I feel I must pay tribute to two people who represented their communities and this council with enormous commitment over a long period.

Sadly Councillor Penny Wride passed away before Christmas, and as Council Leader I was struck by just how many people she made a difference to in her time on Stroud District Council.

Former SDC chair Roy Nicholas passed away after Christmas, having served for an incredible 50 years on Minchinhampton Parish Council. Both he and Penny were very active on outside bodies, linking the council to communities. My thoughts are with the family and friends of both.

Earlier this week we hosted a Brexit Breakfast for Stroud district businesses, which was well attended by business and political leaders including Stroud MP David Drew. We appreciate there is uncertainty but we are taking steps to be as best prepared as we can.

It was valuable for concerns, experiences and advice to be shared.

Something we have more certainty over is the bid to link Stroud and Stonehouse to the national canal network – after we were successful in bidding for £842,000 of development funding last year, we expect to make a bid for the full £9million later this year which will connect the Stroudwater Canal up to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal.

The benefits this will bring are huge - the restoration has attracted £115million of private investment and visitors are expected to spend more than £5million a year.

The monetised health benefits of the canal will be worth more than £37million a year.

I was heartened to read how volunteers gave up their time for the Cotswold Canals Waterway Recovery Group in clearing part of the stretch we want to bring back in to use – to volunteer email jon.pontefract@stroud.gov.uk or phone 01453 754287.