Stroud News
Frances Roden column
11:40am Tuesday 7th February 2012
This week
Monday, February 6 – Your say on Local Plan
The beginning of the week saw the start of next phase of public consultation on the Local Plan for the district. You will read about a public meeting organised by Eastington Parish Council that councillors and officers attended to answer questions from the public.
About 300 member of the public were present. This clearly shows how passionate people are about protecting the areas where they live. From what I understand, while passions were roused, it was in fact quite a constructive meeting.
We need to build 3,200 new homes across the district by 2026 and create an environment for 6,400 new jobs. This is not going to be easy and will certainly be controversial but we have to plan for future generations.
The six areas identified for development are Hunts Grove (Hardwicke/Haresfield), north east of Cam, west of Stonehouse (Eastington parish), along the Stroud Valleys, Aston Down and Sharpness.
Two public consultations have already taken place to get us to this stage. Now we need further input from you to take the plans further.
You can have your say at www.stroud.gov.uk/consult or by calling 01453 754143 for a paper copy of the consultation form. A series of events have also been scheduled – see below.
Thursday, February 9 – Cabinet meeting, 10am Ebley Mill Items on the agenda include an update on our council homes finances, a budget monitoring report on council spending and an update on the canal restoration project.
There will also be a presentation on the Localism Act, so if you’re interested in seeing how it will have a practical impact you may wish to attend the meeting or watch it live online at www.stroud.gov.uk/webcast
Next week
Wednesday, February 15 – Local Plan, Hardwicke I have mentioned the Local Plan consultation above but if you wish to find out more, we are also holding a series of exhibitions at the six key development areas.
This is the first one. Council officers will be on hand between 3pm and 8pm at Hardwicke Village Hall. It is an ideal opportunity to ask questions and find out more about what the plans are and how we have arrived at them.