COLUMN by Stroud mayor Tony Davey 

I had the honour of cutting the ribbon at the opening of the Coach House at the Stroud Valley Scout Group at the end of October.

This space had been in a state of some disrepair for a little while and the refurbishment is amazing.

It is clear how useful this space will now be, both to the Group and when they rent it for community use.

I had not visited their site before and was amazed to see the facilities they have there.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the volunteers who give up their time to run and support the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers.

Groups like this play such an important role in offering opportunities for our young people that are outside of a school setting.

They enable different types of interaction and the ability for young people to grow their confidence and make a sound path in the world.

This amazing transformation of the coach house was thanks to funding from the Severn Trent Community Fund, the Bernard Sunley Foundation and funds raised by Stroud Valley Scout Group. I also learnt how much goodwill was given by those who made it happen, including architects and the builders.

What an amazing result.

Whilst talking about Goodwill, please ensure Friday 6th December and Saturday 7th December are in your diary, as that’s the Stroud Goodwill Festival. Friday night brings all your favourites; markets, parade, music, entertainment and of course the open shops across the town.

This year also brings Goodwill into the Saturday – where there will be markets and entertainment, but a festive atmosphere that’s a little less full-on – ideal for children and adults who love to be part of it, but may want a less “bang the drum and crowds” experience.

The funfair will extend into Saturday too – so offering activities and interests for everyone.

The last fortnight has also been a time for training and refreshing knowledge.

As Councillors, we need to ensure our knowledge and skills are up to date so we can perform our roles well. I have attended a Budget Setting Workshop (as we are preparing the budgets for the next financial year to ensure we can deliver the much projects we lead, and fund those we support).

Most of our Committees have a budget that feeds into the main budget for our Town Council. I’m sure the District and County Councillors are doing exactly the same at the moment.

I also attended a session run by the District Council that covered approaches to open space and the National Planning Policy Framework to better understand the current position on open spaces and inform on how those spaces can be managed.

It touched upon the challenges those in new developments can have with management companies and contracts, so helped inform us for when we look at planning applications and the real-world impacts the development can have (both good and bad).

This week also saw many Councillors attend a Strategy Workshop where we revisit our strategic objectives and ensure they remain fit for purpose. This is something we do in business regularly, so it is better practice to do this with in the public sector also.

As Councillors, we often come from different backgrounds and have different interests and passions. It is good to get together to discuss such things, debate the relevance of key objectives and exchange views on trends and impacts. More on this Strategy in a future update.

That’s all from me this time and I look forward to providing the next update.