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Leader's blog w/c 1 December 2025

Published

“This week brings important updates on both climate action and community safety.

First, Climate Leadership Gloucestershire, of which Stroud District Council is a member, has published a report which identifies the most significant risks our county faces from climate change, including increased flooding (with sea-level rise), more frequent and hotter heatwaves affecting transport, energy and digital infrastructure, and a greater risk of prolonged drought. Stroud will use this assessment as one of the tools to support our adaptation plans within our own climate and nature strategy. 

We’re also marking the UN global campaign ‘16 Days of Activism to End Gender-Based Violence’. Sadly, this remains a real issue locally. This year’s focus is on online digital violence against women and girls - one of the fastest-growing forms of abuse. The statistics are shocking: deepfake content has increased by 550% between 2019 and 2023; 38% of women have personally experienced online violence; 85% have witnessed it happening to others; and up to 95% of victims experience image-based abuse.

Violence against women and girls (VAWG) accounts for nearly 20% of all recorded crime in England and Wales and cannot be ignored. Stroud District Community Safety Partnership, chaired by SDC’s Ange Gillingham, has made tackling this a priority. We are committed to:

  • Educating staff to identify coercive and controlling behaviour
  • Signposting local support services in Gloucestershire
  • Promoting safeguarding and domestic abuse policies

If you witness or experience such abuse, please report it to the relevant authorities - you may be helping others by doing so.

Finally, the council has agreed its preference for a single unitary council. Other councils in the county expressed different preferences, so all three models will now go to government for a decision. This does not mean our work stops; members and officers will continue to champion the interests of Stroud district residents in shaping how any future unitary arrangements will operate.”

Cllr Martin Pearcy , Chair of Environment Committee