Column by the leader of Stroud District Council, Doina Cornell.

WHEN HRH The Princess Royal officially opened The Pulse leisure centre in Dursley three years ago, it was a very proud moment for the community and the council.

Building on the success of Dursley Pool, The Pulse is a leisure centre fit for the 21st Century with classes for everyone. And of course there is the pool which has been cherished by the community for around 30 years.

The leisure offer in the north of the district in the shape of Stratford Park Leisure Centre is approaching 50 years of age, and it probably wouldn’t be laid out in the way it was in the 1970s if it was built now. That’s why Community Services and Leisure Committee members will be considering a report on Thursday (Jan 23) which sets out a plan to work out what the needs of the community are, assess the facilities we have, and create a vision for the future.

We have money set aside for this purpose, and it is also proposed that we activate a three year extension on the contract to run Stratford Park Leisure Centre with Sports and Leisure Management (SLM). That gives both parties certainty and should mean the same good levels of service which customers have come to expect since SLM took on the contract in 2011.

On Monday, we will be marking Holocaust Memorial Day to remember those who suffered in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2020 marks 75 years since the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau and the 25th anniversary of the Genocide in Bosnia. At the council’s Ebley Mill headquarters, officers and councillors will gather for a ceremony to remember all victims of genocide.

I lost family members in the Holocaust so this is very personal to me, and I’m glad the council is coming together to remember all those who suffered.