How The Council Works
How the Council is organised
The Council comprises 18 members elected every four years with 3 from each of the six wards – Farmhill with Paganhill, Central, Valley, Slade, Trinity and Uplands.
The Mayor is elected each year at the Annual General Meeting by the councillors present. The council publishes an annual report, sets precept level and makes annual awards to members of the local community.
The Council has three main committees
- Recreation and Finance
- Consultations
- Grants
In addition a number of ‘working groups’ have been established, reporting to council on particular topics.
Notices of meetings are posted in our office window and on parish noticeboards as well as on this website. The minutes of each committee meeting are reviewed and accepted at meetings of full Council which are held every six weeks. 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.
Council Office Opening Times
The offices at Thanet House, 58 London Road, Stroud are open Monday to Thursday from 10am to 1.30pm and on Friday from 9.30am to 12.30pm.
The reception staff are very knowledgeable about local matters and will always try to find an answer for you if by any chance they don’t know themselves. The Council employs ten people, five of whom are part-time. This includes the grounds maintenance (Green Spaces) staff.
About the Tiers of Government in the UK
A town or parish council is the first tier of government. We have the national government at Westminster, the County Council at Gloucester and the District Council at Ebley Mill.The responsibilities of each level of government is broadly as follows:
| National www.direct.gov.uk |
Defence Taxation Health Law and Order |
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| Gloucestershire County www.gloucestershire.gov.uk |
Education Social Services Highways |
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| Stroud District www.stroud.gov.uk |
Planning Environmental Health (street cleaning, rubbish collection, etc) Housing Regeneration |
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| Stroud Town www.stroudtown.gov.uk |
Recreation Areas Allotments Stroud Cemetery Arts and Entertainment |
Towns and parishes have limited direct powers but are able in partnership to influence other authorities and contribute to their activities to achieve better standards for their parishes. In Stroud, we have direct responsibility for a number of valued sites such as Bank and Park Gardens, the Cemetery, Uplands Playing Field, Daisy Bank and the ‘rec’ on Parliament Street.