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

The pandemic has been tough for young people - the lack of social contact, disruption to learning and being able to find entry level jobs. So I was pleased to be able to attend the launch this week of the ‘child-friendly Gloucestershire’ coalition, reflecting the need to ensure a more joined-up approach across the county to support our children and young people. SDC aims to do its bit by signing up to be a ‘gateway’ organisation for the Kickstart scheme, so placements can be offered by the council and local businesses to young people currently not in education or work.

Housing Committee and Strategy and Resources both meet this week. Housing Committee will be considering the 2030 carbon neutral strategy currently out for public consultation. Residential buildings are responsible for some of the highest carbon emissions so housing is key to any meaningful reduction of CO2 in the district. The committee will consider a proposal to make a second bid of £950,000 to the Green Homes Grant Scheme to fund energy efficiency measures for low income households. The committee is also being asked to support a community energy partnership to deliver a low carbon retrofit pilot project for seven council bungalows. The proposal is to replace electric storage heaters with solar panels and ground source heat pumps in each property, which would see tenants save around 50% of their current annual energy costs and additionally, realise carbon savings of around 60% per property.

Our Revenue and Benefits team has been working hard on processing applications for grants affected by Coronavirus – both the Local Restrictions Support Grant and the Additional Restrictions Support Grant. The latter is discretionary and the deadline is Friday, Dec 11 – visit stroud.gov.uk/businessrates to apply