I STARTED my working week meeting Guardian journalist Anna Bawden who was about to undertake a whistle stop guided tour of some of the initiatives we are involved in to help make Stroud carbon neutral by 2030.

Her tour guide, environment committee chairman Simon explained how we are empowering communities and people to take action themselves – whether that involves insulating their own homes, or commuting to work by bike. I’m looking forward to seeing the article on July 10.

Last week I attended a Jo Cox event in Cam which marked the third anniversary of the murder of MP Jo Cox.

A free shared lunch was held at Cam Youth & Community Centre, with the purpose of providing a place where people from all walks of life could get together and focus on what we have in common.

I enjoy hearing about other Jo Cox-inspired groups around the district, including the group in Randwick who have repurposed a disused bus shelter into a community information hub.

I’m sure it was a great place to shelter from the recent downpours we’ve had.

A quick note on Remembrance Sunday road closures, we have waived charges, normally it’s £85.

The week ended on a high as we found out that SDC and our partner Ubico had won the award for Cutting Waste to Landfill at the National Recycling Awards.

We were represented on the night by a group of councillors that represented every political party plus officers and Ubico.

This really demonstrated Stroud at its best and I wonder how many other local authorities could demonstrate such a collaborative approach to a project.

It’s thanks to the unanimous support from all our councillors as well as the widespread adoption by the residents in the district that helped us win – thank you!