Stroud Town Council

There were 24 councillors in the Subscription Rooms on April 10th 1990 for the first ever meeting of Stroud Town Council.

Since then a total of 68 different people have represented the town at the most local level of politics. Last week, to celebrate 20 years since its formation, the council attempted to track down as many of its former councillors as possible for a special reunion in the town.

Prior to 1990, Stroud had been forgotten when it came to having a voice at the parish level. There was a town committee at the then Urban District Council. However it had no real powers. Frustrated at the lack of influence, residents campaigned to join other local towns in having their own town council.

Businessman Peter Batemen was one of Stroud’s first town councillors. He recalls it really was a case of starting from scratch. “We didn’t even have an office. I had to provide a spare room above my shop.”

Inside there was just enough room for a desk and two chairs. Lorna Hitchins had been clerk in handling the transition. Sandra Ashenford was its first appointed official. She is unable to recall a dull moment in the first few years. There was a campaign to save the outdoor pool at Stratford Park. There was controversy over the pedestrianisation of the main shopping streets. The council funded an ambitious Community Play and organised street fairs to support traders. There was discussion about the Ebley By-pass, out of town supermarkets and the use of weedkiller on the town’s streets.

John Marjoram is the only councillor to have held his seat since day one. “In those early stages there were so many high expectations but we didn’t really have a clue what we were doing,” he admits. “There was little help available. I remember when we took over running the cemetery and gardens. Someone from Ebley Mill just came in with a big pile of boxes, dumped them on the table and left. We had to take it from there.”

Stroud’s current Mayor, Andy Read, has also been closely involved with the council for 20 years, as he covered many of its first meetings as a trainee reporter with the SNJ.

“It provided me with some of my first front page stories,” he recalls. “There were always plenty of hot topics and even hotter debates. Meetings often went on to midnight and I remember that it wasn’t just verbal blows that were exchanged. A couple of councillors selected to go outside to settle their differences at one meeting!”

Haydn Sutton from Parkend was persuaded to get involved by another founding councillor, the late SNJ editor Dennis Mason

“He walked into my shop one day and said: “Haydn you’ve been in Stroud a long time. It’s about time you got more involved.” Over these 20 years the amount that the council does around the town must have tripled.”

“Of particular memory for me are the various campaigns. I recall marching from the town centre to Ebley Mill to save the trees at Stratford Park. More recently we helped to save both Paganhill and Uplands Post Offices. It’s amazing what you can do if you make the effort.”

In the past decade the council has sought to target its efforts in meeting priorities set by local residents through a survey sent to every home in the town. New public toilets in Bedford Street, the launch of Stroud’s Food and Drink and Walking Festivals, and improving facilities for bus users at Merrywalks have all been recent projects.

From having no land or buildings when it started. The council now owns or manages 24 open spaces around the town – another priority identified by local people. It is a key funder for many local organisations such as The Door, The CAB, Marah Trust and Stroud FM. It has just prevented the closure of The Space by purchasing the building for £101,000.

Next May there will be elections for the entire council with an opportunity for many new local people to help shape the town’s future.

Looking back on his 20-year journey with the council, John Marjoram believes its biggest achievement has been to give local people a real voice.

“Stroud’s biggest asset is its amazing sense of community,” he stated. “I’d like to think that the town council has played at least a small part in allowing that to develop.”