Thursday, July 13 – Strategy & Resources Committee, Ebley Mill

A range of topics covered at this meeting including one relating to recycling banks.

There are currently only two banks left in the district – one in Cainscross, Stroud and the other in Cam.

Before 1995 there were 76, but as the doorstep recycling service has improved over the past two-decades we have reached the stage where these sites now just duplicate the more convenient service we all now receive at home.

With this in mind the cardboard, glass and can banks will go, whilst the banks for textiles, books and DVDs, which can’t be put out for recycling at home, will stay.

The money saved will go towards funding the food waste recycling service which has proved much more successful than we could have ever hoped for.

Thursday, July 20 – Floods and smoke

July 20, 2007 is a date etched into the minds of many Gloucestershire residents, and of course the emergency services, councils and other agencies who responded to the severe flooding that affected most of Gloucestershire.

With it being the tenth anniversary of what have become known as The Great Gloucestershire Floods, a huge amount of work has been undertaken since then to try and make sure a similar event cannot happen again.

Of course as with any disaster, the success of any prevention work will never be as headline-grabbing as when things go wrong, however with it being a decade on there should be some good media coverage today on progress that has been made since then.

In a similar way, the council is working with Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service today to put together a short film on fire safety in buildings.

It will cover the importance of closing fire doors and the need to keep communal areas such as corridors and landings clear of clutter to make it easier to escape from smoke-filled buildings.

It’s something that we’ve been planning for a few months, and with the recent Grenfell Tower fire raising the profile of fire safety, the importance of such messages cannot be underplayed.

We’ll be making it available nationally so that other authorities and housing bodies can use it to in order to keep residents across the country safe and prevent avoidable deaths and injuries.

Monday, July 31 – Last chance to have your say

A few weeks ago I mentioned an online survey that will help with a funding application to improve the outdoor swimming pool at Stratford Park Leisure Centre.

It won’t surprise you that thousands have enjoyed the pool during the recent hot spell.

If you’d like to put your views forward visit stroud.gov.uk/lido.

By taking part you could also win a three-month leisure centre membership.