Cllr Gareth Kitchen - Green Party

1st September 2025

Along with residents' casework and in addition to council and training meetings at Ebley Mill, Cllrs Kitchen, Braun & Cohen covered the regular council meetings at North Nibley, Stinchcombe & Wotton-under-Edge.

Council meetings 

Link to meeting agenda and documents in the committee title.

Licensing Sub-Committee – 14th August

Application for a premises licence to allow 24 hr / 7 day per week sale of alcohol at a new retail unit, Premier Store, 1 Tyndale Rise, Newport, Berkeley – Application granted subject to conditions.

• The police had not objected and had agreed conditions with the applicant. This included installing a CCTV system and premises locked with service from a serving hatch during the night (from midnight to 6 am).
  
• Noted that there was one representation against the application by Alkington Parish Council which supported the convenience store but had concerns about the proposed 24 hour opening and sale of alcohol, which could lead to an increase in noise and disturbance during the night for nearby residents. The applicant will aim to address this through signage, providing a clean area and ensuring customers do not congregate.
• Concerns also raised about a potential increase of access to alcohol by children – noted that the adoption of the Challenge 25 scheme requesting proof of age to purchase alcohol, and logs of incident and refusal of sale will help to address this concern.
• Video recording

Licensing Sub-Committee – 26th August

Application for a premises licence for sale of alcohol and recorded music at Locking Hill Studio, 2 Locking Hill, (corner of Slad Road) Stroud. Application granted subject to conditions – Opening hours from 11:00 to 01:00 am every day permitted. Sale of alcohol permitted until 00:30. – Conditions were agreed to address concerns about the potential for public nuisance, which include closure of the garden area at 22:00, and a single point of contact to deal with nuisance complaints. – Video recording

Local Government Reorganisation

All six district councils are working with Gloucestershire County Council to develop proposals for local government reorganisation to form one or two unitary authorities for the county. Engagement events were held with the public in July and August, including two webinars to provide an opportunity for people to ask questions. A recording of the main presentation (11 minutes) can be found here. The timetable is currently as follows:

• 28 November 2025 – Councils submit proposals for new unitary structure.
• December 2025 – April 2025 – Government reviews proposals and consults with stakeholder and community. Government will make the decision on which options will be adopted.
  
• 2027 – elections for new shadow unitary council(s) take place.
• April 2028 – New unitary council(s) introduced.

Further details can be found on the joint website: https://futuregloucestershire.org.uk/

Draft Local Plan for Stroud District

A draft Local Plan was submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for examination in October 2021. Hearing sessions started in March 2023. The Inspectors raised concerns about the soundness of the plan in August 2023, and the Council worked with partners and site promoters during 2024 to address these concerns. The draft Local Plan is still at examination. See Local Plan Examination webpage.

In July 2025, the Council sent a letter to the Planning Inspectorate requesting that the inspectors consider new evidence from National Highways and reopen hearing sessions to complete the examination. This letter and the relevant reports have now been published in the Local Plan Examination Library.

The letter states that this new National Highways evidence fundamentally alters the previous understanding of infrastructure requirements for M5 motorway junctions and their relationship to planned development in the draft Local Plan, which Stroud District Council considers addresses the Inspectors' previous concerns.

National Highways has undertaken extensive and detailed modelling to assess the timing of necessary improvements to these junctions, and the level of housing which could come forwards without upgrades, fully in line with the assumptions and policies set out in the emerging Local Plan.

As noted in the Examination Library, the Inspectors are considering this correspondence and will respond to the Council as soon as possible.

Other news 

• Request for comments on the climate and nature consultation – Stroud District Council has prepared a new strategy to shape our work on climate and nature. Please take the time to send in your response which can be shared via email or on the consultation survey. Floods, droughts, and heatwaves are becoming more common and we are keen to know your thoughts on how the council can plan to help communities adapt and make our towns and villages more resilient with a cleaner, greener fairer future. Climate and Nature Strategy consultation
• Prosecution for environmental offences – a local company, Cotswold Carpentry and Construction Limited was fined over £3,000 after admitting to burning controlled waste during a renovation project in King's Stanley.
• Canal research – during August the the Cotswold Canals Connected partnership (which includes Stroud District Council) invited people to take part in a survey about how people use and feel about the two linked Cotswold canals, to help shape the future of the Stroudwater Canal (from Saul Junction to Wallbridge in Stroud), and the Thames and Severn Canal (from Wallbridge to Brimscombe).  
• Canal Litter Pick – From dawn 'til dusk on Sunday 14th September, a group of us are litter picking the entire length of the canal from where it enters and exits the district (see poster). Gareth's had permission from his cardio people to participate, joining Councillor Gill Thomas (the Council's Litter and Clean Environment Champion) and others. We’ll be on kayaks and paddle boards, pulling rubbish out of the water. Please let Gareth know if you'd like to join.
• Fraud risk – Watch out for text message scams relating to Winter Fuel Payment/Energy Allowance.
• Museum exhibition - Forging a legacy – a landmark blacksmithing exhibition comes to Stroud this autumn
• Jobs and careers – the latest vacancies and benefits of working for Stroud District Council can be found on the council's website: https://www.stroud.gov.uk/jobs-and-careers/
• Armed Forces community – for anyone who's currently serving, a veteran, or a family member, there are local social clubs where you can connect with others who share similar experiences – see support for veterans and members of the armed forces in Stroud district.
  
• Litter clean up - A big thank you to all those ‘Wotton Wombles’ who turned up on Sunday 17th August to help weed and litter pick around the town centre to make Wotton more wonderful and to Cllr. Linda Cohen who organised it.

Prepared by Cllr Gareth Kitchen (Green) & Cllr Catherine Braun (Green) based on councillor activity in August. #sdc