cohen & Cllr Catherine Braun. #sdc