An urgent community action meeting in the pub

Woodpeckers and I arrived at our local pub late this afternoon to attend an urgent community meeting. It had been called by our local Stroud Town councillors for our Trinity ward, which for about twelve years I formerly used to be one of the three representatives.

It has only recently come to light that the national Local Government Boundary Commission have announced they want to alter the boundaries of the local County Council Wards so that our Trinity Ward becomes detached from the town’s other five Wards and become part of a village nearly five miles away. This is only with regard to the County Elections, but nevertheless it has big ramifications for our representation.

On one side of Bisley Road houses will be electing County councillors in that distant village, while their neighbours on the other side of the road will vote for Stroud Town representatives. Stroud’s General hospital and the Maternity hospital will become part of Bisley or maybe Painswick, while they are sited less than five hundred yards from Stroud town centre. It is madness and we only have until 11th December to try to stop it.

When I arrived at the Crown and Sceptre pub, Lucas S., who is one of the Trinity Ward town and district councillors, asked me if I would take a few pictures so they can send them with requests for local people to sign petitions etc.. He and Sue F., aand a couple of other councillors, are  around the table and are going to follow the issues up within and with the Town Council who have resources to coordinate the campaign.

I’m adding another view in the opposite direction from the pub’s community room to the main bar area. Rodda, our wonderful landlord, whom I’ve blipped several times over the years, is seated on a stool on the right. Woodpeckers is seated in a chair near him. It was in this bar that I was first told about Blipfoto back in 2010 by my good friend DailyKeith.