Cllr Gareth Kitchen - Green Party

For Wotton-under-Edge, North Nibley & Stinchcombe

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.

Local Government Reorganisation

The Government announced on 29th October that it is 'minded to' confirm a single unitary authority for Gloucestershire. A pause in the LGR process and a full review of decisions had been announced in September following legal challenges. A final decision is expected before Christmas, and in the event that the single unitary council decision is confirmed, elections to the new Gloucestershire Council would take place in May 2028, ahead of vesting in April 2029. There may also be elections to Stroud DC in May 2028 for the final year of the district council.   

Council meetings

Link to meeting agenda and documents in the committee title.

Strategy and Resources Committee – 8th October 🔗

• The Old Town Hall, Stroud – A Community Asset Transfer from SDC was agreed to the Stroud Valleys Artspace and Stroudwater Textiles Trust of the Old Town Hall for a nominal sum to develop a Centre for Textile Arts.
• Woodchester Mansion Agreed £245k to support the Woodchester Mansion Trust in funding the next stage of project development and an application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in order to secure a sustainable future for the council-owned Grade I listed building, in partnership with the National Trust which owns the surrounding Woodchester Park.
• Kingshill House An urgent funding request from the trustees of Kingshill House Limited was not supported by the Committee as it was assessed as not being permitted under the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and not compliant with the council’s fiduciary duties. It was however agreed that the council officers would urgently meet with the Trustees to see whether a long term restructuring plan can be found which would return the trust to long term viability.
  
• Compulsory Purchase, May Lane/Prospect Place, Dursley The committee authorised compulsory purchase powers to acquire land for a scheme delivering up to 17 new affordable council homes, along with service road widening.
• Warm Homes – Social Housing Fund The committee recommended to Council to accept an increased grant offer from Government for an additional £550k of 'supplementary solar funding' to increase the number of homes delivered under the Warm Homes Wave 3 programme and raise more homes to EPC C standard. SDC had already been awarded £5.3m to deliver retrofit works to 507 properties. The additional funding will allow an extra 65 properties to receive solar PV and battery installations, reducing energy bills for tenants and helping SDC to ensure all council homes are at least at an EPC C efficiency rating.
• Local Authority Housing Fund An additional grant offer of £3.9m from Government was recommended for approval by the Committee which would enable 16 new homes to be purchased in the district, with 8 to be provided for people on the Afghan Resettlement Programme and 8 to be provided for temporary accommodation for homeless people.
  
• Housing Capital Budget Committee recommended that a further £10m be included in the Housing Revenue Account capital budget to acquire new council homes. Demand for affordable housing in the district remains high, with over 3,000 households on the Homeseeker Plus register and 1,169 assessed as being in significant housing need. This additional capital funding will enable the council to partner with developers to buy new s106 affordable homes which may otherwise be converted to open market housing. A financial assessment for each property would ensure that the ongoing borrowing costs by the Council are fully funded from the ongoing rental income.
• Summary of Member/Officer Reports
  • Leadership Gloucestershire Proposed abolition of the Police and Crime Commissioner model by May 2028 and replacement by Policing and Crime Boards (PCBs) comprising local authority Leaders, Mayors and independent co-opted members. These boards will be responsible for budgets, precept setting, scrutiny and appointing or removing the Chief Constable. Functions are expected to transfer to a new PCB rather than council leadership directly, though the OPCC may remain as a separate legal entity. Discussed the new Gloucestershire Business Board, comprising up to 15 senior business leaders, to give local businesses a stronger voice in shaping the county's economic future.
    
  • City Region Board Investment of £279m by government at the barracks in South Cerney for the Army's cyber unit; though local recruitment is not guaranteed despite construction and contractor opportunities. There was also an update on the Golden Valley development in Cheltenham with a cyber sector focus. The county-wide business rates poolhad generated an £8m gain in 2025/26 with over £1.5m allocated to the Strategic Economic Development Fund. No further contributions are expected due to the Government's reset of business rates baseline. A Local Plans update noted progress across the county with local plans and the consultation on a Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) to create a more strategic planning framework across Gloucestershire which is now open – from 2 Nov to 14 Dec 2026, and includes drop in events and online webinar sessions.
    
  • Regeneration and Investment Board Brimscombe Port following positive market engagement, procurement for a developer for the site has now launched, with a contract award targeted for April 2027. Cheapside and Stroud station work is progressing with rail sector partners including the station forecourt redesign and wider regeneration plans. Canal Project – the project to create a new canal channel under the M5 is on target, but the programme is forecast £1.9m over budget, with a partnership approach needed to close the gap. Funding programmes impacts and legacy – Noted that the UKSPF, REPF and Market Town Vitality Fund delivered significant benefits to market town projects (£200k, and Wotton received funding for our Christmas lighting). No further Government funding is available for these schemes. But SDC is launching a new Sustainable Economy Fund for the district (see Other news section below for details). A Cultural Asset Audit is proposed in partnership with councils and Arts Council England. Small Modular Reactor (SMR) and data centre proposals there are emerging energy and digital infrastructure proposals within the Severn Edge area (Berkeley and Oldbury), including discussions relating to SMRs and associated data centres. Proposals are at an early stage, with no planning applications submitted.

