COLUMN by Stroud District Council leader Catherine Braun. 

There’s been a great response to our Interview Clothes Rail initiative, which launched last week at Stroud Library.

It’s a pilot scheme inspired by the Gloucestershire Recycles “Wear Not Waste” campaign, and it aims to help people look smart and feel confident at job interviews, to help them secure employment.

The Interview Clothes Rail contains high-quality second-hand clothes and can be accessed during Library open times until early December.

The Council is not taking donations at this point, but if the pilot goes well, we’d love to expand the scheme. www.stroud.gov.uk/news-archive/first-impressions-count-we-can-help

Last Friday, I attended a meeting on walking and cycling chaired by District Councillor Robin Drury-Layfield, with Parish and Town Councils to share information on how to support these projects.

The meeting included updates on the District and County Councils’ budgets and strategies, public rights of way, Bikeability training sessions and the excellent Bike Drop project in Stroud.

The meeting finished with an exciting announcement: the launch of a new “Bicycle Mayor” for Stroud District.

We’re looking for someone to take on this voluntary role to help advocate for cycling in our local area and help make cycling accessible to all. They’d join the global network of Bicycle Mayors: https://bycs.org/. Applications close on 20 January.

You may also be interested to know that changes are being proposed to our Parliamentary constituencies by the Boundary Commission for England.

In their latest report, the Commission is now suggesting changes to the Stroud Constituency as well as moving the district wards of Bisley, Hardwicke and Painswick & Upton into a new “North Cotswolds” constituency (previously The Cotswolds constituency) and transferring Kingswood ward to a new “South Cotswolds” constituency (which would also include Cirencester and north Wiltshire).

Please do have your say on these important changes before the deadline of 5 December at www.bcereviews.org.uk.