www.stroudtown.gov.

uk

ANNUAL REPORT 2007/8

Stroud’s PEOPLE: Stroud’s PLACES: Stroud’s VOICE

The view from the Mayor’s Bench
When I was re-elected as Mayor last year,
one of my first initiatives was to hold a
"Mayor's Bench". I said that I would sit in the
centre of the town, just listening to people's
concerns and ideas.
A fellow councillor recently said that it was
one of my better ideas, and funnily enough I
fully agree with him! The Mayor's Bench
takes democracy on to the streets.
As many visitors to the town tell me: "I
wish our Mayor would do the same". Often
they add that they would give him, or her, a
piece of their mind!
Issues are as varied as the people who visit
me. They range from the completely person-
al, to planning issues and parking problems,
to an idea for a pedestrian bridge over the
railway to Rodborough. Some people just
want to chat.
Already the idea is spreading. Other town,
district and county councillors are to have
their own outdoor surgeries once a month.
This is just one part of what I feel is the
real strength of our town council - listening to
local people and acting on what they tell us
they’d like done to improve their communi-
ties.
We are a listening council. We consulted
residents about changes to Park Gardens,
and are currently sending questionnaires to
a thousand homes in Uplands about a new
facility for older children there.
Page One
People told us they wanted better protec-
tion for the town’s valued greenspaces. We
acquired one threatened site in Lower Street
and are in negotiations with other land own-
ers.
Councillors deliver two annual newsletters
by hand to every home in the town. We’ve
just started producing monthly newsletters,
as well as regular updates on our website.
More than 80 people attended the public
meeting we called over the threatened clo-
sure of Uplands Post Office. There was a
good turnout when we tackled a representa-
tive of the First Great Western Rail Company
about its poor performance.
We are currently involved in asking people
about some major ideas to alter the way peo-
ple use and move around the town centre.
If you would like to get in touch about any
local issue please give me a ring on 750962
or you can contact me by email at
cllr.john.marjoram@stroud.gov.uk.
All our meetings are open to the public,
and residents are often invited to speak on
matters of concern.
You can also join me on my
bench every Thursday in
Kendrick Street from 11.30am-
12.30pm.
I look forward to speaking
with you soon.
John Marjoram
The Mayor On A Bench
www.stroudtown.gov.uk
 Your Town Council

Our History ......

Stroud Town Council came into being in 1990, after
pressure from local residents for a greater say in how
their town was run.
There are 18 town councillors, all of whom serve on
an entirely voluntary basis. The current council was
elected in May 2007 and will serve a four-year term.
The town is split into six areas known as wards, with Our Greenspaces
three councillors representing the residents of each Manager Paul D’Angelo
ward. working in the town’s
The Mayor is elected each year in May at the Daisy Bank gardens
Annual General Meeting by the councillors present.
The council has to publish an Annual Report to tell
residents what it has been doing in the past 12
months. We also set an annual budget, and hold an
annual meeting. The event features the town's annu-
al award evening recognising the valuable work done
by many members of our community.

Our Structure ......

The Council has three main committees, which
usually meet on Mondays.
Recreation and Finance: Meets every six weeks
and is responsible for managing the council's 21 open
spaces as well as managing the annual budget. In the
past year it has overseen projects ranging from a new
children's play area, to the campaign to save Uplands
Post Office.
Grants: It has the pleasure of awarding grants of
up to £1,000 to local voluntary groups and charities.
Meeting four times a year, it can also recommend
organisations which require more secure funding
agreements.
Consultations: Is our busiest committee, meet-
ing every three weeks. It has the difficult task of
responding to the hundreds of consultation docu-
ments that the council receives every year. The
majority of these relate to planning applications, for
which the council can only comment upon. Final deci-
sions usually lie with Stroud District Council.
The minutes of each committee meeting are
reviewed and accepted at meetings of full Council,
which are held every six weeks. Notices of meetings
are posted in our office window and on parish notice
boards as well as on our website. Members of the
public are welcome to attend any committee meeting,
and at full meetings of the Council there is an oppor-
tunity for questions to be asked.
Our Town Clerk Sue
Creswick
Our Staff ......
The council is advised and managed by our clerk
Sue Creswick, who has been with us for eight years.
She is assisted by our deputy clerk Sheral Gardner,
who has been with us even longer! The job of keep-
ing control of our money is in the hands of our finance
officer Sue Edwards.
Our offices at Thanet House are right in the town
centre at 58 London Road. We are open Monday to
Thursday from 10am to 1.30pm and on Friday from
9.30am to 12.30pm. Appointments can be made at
other times.
Our reception staff are very knowledgeable about
local matters. If they don't know the answer them-
selves, they will always try to find it for you.
We employ ten people. This includes the six mem-
bers of our Greenspaces Team under the guidance of
our Greenspaces Manager Paul D’Angelo who was
appointed in 2007.
01453 - 762817
Thanet House, 58 London Road, Stroud.

