Sunday, October 5 – Lord Lieutenant Awards AN INTERESTING afternoon, attending HM Lord-Lieutenant for Gloucestershire awards ceremony for the reserve forces and cadets. Dame Janet Trotter presented awards to cadets and volunteer servicemen and women at this ceremony, held at the hq of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, Gloucester.

Monday, October 6 – @sdchealthyhomes Our environmental health team started this new Twitter account, targeting help and advice to householders and landlords in private sector properties. The aim is to make homes safer and healthier and generally improve housing conditions for people of low incomes.

Monday, October 13 – planning committee This week’s development control committee took place on a Monday, rather than the usual Tuesday, giving the press a little more time to squeeze in the decisions that were made. Eight applications were considered, including modifications to existing homes, the change of use of a former pub and four to build new flats and homes. An application for a solar farm was deferred so that more information could be gathered. By their nature planning applications have supporters and objectors so will always be controversial. Quite a few of the applications on this agenda have hit the headlines. If you want to see how the decisions were debated and reached, you can watch a recording of the meeting at www.stroud.gov.uk/webcast Thursday, October 16 – community services and licensing This committee meeting is being held at the Sub Rooms rather than Ebley Mill. Gloucestershire’s police and crime commissioner, Martin Surl, will be providing an update on crime and community safety matters. The commissioner’s office has recently funded a pilot befriending scheme to help reduce the effects of rural isolation and loneliness on older people. The pilot is in Minchinhampton and will hopefully be rolled out across the district if successful. To become a volunteer befriender or if you know someone who could benefit from such a service call 01453 754177. This scheme overlaps with our health and wellbeing work, which is also on the agenda.