Stinchcombe Parish Council Meeting

10th July 2024

Again, it was a pleasure to attend Stinchcombe Parish Council meeting yesterday along with SDC Cllr Braun. Here are my personal notes.

The meeting was well attended. Great to see a number of representatives of Dursley Rugby Football Club present. Also a member of the public who was able to raise issues of importance.

Items discussed included:-

The Church field lease has now been signed.

The Rugby Club gave a detailed presentation. They've made great strides with their facilities that are no longer just a winter venue. It's now a sports hub. They have installed 40kW solar panels and battery storage, saving £8-10k per annum.

The new Training field, which was purchased from SDC for £80k is in use and has allowed the cricket pitch to recover from intensive use and the surface is much improved. Before the meeting I noticed that it was in use by younger members of the community.

During their assessment of the new training field bee orchids and other rare plants were found and the club has ensured that this habitat has been protected.

The club also updated the council on the new lighting that they are planning to install. This will require planning permission. It's good to see that the club has taken advantage of the SDC pre-planning advice service.

Environmental surveys have informed the best use of lighting, to minimise light spill, so that the bat corridors (and neighbours) are not disturbed. Cotswold wardens have also helped rebuild traditional stonewalling which helps maintain a diverse habitat for insects and small mammals.

I gave a summary of the District councillors report.

Planning applications were considered. There was considerable discussion by a member of the public who was very concerned about application S.24/1178/FUL and the suitability of the land to support up to 300 pigs and the associated water pollution which could impact the farms below. There were a number of others concerns and the applicants had apparently not made efforts to engage with neighbours.

Photo © Richard Humphrey - geograph.org.uk/p/3965300

The chair reported back on some other planning enforcement issues.

The clerk reported back on the advantages of the parish using a .gov.uk domain name and the setting up of a social media presence on Facebook.

Myself and Cllr Braun left the meeting at agenda item 10.