Docks site is opportunity to boost local economy (From Gazette Series)

Docks site is opportunity to boost local economy

SIR - The absence of a local volunteer has given me the opportunity of getting to know a different area and meeting many delightful people.

The most poignant impression left on me is that of Sharpness, a community needing local jobs but facing a wasteland (once the docks). How good it would be if this site were rejuvenated and was once again vibrant. This is not necessarily a pipe dream but it will need much thought and effort to even get something started.

The initiative must come from the site-owners. If a partnership were developed between the site-owners, a consortium of potential developers, local planners and the communities on both sides of the River Severn and a comprehensive long-term development plan agreed, it might attract Euro funding and special planning status.

This area of Gloucestershire deserves the best and needs it now. I hope it gets it.

Graham Lloyd-Jones, Liberal Democrat candidate for Berkeley

Fromehall Mill, Lodgemore Lane, Stroud