Stinchcombe Parish Council Meeting

12th December 2024

Again, it was a pleasure to attend Stinchcombe Parish Council meeting earlier this week along with SDC Cllr Braun and GCC Cllr Cohen. Here are my personal notes.

The meeting had started early so councillors could go through budgets. :) Normal meeting formalities. Then maybe for the first time there were were no parishioners present to speak at the public forum. :(

There were few items in the GCC and SDC reports that directly impacted Stinchcombe. I mentioned that I had attended (as did Cllr Braun and Cohen) the GCC Consultation about the upcoming Rushmire Hill Closure in Wotton earlier in the week. We'd all pointed out the roads where particular attention was required in terms of signage. I've received lots of photos from parishioners of cars, vans and lorries getting stuck on various narrow lanes around in Stinchcombe and North Nibley Parish in an attempt to circumvent diversions due to recent temporary closures of Rushmire Hill. It really is important that people use the official diversion route via Dursley.

There was talk of a postcard that had been circulated to homes around the parish regarding a speculative housing development. The land is at Taits Hill Road for upto 73 new homes. The developer is asking local residents to respond to their consultation. Councillors asked if this type of consultation was valid. It is!

However, a quick investigation (by Cllr Braun on her laptop) during the meeting revealed that this site was assessed in 2011 by SDC and considered for the new Local Plan in 2019 when it was submitted by the Land Agent as a potential site but it was rejected.  This was the assessment of the planning officers at that time:-

The site is not suitable for development because of the likely high landscape impact; housing development would significantly extend the main settlement westwards, but would feel divorced from it due to the steep valley slopes, and would be further detrimental to the function of the area as a green/wildlife corridor. Employment development would appear incongruous and prominent and would be isolated from the main commercial areas. There are therefore potential impacts preventing sustainable development in this location.

Personal comment: As we all now know there has been a change of Government! The new government is demanding a massive 30% increase in housing provision in the district and the new Local Plan is currently on pause. If I lived in the parish I would be engaging with the developer to get maximum benefit for the parish in the unlikely event these speculative plans gain consent! Frequently, I feel parish councils pay far too much attention to opposing developments rather than taking a more pragmatic view and engaging. The council always retains to the option to oppose if push comes to shove. Just my two-penny worth. ;)

Various updates were received for the working groups; Environment and Biodiversity Group, Footpaths Group, Community Energy Group and discussion of other actions.

Cllr Braun mentioned that Rachel Seymour – Flood and Community Resilience Officer at GRCC, is the person to speak to about flood wardens.

The Parish is transitioning to the new .gov.uk domain name. Councillors will soon be able to use .gov.uk e-mail addresses for parish affairs. A new web site is also being worked on and taking shape. https://stinchcombeparishcouncil.gov.uk/

After a few more items the meeting finished and we all enjoyed a nice informal chat with mince pies. :)