STROUD District Council leader Steve Lydon keeps you up to date with council matters

Tuesday, June 13 – strategy and resources committee, Ebley Mill, 7pm

I alluded to this meeting briefly last week and the council’s corporate delivery plan that sets out our key priorities for the next four years. The plan acknowledges the reduction in the government grant we receive and the necessity to be a ‘self-financing’ council by 2019/20.

More specific actions in the plan for the year ahead include the next phase of canal regeneration, the redevelopment of Brimscombe Port and increasing and improving our social housing. These are just a few of the projects which make up the plan. The committee also received a 1,700 signature petition to protect the Stroud Sub Rooms as a vibrant publicly-owned venue. The working group tasked with exploring the options for the entertainment and arts venue expects to report on proposals put forward by the end of the year. It’s worth reiterating that the council’s preference is that ‘any solution should not only improve the cost-effectiveness for the public but also seek to retain its availability to the public for cultural use’.

Friday, June 16 – meeting with David Drew MP Stroud’s newly elected MP

David Drew came over to the council to discuss local priorities with chief executive David Hagg and me. It won’t surprise you that we discussed the financial issues mentioned above. We also covered the desperate shortage of affordable homes, particularly for rent, in the district as well as national housing issues. National policies are of course fundamental to what can happen locally. The majority of councils have transferred their council homes to housing associations or similar organisations, but Stroud still manages its council properties. We’re doing what we can to build more, however strict rules currently restrict how much councils can borrow to build.