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

Tuesday, 21 July – flood control I HAD the pleasure of welcoming the rural flood control committee for the English Severn & Wye River areas which held its summer meeting at Ebley Mill. It was eight years ago, July 20, 2007, that Gloucestershire suffered from huge flooding problems. In the district, SDC hosts a multi-agency project of flood prevention and mitigation that includes a rural sustainable drainage project. We have six major work sites in development this year, and have already constructed 50 large woody debris leaky dams, deflection structures for high and low flows, and culverted woodland track crossings with soakaways and flow restrictions downstream.

Wednesday, 22 July – locations, locations You may have seen pictures of the chief executive’s car covered in snow. It was part of our event to highlight the council’s partnership with Creative England to help provide locations for film and television productions. In the last year parts of the district have starred in A Casual Vacancy, Wolf Hall and the forthcoming Cider With Rosie. We see it as a good opportunity to feature many other parts of the district, from canals to the Cotswolds and seemingly ordinary areas. There is a significant uplift in tourism to areas that have appeared in TV and films. In addition, production crews need to be housed, fed and watered. They often need a whole range of other services, such as equestrian stables through to the special effects provided by local Ebley company, Snow Business.

Filming can be worth up to £35,000 per day to the area, with production companies spending money on local facilities, booking hotels, taxis and dining out.

Thursday, 23 July – canal project board Our monthly review of the canal project heard that work has begun at Wallbridge Lower Lock, Stroud. Contractors are clearing the lock so its walls can be thoroughly checked. Most of the restoration work will be done by our volunteers, to whom we are, as ever, most grateful. We were pleased to hear that The canal project has been shortlisted for a Living Waterway Award, the result will be known in October.

Monday 27 July – Devolution to Gloucestershire I have previously mentioned the devolution of powers from central government to a combined authority of local public bodies. The seven local council leaders, the chief executives of the county clinical commissioning group and the Local Enterprise Partnership, as well as Gloucestershire’s Police Crime Commissioner have now signed up to a prospectus asking the government for the freedom to go forward with public sector reform and economic growth through a new approach allowing for greater local control of tax and spending. One great advantage for residents is that they could receive properly joined-up services no matter which public organisation was primarily providing them.