[ ▶︎ ] Video recording (241 views)

Licensing Sub-Committee – 15th October – Postponed 🔗

• New date 6th November 2026

Full Council – 15th October 🔗

Recommendations from Housing Committee – To accept a £3.9m grant for the HRA capital programme, to deliver additional housing for those fleeing conflict and those in need of temporary accommodation. – To accept a £550k grant through the Social Housing Fund Wave 3 project, which will allow Stroud District Council to further increase the number of homes delivered through the Wave 3 project, and increase the number of homes to EPC C. – To agree an additional £10m into the Housing Revenue Account capital budget for acquisition of new homes, mainly from developers via S106 agreements.

Recommendations from Strategy and Resources Committee – Budget Strategy and Draft Medium Term Financial Plan: This will be used in setting the budget for the 2027/28 year. A 2.99% increase in Council Tax is planned, as this is expected by Government. The Council faces a considerable decrease in funding over the coming years. – The Old Town Hall, Stroud: Following the S&R Committee decision to approve the transfer of The Old Town Hall, Stroud, to Stroud Valleys Artspace to develop a 'Centre for Textile Arts' Council agreed for £70k to be added to the capital programme (from earmarked reserves) to replace the gas heating system as the council had required.

Updates to the Constitution. Amendments to the Constitution were approved. Most changes were mundane but the paper also contained changes necessary to reflect the Government's new National Scheme of Delegation which took effect on 31 October 2026. This aims to streamline the planning decision-making process and means that most minor applications (including developments up to 9 homes) will be decided by a planning officer and cannot be referred to the council's Development Control Committee for wider debate.
There was unhappiness with these imposed changes which reduce local voice and participation in the planning process and led to 21 abstentions.

Appointment of Independent Persons. Agreed to appoint Duncan Chittenden and Alan Darlington as Independent Persons to assist the council when making its decisions on an allegation that there has been a breach of the code of conduct and Cllr Richard Halpin as a Town and Parish representative until any merger takes effect.

[ ▶︎ ] Video recording (82 views)

Development Control Committee – 20th October 🔗

S.26/0850/COU – Permitted Change of use from residential dwelling (Class C3) to residential institution (Class C2) as a children's home for up to two children.

Parish council objected because of impact on the adjacent properties, unsuitability, limited parking provision. Residents have similar concerns.

The Local Plan also supports the provision of new care facilities within the district with a strategic objective to provide 950 care home spaces by 2031. [ ▶︎ ] Video recording (75 views)

Audit and Standards Committee – 27th October 🔗

An overview of the more interesting snippets at the meeting.

Revised Strategic Risk Register. The most significant takeaway is that the Council is adopting a clearer, more transparent approach to managing its biggest strategic risks.

Annual Complaints Update. In April 2025 the council introduced a new complaints case management system which has improved the data available for reporting. Councillors discussed SDC's commitment to effective complaints handling, transparency and continuous improvement while noting that performance in some areas remains below expectations. e.g. Only 55% of complaints were responded to within the Council's published service standards. Council Housing is by far the most complained-about service, receiving 266 accepted complaints. Of these, 41% were Upheld (the Council admitted fault), 37% were Partially Upheld, and 23% were Not Upheld (%'s rounded). The vast majority of complaints were resolved at Stage 1. It has been noted that complaints are becoming “more complex and voluminous”, partly due to the increasing use of AI by complainants. SDC has plans in place to improve performance.

Annual Performance Review of Our Service Standards.The Customer Contact Centre now handles 60% of all calls to the main council number. While they resolve 95% of Waste & Recycling calls and 90% of Council Tax calls at the first point of contact, resolution rates for Environmental Health & Licensing remain much lower.

The council has implemented a new cloud-based contact centre solution (Liberty Converse CX) which includes features like real-time dashboards for managers, call recording for training, and a planned chatbot/live chat capability.

Proceeds of Crime and Anti-Money Laundering Policy The report explicitly states that while the Council is governed by the same legislation as banks, it is considered “low risk” in terms of exposure to money laundering.

Q1 Treasury Management Activity Report The Council's investment portfolio holds an overall low exposure to ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) risks and a blended credit rating of A+.

Extension of Term of Office for Independent Co-opted Member Approval to extend the term of appointment of Jonathan Wood, the Independent Co-opted member of the committee.

[ ▶︎ ] Video recording (39 views)

Other news

• New Sustainable Economy Fund for Stroud district businesses, charities, community organisations and education providers are being invited to apply for grants of up to £5,000 through Stroud District Council's £100,000 Sustainable Economy Fund.
• Fly-tipping Make sure your waste ends up in the right place. Many people don't realise that they have a legal Duty of Care when arranging for their waste to be removed. If your rubbish is fly-tipped and can be traced back to you, you could still be held responsible, even if you paid someone else to take it away. Fight Fly-Tipping Fortnight.
• Award for the Canal Project Cotswold Canals Connected achieves prestigious building with nature award.
• Planning changes SDC are advising of forthcoming changes to the planning system in England being introduced by the Government from 31 October 2026.
• Museum in the Park shortlisted for two Cotswolds Awards in landmark anniversary year.
• Local Transport PlanIf you have any views on the priorities for transport in Gloucestershire, please do take a moment to complete the survey on the draft Local Transport Plan which is open until 15 November.
• Local Plan– SDC has now formally started the 30 month long process to prepare a new Local Plan, with completion of a 'Gateway 1' self-assessment. Feedback from the summer early scoping consultation and the proposed local plan timescale has also been published. The next formal consultation is planned for summer 2027.

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