30 Mar 2013

Bits and bobs: Stratford Court, pets,Transition and more

Old Lodge
Greetings to all on this Easter weekend -  a few bits that I've not reported on - like Stroud Life's 5th Birthday party - great pies and cupcakes - plus lots of good conversations at The Old Lodge in Minch....I've also had a couple of Green councillors meetings where we have been planning next steps at the Council like what options can we take to lessen the impact of the bedroom tax.
Another meeting was Transition Stroud's Council meeting - I was able to update on Stroud Community TV where viewing figures vary between 70 and 200 plus per day - although not all those stop to watch films. Edible Gardens is also planned - see also news of the workshops planned for April - like Spring Seed Sowing and Willow supports at: http://www.transitionstroud.org/wpedibleopengardens/

Thursday night I was at the Exec meeting at Ebley Mill - there was a progress on Stratford Court - this is the potential £5m investment in sports facilities by the college - although I hear it maybe much less than that now? Anyway I have questions regarding the way the consultation was done - not great but we are now where we are and need to ensure all voices are heard fairly - the approach now is to also explore Stratford Park for the facilities.....this is right but surely all of this discussion should be part of a District-wide sports strategy as Cllr Pickering pointed out at the meeting? Anyway I welcome looking at options but as I noted Stratford Park while having some considerable plus points it is more visible from surrounding hills, has beautiful 400+ year old trees that mustn't be sacrificed and there were plans in the more hidden area for an AD plant (if GCC would ever allow)......we'll have to wait and see...

Other stuff on Thursday was the development of a policy to allow pets to be welcomed into sheltered housing. Since 1961, when the first sheltered schemes were built, the council has operated a standard policy which only permits a sheltered housing tenant to have a pet if they already had one at the start of their tenancy. They are not allowed new pets once they move in, even if the pet they moved in with passes away. The council has 1,000 tenants living in its sheltered housing schemes.

As was noted at the meeting research has shown that keeping pets has a positive impact on the health and well being of people. The RSPCA asserts that pets should be welcomed in housing because they can prevent isolation, reduce blood pressure and increase feelings of relaxation. Many tenants have asked us if they have can pets and this new approach will allow us to accommodate their wishes. The proposed plan would cover nuisance, animal welfare, damage to property, identification, dangerous animals, supervision and boarding. It would include rules to address concerns such as dog fouling, noise, roaming animals and damage to property.

See the other items like the low carbon homes loans - hopefully something that will attract people to sort out their homes - with rising fuel prices this is really the time to be looking at such moves....also the Community Infrastructure Award for Parish and Town Councils - see all here.

Anyway that's enough for now - hopefully going to have a quieter week - lots of family stuff - all very nice - I do wish anyone reading this a good weekend.

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