Cllr Gareth Kitchen - Green Party

1st November 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.

Strategy and Resources Committee – 2nd October

• Approved a new framework to improve the way that the council undertakes consultation & engagement. Agreed also to procure an online engagement tool to facilitate and streamline this consultation and engagement activity.
• New social value measures, which are more tailored to local priorities and a new measurement tool were agreed. 'Social value' is defined as the additional benefit to the community from a commissioning or procurement process over and above the direct purchasing of goods, services, works and outcomes, and can be measured in terms of economic, social and environmental activities and outcomes. This requirement applies to council contracts over £90k.
  
• Agreed to fund an additional £22k to cover final costs for the new Community Hub in Berkeley – which opened on 20th October. The new GL13 Community Hub building (formerly known as Berkeley Books since it also houses the community library) required extra funds to cover unforeseen building costs due to changes in legislation. This was agreed as an exceptional payment under the Council's Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) strategic project fund.
• Approved the Budget Strategy for 2026-27 and the Medium Term Financial Plan. This is used for service areas to finalise their budget proposals ahead of final adoption of the budget in February. It proposes the usual 2.99% increase in Council Tax for SDC and a 4% increase in council fees and charges to reflect inflationary pressures. The Council's funding will not be confirmed by Government until end of December, but we expect that there will be a significant reduction in other funding this year for Stroud District Council, due to the 'Fair Funding Review' which is redistributing Government funding in favour of the most disadvantaged areas.
• Key Point Summary – Member/Officer Reports
  • Leadership Gloucestershire
    • Proposal for a new Gloucestershire Housing Commission to drive affordable‑housing investment and improve health outcomes.
    • A county‑wide Vision for Skills is developing, to include support for young people who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET), addressing the challenges of social mobility, digital/tech, and construction skill gaps; calls for outreach and apprenticeship pathways.
  • Regeneration & Investment Board (RIB)
    • Gloucestershire's draft Local Growth Plan for 2025‑2035 is due to be approved this month. It will target secure tech, advanced engineering, agri‑tech, green energy, plus five cross‑cutting missions. The focus will be inclusive, people-centred prosperity which is environmentally responsible.
    • Market Towns Vitality Fund – the remaining £55k has been earmarked to support local economic priorities and officers have been in touch with the nine market towns to understand their priorities to inform the final allocation of funds. Funded projects to date include Christmas lights, new noticeboards, a textile trail, and promotional flyers.
    • Severn Edge update – a final decision on whether Oldbury on Severn will be the site for the UK's first small modular nuclear reactor will be announced in the autumn.
    • Other funds: A high level update was shared on the 60 projects that have been supported through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund.
    • Market town business count – a business survey has reviewed the number of vacant and occupied premises and those needing improvement.
  • City Region Board – July & Sept meetings
    • County-wide update on districts' local plans and a proposal to create a strategic development plan for Gloucestershire
    • Local Area Energy Plan which will allow the county to influence where grid capacity should be prioritised.
    • Green Skills strategy outlines priorities and plans a summit in Q1 2026.
  • Cotswold Canals Connected– revised programme of work is on track for canal restoration, nature reserve and community engagement. An additional £6.46m grant request has been made to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) to enable the project to be completed with connection to the national canal network.
  • Brimscombe Port Redevelopment
    • SDC is undertaking 'Soft‑market testing' to test interest from new developers following withdrawal of Miller Homes. A proposal will come to Committee later this month to take the project forward.
  • Woodchester Mansion – Heritage Lottery Fund
    • Secured a grant from NLHF of £154k plus £30k council match to build capacity and hire two part‑time staff to develop this council-owned site with events and partnership activities with the National Trust.
• Video recording

Development Control Committee – 21st October

• Land North East Of, Kingston Road, Slimbridge, S.25/1339/VAR – approved
  • Variation of previously approved plans from S.23/1593/FUL (Installation & operation of a 36MW battery storage facility & ancillary equipment). This will involve fewer batteries, a rotation of the transformer and some changes to the building.
    More technical guidance that needs to be complied with now, therefore some changes to planning conditions.
  • Parish council continues to object on multiple levels. Approved with one abstention.
• Land At 3 To 4, Ferndale Road, Whiteshill, Stroud, S.25/0918/FUL – approved
  • Erection of 2 detached dwellings, officer recommendation approval. Ward councillor and parish councillors list many objections including Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) which will need to be delivered off site due to small size of this site.
    
  • Approved – unanimous.
• Video recording

Full Council – 23rd October

• Licensing Policy new policy adopted. This outlines the principles Stroud District Council will apply when exercising its functions under the Licensing Act 2003 for the period January 2026 to January 2031.
• Budget Strategy and updated Medium Term Financial Plan approved.
• Tackling domestic Adopted the Gloucestershire Tackling Domestic Abuse Strategy 2025–28 developed by Gloucestershire County Council. The strategy sets out the countywide vision, strategic priorities, and outcomes for addressing domestic abuse over the next three years.
• Council paper format Approved a motion that the financial implications and implications for Local Government Reorganisation should be more clearly presented on council reports.
• Video recording

Ward casework

Community Services Following a request from North Nibley Parish Council, who had received concerns about the untidy state of the disused garage in the village, Cllr Braun has received an update from the SDC Community Services Team, who have been in touch with the owner and are hopeful that these issues will be addressed.

Housing A drop in event was held at Wotton Baptist Church on 8th October by the SDC New Homes Team to talk to local residents about the proposals for 8 new eco-friendly council homes to replace the four old Swedish timber homes on Mount Pleasant that are beyond their expected life and no longer compliant with home energy efficiency requirements.

Other news 

• Local Government Reorganisation. The seven councils in Gloucestershire have now published two proposals (https://futuregloucestershire.org.uk/) for how local government could be organised in the future – the One Gloucestershire and East/West unitary options. The third 'Greater Gloucester' option (known as the doughnut) will be published soon.
  
• Council tenants encouraged to test their heating (https://www.stroud.gov.uk/news/council-tenants-encouraged-to-test-heating-before-temperatures-drop/)
• Historic Brunel Goods Shed’s future secured as a vibrant cultural venue at the heart of Stroud following its purchase by Stroud Valleys Artspace (https://www.stroud.gov.uk/news/historic-brunel-goods-sheds-future-secured-following-purchase-by-stroud-valleys-artspace/)
• Awaab’s Law: new protections for social housing tenants to improve standards (https://www.stroud.gov.uk/news/awaabs-law-what-social-housing-tenants-need-to-know/)
• Council acts to protect community from persistent anti-social behaviour by evicting a tenant in Paganhill, Stroud (https://www.stroud.gov.uk/news/council-acts-to-protect-community-from-persistent-anti-social-behaviour/)

Prepared by Cllr Gareth Kitchen (Green) based on councillor activity in October with updates from Cllr Linda Cohen (Lib Dem) & Cllr Catherine Braun (Green). #sdc