Planning Meeting

27th April 2026

Earlier, I was at the campaign to save Stroud Maternity (yet again! This is the third campaign in the last 25 years!). My eldest was born there; I remember that 3am trip from Bradley Street to Stroud well! Maybe the community setting is not everyone's preference and is not appropriate for all circumstances, but this is about women's choices and fairness in healthcare.

✍️ Signing the petition: https://www.change.org/p/save-stroud-maternity-unit

Anyway, here are my informal notes and personal commentary from the Planning Meeting, followed by the Extraordinary Town Council meeting last night that I attended with Cllr Braun. Cllr Cohen had sent apologies.

I arrived at the meeting a little late; a very full day. Paul Fong was in mid-flow presenting a pre-application from Morgan Elliot at 45 Water Lane – 6 new dwellings.

(By coincidence, I met Paul Fong at the Public Inquiry in Ebley Mill last week, as he is also assisting the residents of Stinchcombe fight the Tait's Hill development (73 houses in open countryside at the edge of this ward). There is a community fundraiser going on, and your support would be appreciated.)

Back to 45 Water Lane; I remember a previous application S.25/1969/OUT relating to this site that was controversial and ultimately withdrawn. Following the presentation, Paul was encouraging feedback and noted amongst various concerns the displaced parking. He mentioned a new traffic survey that's been updated. Residents questioned this strongly. Various other issues were raised by members of the public. Clearly, the developer is in listening mode and wants to properly address residents' concerns.

Following this presentation, the Planning meeting proper started with the normal formalities and the Public Forum (a dozen or so people still present).

A number of people were also here to support a request from residents living opposite the British School, from around Lodge Drive, houses there built in the late seventies. The land behind has recently been developed and was subject to a series of planning conditions. New windows were installed that were not in the original plans. Importantly, 15 trees were removed, which were conditioned to be replaced on a 2:1 basis. A boundary hedge has also been removed. The resident wants the Town Council to support SDC Planning Enforcement action.

I went to see the Planning Team at Ebley earlier in the day for an update, but Cllr Braun was already on the case! Enforcement matters are wrapped in process for obvious reasons. But the official line from SDC is: "We are reviewing the approved ecological assessment and will give careful consideration to understand any grounds for enforcement action."

The public forum ended (and was briefly reinstated later for some site photos to be circulated).

The Council supported the enforcement request for Planning Ref: S.22/1221/FUL Holly Lodge, 4 Wortley Road, and will write to SDC. Cllr Braun pointed out that the contractor SDC appointed to work on the Swedish Homes (an adjacent site that was mentioned by the residents in passing) is a good contractor with a proven track record; the same contractors who have recently completed the new Council Houses on Bradley/Gloucester Street. They pay attention to local wildlife and put bug boxes in place, install hedgehog highways, etc. So, residents should have more confidence with that development. The residents did not agree; faith in the planning/enforcement system has been dented it seems.

New Planning Applications: S.26/0434/DISCON Upper Rushmire Farm, S.26/0232/ADV Renishaw PLC Old Town, and S.26/305/DISCON 6 Potters Pond were all supported. A Cllr noted that SDC seems to have changed the way Listed Building Consent is dealt with — combined with the planning application — and maybe that should be taken into account.

Extraordinary Wotton Town Council Meeting

The Town Council meeting followed. After normal formalities, everyone in the public seating area, apart from myself and Cllr Braun, had left the meeting at this point.

Symn Lane Car Park: A brief update to seek agreement to delegate the purchase of the lighting column for the disabled parking area to the clerk and Cllr Tucker, so they can get on with it.

The dissolution of Wotton-under-Edge and District Recreational Trust: Cllr Tucker gave an update. A meeting was attended by Cllrs Tucker and Britton-Griffiths; five representatives from the Rec Trust were in attendance so they could be quorate. Resolutions covering the transfer were signed. The bank account transfer needs to be completed with the clerk.

The meeting then went into exempt session, so myself and Cllr Braun left for a street meet/catch-up.

As always, if you have any questions or just want a chat I'm easily contactable, phone numbers and e-mail on my home page. Use my contact info if you spot errors or I've just got something completely wrong! Also, I'm not using Facebook much any more, but feel free to link and share these reports using whatever social media you fancy.

You can also find me on the Fediverse (social media without adverts, algorithms or outrage) here:- https://stroud.social/eco-g