COLUMN by Stroud mayor Tony Davey 

I’m back this week with another of my regular updates on what’s been happening and what we do.

Thank you to Laura from our Community Development Team for filling in for me last week and to our CEO Helen for covering the week before, whilst I took a social media holiday (something I think most people can benefit from every now and then).

First up, a reminder I opened the Night Angels shop in the former Swan Inn a couple of weeks ago.

The Night Angels cover Stroud town centre on a Friday and Saturday night, helping keep women safe. They have already dealt with 160 incidents in the 9 months they have been volunteering in the town - excellent work!

This week saw our monthly Consultations & Highways Committee meeting to (amongst other things) discuss planning applications, including the shelters for the upcoming Bus Hub improvements.

I hope you took part in the recent consultation run by Gloucestershire County Council.

The use of advertising on the shelters has proven to be a very controversial move and the context not widely understood.

Electronic advertising boards have been applied for, through the planning process, and it is intended that the agent’s revenues will be used to maintain and repair the shelters.

Without this, it will be left to an Authority to pick up the tab, or for them to be left unmaintained except for reactionary work.

I think we can all name a few examples around our District where the latter is not working well.

Hopefully some middle-ground can be found that addresses the concerns of those who are against electronic advertising, but still enables a robust and funded plan to keep the standards of the shelters up once installed.

The chewing gum removal equipment has already been put to good use and training using it around the town.

Hopefully you have seen the new signage encouraging responsible gum disposal and you may have noted the patches where it has been removed already.

It’s one of those things that may not always be so noticeable, until you really look, but incorrect gum disposal is just one of the elements that can make our town look and feel grotty - so addressing it is important and impactful.

Thanks to all involved, especially Stroud District Council, for getting on top of this and helping keep our town cleaner and more inviting.

The other photo here shows a rather poor repair to a bollard siting on the forecourt of the Subscription Rooms.

It was ripped out of the ground when hit by a vehicle.

Don’t worry, this is not the end of the restoration. Our County Council Highways Officer is already on the case, having noted this is not the final remedy from their contractors.

If you see a “repair” to a pavement or road that simply doesn’t fit what should have been done, please help us all by reporting it using https://fixmystreet.gloucestershire.gov.uk/. It helps ensure things don’t slip through and that contractors and utility companies are held to account to do the job properly.

One other thing to note, have you noticed that these bollards have 5 sides rather than 4 - one for each of the five valleys that converge in Stroud?

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend and I look forward to providing my next update.