Yesterday I had an interesting meeting with the council officer responsible for waste collection, and have also been enquiring what neighbouring districts are doing. The answer to the second is ‘disposing of food waste mixed with garden waste, and charging for the garden waste’. ODD FACT – The In Vessel Composter (IVC) at Sharpness […]

Cllr Christine Headley joins Stanleys’ residents’ frustration at the abrupt end of the Stanleys Waste Trial, which has been operating since 24 October 2007 and involves weekly collection of dry recyclables and food waste, fortnightly collection of residual waste to landfill, and a subsidised composter offered to every household. The main problem is the loss […]

It is a strange coincidence that, having taken up the issue of a non-functioning streetlight, two in the same area turn out to be in overdrive. A few weeks ago, I was alerted to the streetlight by the Woodchester War Memorial, which hasn’t worked for two years. I contacted the county council and was told  […]

I’m rather enthusiastic about Sainsbury’s new planning application in Dudbridge. I’m less than wild about the extension itself, but it’s nice that they have given thought to where to put the old arches, complete with clothiers’ marks and dating from 1646. The proposal for hydroelectric power, courtesy of the Nailsworth Stream, is really exciting. Their […]

You would think in this day and age that in a Cotswold village a consistent electricity supply would be a matter of course. But Amberley is on the edge of Minchinhampton Common, owned by the National Trust. Electricity comes to the northwest of the village via an overhead line through woodland – and the trees […]

I was horrified to hear that a tree had been cut down on the bank by the cycle track that links Stroud with Nailsworth and Stonehouse. The wood and leaf buds are clearly healthy, which bears out the report that the damage was done by a resident whose garden it overshadowed. The cycle track is […]

… where I was re-enthused about ‘mycouncillor’, ALDC’s blog platform. I have plans for making my corner of the site a little more interesting visually, and then hope to post a couple of times a week. The next three months promise to be action-packed, with the county council and European parliamentary elections on Thursday 4 […]

“Tackling Peak Oil and Climate Change, together” Yesterday evening I attended a Transition Town meeting in Stroud. I’ve not been aware of particular Liberal Democrat interest in the Transition Town initiative, but it is definitely something we should be involved in. The idea originated with Rob Hopkins; there is more information at <http://transitionculture.org> – yes, […]

Another thing about the road I live on is that it would be ideal for a Quiet Lane. However, Gloucestershire County Council are set against the formalities of Quiet Lanes, as they reckon the costs of consultation, etc aren’t balanced by the good done by the road’s new status. It would be interesting to know […]

For a change, I’m making a difference to my parish ward, rather than my district ward. (Put together they constitute the whole parish of Rodborough, but my parish ward is actually represented by different district and county councillors.) Some time ago, we noticed two metal legs – the sort that keep road names up – […]