www.stroudtown.gov.uk Page Two

Working for Stroud’s PEOPLE
ANNUAL TOWN AWARDS
Stroud is full of innovative
and community-minded peo-
ple. We aim to celebrate that
through our annual awards
evening. The people behind
the town’s new arts centre
received recognition for their efforts this year. Jo
Leahy and Neil Walker received the Civic Award
for redeveloping the Stroud Valleys Artspace off
London Road, bringing over a million pounds of
investment into Stroud.
The Community Award was given to everyone
who supported the campaign to prevent the clo-
sure of Stroud Maternity Hospital. The Design
Award went to The Station Master’s House, the
home of Redmayne Bentley, stockbrokers.
Crystal Tips Bridal Wear won the Trader of the
Year Award. The Young Person of the Year
award winner was Meredith Fisk. A college stu-
dent, she helped the Shambles Branch of the
W.I. and is a leader of the Cashes Green Guides.
COMMUNITY GROUP FUNDING
One of the hardest things for
the voluntary and community
sector is to raise funds to cover
everyday running costs.
Recognising this, the town
council has agreed three-year,
core funding deals with four
local organisations. Young peo-
ple's centre The Door, the Citizen’s Advice
Bureau, and The Space arts centre all received
such support last year. We also worked with the
Marah Trust to secure £5,000 funding this year
for their work with the homeless and people
recovering from drug addiction.
A NEW ATHLETICS TRACK?
Two years ago our Greenspaces Audit showed
that Stroud has has a severe lack of play facilities
for all ages. We also have one of the most suc-
cessful athletics clubs in the region - but no ath-
letics track! We're working with the club to find a
suitable site and have agreed to fund a feasibili-
ty study as the first stage of fundraising.
Page Three
INTERNET ACCESS
AND TRAINING
We provided £6,000 to
the district’s only internet
cafe. Based in the High
Street, Stroud CLIX is part-
ly run by young people and was able to extend its
opening hours to evenings to provide free access
to other youngsters.
FLOODING
Stroud was badly affected by the July flooding
disaster. Dozens of homes in Slad Road found
themselves under seven foot of water. Thousands
of people lost their water supplies. Our groundstaff
and councillors manned the
water distribution centre at
Paganhiil. One of our council-
lors, Chas Townley, has
worked with residents in Slad
Road to try to solve the prob-
lems with the culvert that
caused the flooding.
COMMUNITY SAFETY
We continued our funding for the town’s CCTV
network. We worked closely with local police in
tackling the community safety and crime issues
we became aware of. In December we persuaded
them to target anti-social behaviour in Park and
Bank Gardens. We are developing more detailed
plans for improved pedestrian safety at the junc-
tion of Paganhill Lane and Stratford Road.
FESTIVALS
We have worked hard to develop a year-long
programme of festivals for the town. We provid-
ed ongoing funding for the
(Open Studios) SITE festival,
The Fringe & Textile festivals,
the Cotswold International Film
Festival and the first-ever
Photography Festival. This
year we actually organised one
ourselves too. Stroud’s first
Walking Festival was such a success, that this
year’s programme is three times as big.
www.stroudtown.gov.uk
 Working for Stroud’s PLACES
STROUD CEMETERY:
We continue to provide a professional burial
service for local people, at the cemetery off
Bisley Road. We also manage the site as the dis-
trict’s only Local Nature Reserve. We are at the
second stage of a feasibility study into finding a
new cemetery in the town, with two neighbouring
parish councils. At the start of the year we
launched new information leaflets to promote the
cemetery as a place to visit.
FOOTPATHS:
We have started to implement
our strategy which seeks to
improve and enhance the 180
footpath routes in the parish. In
November we opened talks with
the county council into taking
over responsibility for day-to-day
maintenance of the official footpaths. Over the
next five years we plan to replace all the broken
stiles and signposts. The WAS Way, our new cir-
cular walk around the parish boundary, was
launched at our Walking Festival in September.
CIVIC PRIDE:
We continue to support to Stroud in Bloom and
provide most of the flower displays which add a
touch of colour to the town throughout the year.
We also cut grass verges, maintain footpaths,
and clear litter and dog bins from many of the
town’s parks and play areas.
STROUD’S OPEN SPACES
A small plot of land off
Lower Street became the
21st area of public space to
be owned or managed by the
town council. It followed
public concern last year at
plans to remove two mature
trees which occupy the site
and have become a landmark for local residents.
During the year, councillors developed the first
ever Management Plan for all of our sites. The
document, which is available from our website,
states all the maintenance and improvements
planned over three years.
www.stroudtown.gov.uk
SUMMER CRESCENT
