About Stroud Town Council
As your council we make every effort to let you know what is happening in our town. You can subscribe to our newsletters here, and don't forget our popular Mayor-on-a-Bench sessions.
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 town is split into six areas known as wards, with three councillors representing the residents of each ward.
The Mayor is elected each year at the 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 Town Meeting. The event features the town's annual awards presentation to members of the local 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 24 open spaces as well as managing the annual budget. In the past 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 £500 to local voluntary groups and charities. Meeting three times a year, it can also recommend organisation that require more secure funding agreements.
Consultations: Is our busiest committee meeting every three weeks. It has the difficult task of responding to the hundreds of consultation documents that the council receives every year. The majority of these relate to planning applications for which the council can only comment upon. Final decisions 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 opportunity for questions to be asked.
Our Staff
The council is advised and managed by our Town Clerk, Sue Capener. She is assisted by our Assistant Town Clerk, Sheral Gardner and Administration Officer, Shelley Dyte. The job of keeping control of our money is in the hands of our Financial Administrator, Lilia Zaretskaia. Our Green Spaces team report to our Green Spaces manager, Jim Mathison.
Our offices at Thanet House are right in the town centre at 58 London Road. We are open Monday to Thursday from 10.00am to 1.30pm and on Friday from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Appointments can be made at other times.
The reception staff are very knowledgeable about local matters. If, by any chance they don't know themselves, they will always try to find an answer for you.