Stroud District Council Leader's Diary: Jan 28- Feb 14

Whilst this commemoration event was held at Newent Community School and Sixth Form Centre today, Holocaust Memorial Day is officially on 27 January each year. It is a national event which takes place in Britain to remember victims of the Holocaust and was first held in 2001.

The chosen date is the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz concentration camp by the Soviet Union in 1945.

This year’s theme was about building bridges with different communities. The art, music and presentations put forward by the schoolchildren were moving and humbling. Next year’s event will be held at Severn Vale School, Quedgeley.

Monday, January 28 – Green Deal

The Government announced the details of its Green Deal scheme. It’s been a long wait since it was initially mooted close to three years ago. Essentially the aim is to encourage households to take up energy efficiency measures by taking out a loan in return for a reduction in the equivalent amounts on their electricity bills.

Arguably the benefits of the scheme to householders aren’t as great as when the idea was initially put forward, as the original concept did not feature interest rates of seven per cent. We are currently working on plans to put together an enhanced Green Deal scheme which would offer the improvements at a much lower rate. I’ll keep you updated.

Wednesday, January 30 – Walled Gardenprogress

I was delighted to hear about developments at the Walled Garden project. The garden, which is part of a former mansion house in Stroud, now the Museum in the Park, has been derelict for many years. Moves are afoot to bring it back into community use, creating new activities and opportunities for learning, volunteers and skills development.

The museum already works with schools from across the district and this addition will be another string to its educational bow. Work on trees, has just been undertaken by Stroud Community Land Trust – a perfect example of how this project can work with the community for mutual benefit. We approved £60,000 funding for this project, and working with the Friends of the Museum, this will bring in a further £400,000 of outside investment. For more information call 01453 763394.

Thursday, February 14 – Executive Meeting, 7pm Ebley Mill

A meeting of the council’s executive, formerly known as cabinet meetings. Items up for discussion include an update on empty homes in the district, housing strategy and council finances.

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