We are helping residents
who want to clean up their
area and provide new
facilities for all ages. In
September councillors
Andy Read and Jes Waring joined a group to
remove a huge pile of dumped rubbish - includ-
ing a kitchen sink!
UPLANDS PLAYING FIELD
After seeking the views of local residents, we
installed a new play area for younger children.
We are now consulting on new facilities for older
children. The site continues to be the base for
local children’s football teams.
PARK GARDENS
Vandalism has been a major
problem this year, with costly
repairs needed to the war memo-
rial shelter. We’ve successfully
consulted on restoring the main
floral bed and one of the borders.
GRAFITTI
One of Stroud’s most notorious graffiti black-spots
has been turned into a rural fantasy world thanks to
our initiative aimed at encouraging people to leave
a positive mark on the town. For many years the
underpass below Dr Newton’s Way at Wallbridge
has been blighted by graffiti. However, in March a
group of four street
artists unpacked their
cans and rollers to give
the area a new look.
We also fund the
removal of offensive
grafitti in prominent
locations.
ALLOTMENTS:
We own all five of the town’s allotments which
are run by independent groups of users. We run
an annual allotment holders evening with a guest
speaker. Occupation rates are high on every site.
We have agreed to improve water suplies to
holders on Bisley Old Road.
Page Four
Working as Stroud’s VOICE
CAR PARKING
Responding to what visitors and traders in the
town have told us, we have worked closely with
Stroud District Council to get a better deal for
users of town centre car parks. The two-hours-
for-50p offer in the Brunel Mall car park will con-
tinue, plus free parking after 4pm in Church
Street car park. This will encourage people to
visit the town later in the day. Sadly the district
council would not support our call for a trial of a
Pay-on-Exit system.
THE CANAL
We continue to monitor
progress of the project to re-
open the Thames and
Severn Canal through our
town. Our priority has been
to ensure a high quality
gateway into the town centre at Wallbridge. We
are retaining our £20,000 contribution to the
canal, until this is achieved. We were involved in
the consultation over the canal route through
Capel Mill. We have also insisted that the new
bridge and roundabout at Wallbridge offers safe
access for cyclists and pedestrians.
PLANNING
We considered more than 150 planning appli-
cations during the year, making detailed com-
ments on many. These range from new housing
estates, to new garden sheds. We also offered
views on revised Conservation Areas in the town,
plus planning documents relating to the re-open-
ing of the canal.
STROUD TOWN CENTRE
We continue to work with the District and
County Councils, and Chamber of Trade through
regular meetings of the Stroud Town Centre
Concordat. Its Strategy sets out what initiatives
each organisation will deliver every year to help
continue the regeneration of the town centre.
Last year we produced a Shop Front
Improvement Guide. This year we’ll be organis-
ing Stroud’s first Food & Drink Festival.
We continue to press for action on providing
new public toilets, improved street cleaning and
a decision on the bus / rail interchange.
Page Five
THE ENVIRONMENT
The environment is a key factor in much of our
work.
At the start of the year
our Mayor launched his
drive to reduce the
number of plastic carri-
er bags given out by
shopkeepers in the
town. This campaign
gained a lot of publicity and raised awareness
among local people, persuading many to reduce
their use. Many shops have introduced alterna-
tives, and the Farmers Market actively discour-
ages stall-holders from using them. A national
campaign is now taking place, with many national
chains giving away ‘Bags For Life’.
In order to get our own house in order, one of
our councillors, Dave Cockcroft, undertook an
Eco-Footprint audit of our activities. This led to a
number of projects due to take place this year.
We are also supporting the Transition Town
Stroud initiative. This is seeking a local commu-
nity response to peak oil and climate change
POST OFFICE CLOSURE
We played a leading role in the bid to avert the
threatened closure of popular Uplands Post Office.
The shop, which has served the
Uplands community for more
than 150 years, was one of 26
due to be shut under Post
Office Limited’s controversial
Network Change programme.
We held a public meeting to
allow residents to find out
more about the proposals and
helped organise a town centre demo’. Our official
12-page document against the closure was sub-
mitted to Uplands Postmaster Robin Craig at the
end of the consultation period. A final decision
was expected in early May.
A THRIVING TOWN CENTRE
We funded the annual Goodwill Evening and
organise the town’s Christmas lights. We provide
street entertainment during Saturdays in the sum-
mer, have funded a new town centre map, and
completed the installation of new street signs.
www.stroudtown.gov.uk
 What we do with your money

