Leader's blog - 17 May 2023

"The Annual General Meeting of the district council takes place this Thursday, where councillors are elected to different committees, and to other key roles, for example as the district’s representative on the Gloucestershire Police and Crime Panel and the Health and Overview Scrutiny Committee. We will also be welcoming one new councillor, who be chosen the previous day, in the by-election for the Painswick and Upton ward.

At the start of each new Civic Year we select a charity to support through fundraising, and for the 2023, we’ve selected the Cotswold Dogs and Cats Home. The home is based just of the A38 near Slimbridge and provides care for more than 1,000 abandoned, abused and neglected animals every year. The centre provides low cost and free veterinary help for people who are affected by the cost of living crisis, and fosters pets for women fleeing domestic abuse and homelessness until they have found new accommodation.

I would like congratulate everyone involved in two hugely successful events at the weekend – The Lock Challenge and the Canal Spring Festival. Based in Stonehouse, the festival attracted an estimated 4,000 people who enjoyed a host of activities including canoeing, paddle boarding, boating, live music, dog shows, arts and crafts, and children's activities. That followed The Lock Challenge on Saturday 13 May where participants walked or ran 5km, 5 mile and 10 mile routes along the canal towpaths, including an accessible route of up to 3km.

The event was organised by Cotswold Canals Connected, of which Stroud District Council is the lead partner, and the events were celebration of the canal restoration so far and a glimpse of what is to come when the canal is linked with the national inland waterway network at Saul.

Thursday is also International Museum Day, and Museum in the Park, managed by Stroud District Council tells the extraordinary and diverse history of Stroud district and has more than 4,000 objects and artefacts on display – from dinosaur bones to one of the world’s first lawnmowers."

Cllr Catherine Braun
Leader, Stroud District Council