Column by Chloe Turner, chair of Stroud District Council's environment committee.

Litter bins were on the agenda at this week’s SDC Environment Committee, with councillors asked to agree a new policy for deciding what bin goes where.

Even though we have 1,400 SDC bins across the district, the council is regularly asked for more, and this new policy will help us make sure new and existing bins are sited where they are needed most, and where they can be safely and regularly collected.

A big thank you to members of the Stroud & Five Valleys Litter Free Task Group for their help putting this new policy together.

A particular mention to campaigner and litter-picker Eric Torrington, who was a recipient of the 2022 Leslie D Gale award from Dursley Town Council for his tireless work in this area.

Elsewhere in the council, a team are hard at work putting the finishing touches on the £15m-plus Levelling Up bid for the Stroud parliamentary constituency, after it was approved by the Strategy & Resources committee last week.

You can read all about the bid here: stroud.gov.uk/news-archive/were-putting-a-bid-in-to-the-levelling-up-fund-to-improve-stroud-for-everyone It’s an inspiring vision for central Stroud, including many welcome improvements for walking and cycling around town, and we’ll all have our fingers crossed for its success.

We’re asking for some more advice from the community, this time in relation to our much-loved play parks, and how they can be made even better.

The district council owns 32 of the play areas across our district, with the rest owned by other bodies such as parish & town councils and churches.

The council has set aside £300,000 of Covid recovery funding for updating play equipment and making the best use of these much-loved spaces.

If you or family members are playground users, do have your say on what’s needed, by July 24: stroud.gov.uk/news-archive/were-improving-play-areas-we-need-your-views