NEW! May council round-up
A lot of the things the Town Council does over the course of a year don't really warrant a story all to themselves. However many of these activities are of interest to specific communities.
In this new feature for our website we'll offer a monthly round-up of some of these projects. For May we have our latest support for Stroud in Bloom, a tribute to W.G. Grace, plans to improve Station Road and more ...
STROUD IN BLOOM: A new approach is being taken to Stroud in Bloom this year. The volunteer committee will be taking a more active role in organising the summer planting whilst Stroud’s Chamber of Trade and Commerce is planning activities with a flower theme as part of a summer festival season. They will also be co-ordinating displays by businesses and will ensure the town looks best for judging day by ensuring empty shops and other spaces have baskets and tubs.
W.G.GRACE: One of Gloucestershire’s most famous sportsmen is to be remembered in
the naming of a new housing estate. Developers Newland Homes have just
started work at Farmhill, for more than a century the home of Stroud
Cricket Club. They wanted to call the new estate Pavilion Gardens.
However we have said it should be called Grace’s Field after famous
Gloucestershire and England cricketer W.G Grace who played on the pitch
several times. We consider the name gives a better sense of the site’s
history and a better local identity. It is also next door to Jack
Russell Close named after the Stroud-born England and Gloucestershire
wicket keeper.
PUBLIC GARDENS: If you haven’t seen it yet, next time you are in Bank Gardens take a
look behind the library where our Greenspaces Team has created a new
bed. Over 200 bulbs provided by Stroud in Bloom have also been planted
in Bank and Park Gardens. Plans to create a second fern garden are also
progressing. We’ve just been given some big pieces of timber felled by
the charity restoring the Lake at the Lawn off Cainscross Road. Work is
also continuing to repair the dry stone wall along Slad Road damaged
during the floods. Repairs have also been completed by Stroud District
Council to the War Memorial in Park Gardens following an attack by
vandals.
CEMETERY: Our Greenspaces Team is in the process of removing suckers and ivy from
trees in the Old Cemetery where appropriate. Gaps in hedges have also
been patched to prevent people from damaging beds by entering the
cemetery through the gaps.
STATION ROAD: A major public consultation exercise is to be held in the early summer
over proposals to give a major face-lift to one of Stroud’s key
gateways. Several town councilors have been working with county
highways and local businesses to develop plans to make Station Road
easier to navigate and a more attractive place to be.
ROWCROFT: Plans to pigeon-proof the railway bridge over Rowcroft are to be scaled
back. Officials from Stroud District and Gloucestershire County Council
are pursuing a cheaper option of proofing over the footway only rather
than across the whole road. The work has been planned for some time but
has been put on hold until the new canal bridge at Wallbridge is
completed.
GEORGE STREET: Plans to resurface the pavement in George Street have had to be delayed
after it emerged that cellars under the pavement are unsafe. Temporary
barriers have had to be installed to prevent vehicles from driving on
the pavement. The Town Council has been assured that the £50,000
funding for the work is secure.
SUMMER PLAY SCHEME: We have given permission for Dursley-based World Jungle to hold some
activities aimed at young people in Bank Gardens during the summer
holidays For more details visit www.worldjungle.org.uk
Article added online: 29th April 2011
Photo by Andy Read