COLUMN by Stroud District Council leader Catherine Braun

A Cultural Strategy for Stroud District was agreed last week, with a commitment to invest £250,000 in our local cultural sector.

The new strategy has been created over two years by working with arts organisations, including Hawkwood College, Prema Arts, Stroud Valley Arts and many other cultural and voluntary sector organisations such as Under The Edge Arts.

A huge ‘thank you’ to them all for their invaluable work and contributions. This strategy is about creating a partnership between the community and council, building on the vibrant creative scene in Stroud district, which is home to so many fantastic cultural organisations, creative businesses, festivals, artists and volunteers.

It will identify cultural hubs based on local needs, and deliver an outreach programme with themes including health and wellbeing, young people, and supporting the local economy. 

The local economy is the focus for the new Gloucestershire City Board which I attended earlier in September to discuss the county economic strategy and the new Government’s agenda for economic development and planning reform.

For every district in Gloucestershire, one key ask is for national investment in infrastructure (public transport, road junctions, water and sewage networks) which is holding back new development.

In our district’s response to the recent consultation on reform of the planning system, we highlighted this need for national investment, as well as concerns about the scale of the proposed new housing targets which could undermine a community-focused and plan-led approach to development. 

In Stroud on Saturday, there was plenty of creativity on show at the ‘Reimagine Stroud’s Tomorrow’ event organised by Transition Stroud and Stroud Imagines. It was a beautiful day to chat on the Sub Rooms forecourt about exciting new projects and ideas, and I’ve now signed up for Take the Jump, which works to inspire individual climate action.”