STROUD District Council leader Geoff Wheeler keeps you up to date with what is happening at the council

Leader’s diary – 17/18 Dec 2014

Friday, December 5 – Economic Committee, Shire Hall

The Gloucestershire Economic Growth Joint Committee, made up from leaders of the county’s seven councils, met to discuss countywide economic developments. We covered progress on round one of the Growth Deal, future projects and strategic rail issues. Aside from the approved plans, which I have mentioned in the past, we will also be receiving European funding in the next few months and be putting forward appropriate development projects. It’s an exciting and important time for our district and the rest of Gloucestershire, as the structural changes which were introduced by the government to the way that local economic development should be delivered were fully established this year, with the local enterprise partnership bringing in funding and becoming fully operational. We can look forward to seeing ideas and plans becoming a reality as work starts on operational delivery. We also covered the challenges faced by the county council, which you will have read about in recent weeks, and the issue of devolution of power to local government – something which is gathering increasing momentum.

Friday, December 12 – Local Plan submitted

As you’ll be aware, revisions to the district’s draft local plan were approved by the council last week. Today saw the council ask the Planning Inspectorate to restart its examination. If you’re wondering what happens next, this may help. The assigned inspector will now contact bodies which were previously engaged for their comments on the new housing and employment numbers, and ask the council to respond to any feedback. The inspector will then hold a two-day public hearing at the end of January to consider the numbers. Should the revised plan proceed to the next stage, further public consultation will take place in February to allow anyone to put forward their views on the changes to the plan.

Thursday, December 18 – Planning meeting, Ebley Mill, 10am

This month’s planning meeting includes seven applications in different parts of the district for new housing developments. The total number of new homes on the agenda is around 550 hence the meeting will be a long one. You can watch proceedings online at www.stroud.gov.uk/webcast Christmas collections Waste and recycling collection days will change for some households over the festive season. You can check your recycling calendars or the council’s website. but in summary, if your normal weekly collection would be on Christmas Day it will be brought forward to Monday 22 December; collections for Boxing Day on Friday 26 December will take place a day later on Saturday 27 December; and New Years Day collections, scheduled for Thursday 1 January, will be brought forward to Monday 29 December. Other days are unaffected and normal collections will resume thereafter.