Summary of Accounts: 2007/08

Activity Expenditure 2007/08 Previous year (06/07)

Maintenance of gardens,
recreation areas, cemeteries
purchase of new equipment £179,568 £141,472

Support for the arts, festivals,

festival lights, floral displays,
CCTV, town centre, regeneration £68,722 £70,306

Administration, mortgage,
building maintenance,
public advice, consultations £145,055 £163,131

Play facilities,
community grant aid,
street lighting and furniture £58,868 £56,208

Traffic schemes, footways,

new green and open spaces £10,327 £8,850

Total expenditure £462,586 £439,967

Income £449,358 £437,612

Use of reserves £13,228 £2,355

** Unaudited figures.

In 2007 we were delighted to be one of seven

parish or town councils shortlisted for the presti-
gious National Council Of The Year Award.

There are 10,000 parish and town councils in

England & Wales. Although we did not win the top
prize, getting so far was a major achievement.

www.stroudtown.gov.uk Page Six

The Community Grants scheme
We recognise that services for local people are often best provided by the many voluntary
groups and charities working with specific communities across the town. One of our key priori-
ties is to provide financial support to such groups.
Our grants committee holds one of the council’s largest budgets. Meeting four times a year, it
responds to requests for funding of up to £1,000. Last year we awarded just under £12,000 to
22 different groups. These ranged from a local football club and poetry group, to the organisers
of the town’s first Photography Festival and an elderly care service. Local groups can get appli-
cation forms throughout the year, from our website or from our office.

Organisation Amount (£) Project

Hawkwood College 500 Festival of Healing & Environment
Stroud FM Community Radio 700 Radio equipment
Trinity Pocket Park 220 Improvements
Stroud Imperial Football Club 200 Training equipment
Stroud Photography Festival 1000 The Festival
The Communal Garden 113 Perennial plants and bark chippings
Stroud Slad Farm Community 500 Printing promotional leaflets
Stroudwater Textile Trust 400 Talks and accompanying workshops
The Marah Trust 1000 Volunteer training
Grove Park Sheltered Housing 88 Tea Trolley
Stroud Methodist Church 1000 Facilities for wheelchair and disabled access
Stroud Preservation Trust/
Stroudwater Textile Trust 600 Planning for the visitors centre
Trinity Fellowship Club 160 Transport for Christmas outing
Cotswold Care Hospice 400 Tree and lights for the 'Light up a Life' event
Hoo-Hah Poetry 600 Three events for young people.
Uplands Care Service 600 Office equipment
Tiddlywinks Drop-in Centre 764 Volunteer training and equipment
Stroud Camera Club 60 Exhibition expenses
Stroud Light Music Choir 250 Concert in March
Stroud Sea Cadets 750 Expedition equipment
Stroud Beresford Group 929 Computer equipment

Ambitious plans to turn one of Stroud's most historic buildings into a world class
Textile Visitor Centre have taken several big steps forward, with a little help from
the town council. Two local charities, The Stroudwater Textile Trust and the
Stroud Preservation Trust, have signed an agreement that will hopefully lead to
the renovation of the Brunel Goods Shed. We’ve pledged £15,000 towards
creating a centre that combines heritage and contemporary textile program-
ming, with workshops, events, exhibitions and education.

Page Seven www.stroudtown.gov.uk

 Meet your Town Council
Elections in May 2007 saw a new team of councillors elected for a four-year term. This time we had eight mem-
bers who had not been on the council before.
Unlike county and district councillors who all get paid an ‘allowance’, town councillors are all volunteers. All are
happy to be contacted if you’ve any queries about your neighbourhood. The town is split into six areas, known
as wards, with three councillors serving each ward.

CENTRAL WARD

Kevin CRANSTON 01453 755483 kcranston@toucansurf.com

Andrew FISK 01453 757817 andrew_fisk@hotmail.co.uk
Odilia JARMAN 01453 756615 vitalsqueeze@googlemail.com

FARMHILL & PAGANHILL WARD

Amanda MORIARTY 01453 759102 amanda.moriarty@btinternet.com

Val SAUNDERS 01453 759296 valleysart@googlemail.com
Haydn SUTTON 01453 763255 haydnsutton@btinternet.com

SLADE WARD

Rob GREEN 01453 764438 rob.green@naturalengland.org.uk

Mike JONES 01453 753713 mike@quantumconsultancy.co.uk
Sharon LENNON 01453 757362 sharonmaryl@tiscali.co.uk

TRINITY WARD

Dave COCKCROFT 01453 753595 dave@cynatech.co.uk

Gek-Bee PROUT 01453 753175 gekbee@btinternet.com
John MARJORAM 01453 750962 cllr.john.marjoram@stroud.gov.uk

UPLANDS WARD

Cliff DRESSEL 01453 753398 cliff@cdressel.fsnet.co.uk

Chas Townley 01453 756547 townley@uplands-stroud.fsnet.co.uk
Linda Townley 01453 756547 cllr.linda.townley@stroud.gov.uk

VALLEY WARD

Sheila LISTER 01453 757295 sheilajlister@yahoo.co.uk

Andy READ 01453 756955 redread23@tiscali.co.uk
Jes WARING 01453 766708
Page Eight