Tewkesbury South Matt Dimond-Brown
November 2024
Building Homes That Meet Real Needs
On the Planning Committee, I’m making sure that new housing developments include enough affordable homes (especially social rent homes) for people who need them, not just expensive houses that only a few can afford. I’m also pushing developers to build homes that include better ways to save energy and protect the environment, even though the national rules currently are not strong enough. I’m working to tighten our local rules so that these new homes help us reach “net-zero” for climate change. We need housing that considers everyone, including families and people on lower incomes, and I’m standing up for that.
I’m also making sure that we think carefully about where we build homes. With more flooding in Tewkesbury because of climate change, we need to make smart choices about where new homes should go, especially around floodplains.
Setting the Right Goals and Keeping to Them
As the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, my job is to help ensure that the Council sets goals that are both ambitious and realistic – and then sticks to them. This way, we make steady progress on our promises and stay focused on what really matters to our community. I’ll have more to say about this in later newsletters.
Ensuring Tewkesbury Gets Its Fair Share
I sit on the Gloucestershire Economic Development Scrutiny Committee, where I make sure that Tewkesbury gets the same chances for growth as larger areas like Cheltenham and Gloucester. I fight for fair treatment for Tewkesbury so that we don’t miss out on opportunities and investments that benefit our community.
Protecting Tewkesbury from Flooding
Flooding is a big issue for us in Tewkesbury, and I’m part of the Flood Risk Management Group, where we work on ways to prevent flooding and to make the community more flood-resilient. This means not only responding when floods happen but also planning ahead so that we’re better prepared in the future. I am looking to have the Borough Council be more ambitious and think more long-term than it currently does.
Boosting Recycling in Tewkesbury
I’m working on ways to improve our recycling in the Depot Services Working Group. This includes looking at new ideas to help us recycle more and waste less, making Tewkesbury a cleaner and greener place to live.
Better places to play
I’m working with the Council to improve the play areas in the Ward, especially Vineyards and the Link Road Skate Park. The Council doesn’t have the money because of the low Council Tax the Borough sets, but we are looking for other funding, and I am determined that we have play areas that we can be proud of.
Thank you for trusting me to represent you. If you have any questions or ideas, please reach out. Together, we’re making a difference for Tewkesbury!
councillor.dimond-brown@tewkesbury.gov.uk
Tewkesbury East November 2024 Flyer
Councillor matt dimond brown report for September/October 2024
Cate Cody Autumn 2024 Newsletter
Summer 2024 Cate Cody
Cate’s update September 2024
Since the last one, here are some of the highlights from my County work:
GDAA (Gloucestershire Dementia Action Alliance)
Area representatives are now being invited to the GDAA meetings and I went along in my capacity as Tewkesbury’s lead. Each of the districts now have an alliance and some areas have smaller groups within these. It was interesting to meet others and see how they run their local groups.
TDAA (Tewkesbury Dementia Action Alliance)
I was asked to help set up a group for Tewkesbury as it was the only district without an alliance. I have been chairing it and we meet every two months. The group is made up of organisations in and around Tewkesbury who are working in some form with those with dementia. Our group is widely represented and also looks at prevention. Through Adult Social Care and Communities Committee, I recently organised a Dementia Awareness Training session for councillors as well.
Tewkesbury Nature Reserve – Royal visit from the Duchess of Gloucester
As a member of the TNR management team, I was asked to attend the royal visit. The Duchess, her lady-in-waiting and a deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire heard all about the reserve and its teams, including the highly valued volunteers.
Cycle spine – Gloucester to Cheltenham – Cycle Liaison Group
Unfortunately this was postponed due to the treacherous weather last week. None of us minded getting wet, but there were weather warnings in place! Have any of our Tewkesbury Greens used any of the new sections?
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service Headquarters – Opening
The Headquarters, based at Quayside House in Gloucester was officially opened on Tuesday 24th September 2024. The site will serve as the strategic and administrative hub for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Trading Standards. I joined fellow County Greens Chloe and Beki at the event where we spoke to officers about their work.
Wyevale Nursery site visit
A brilliant full day in the two locations of Wyevale Nursery which is a family business, started in the 1930s. Wyevale are GCC’s largest suppliers of trees and shrubs. We saw potting and cutting sheds, cold storage, the growing on nursery, fields full of young trees, various hi tech equipment and even their vineyard. The networking was really good too as a very wide range of organisations interested in trees were represented.
Fostering with Gloucestershire County Council
There are lots of ways to find out about fostering, including:
- Ring the friendly team on 01242 532654 or text FOSTER to 60060
- https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/fostering/
- Email: fostering@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Cate, Summer 2024
Below is a round up of news from Green Party Cllr – Cate Cody:
Green Party Impact report 2024
Launched at the recent conference, this year we feature as Gloucestershire County and as Tewkesbury Borough. Stroud Greens are also featured on the cover!
My County Summer Highlights
For various reasons, the General Election took quite a toll this time. To quote Kermit, “It’s not always easy being Green!” Consequently, I still worked throughout the summer, but at a more gentle pace. A couple of highlights included two launches of the veterans bus passes; one official launch in Gloucester and then a second invitation to speak in Churchdown at the veterans launch and lunch – more info below in my County report.
I also attended the first citizen science working group at Slimbridge: Gloucestershire Citizen Science Project A long awaited but exciting update… In 2023, our Green County Councillor group managed to get £100k budget amendment approval to help carry out the recommendations from our cross party Restoring our Rivers working group of which I was a member. We then had a lot of meetings with a lot of different people to see if we could work with a potential project that WWT (Slimbridge), GWT (Wildlife Trust) and the Environment Agency EA were hoping to set up. It included employing what has become a citizen science research officer, and I am pleased to say that someone is now in this post.
A group has been set of which I am also part of, made up of representatives from the WWT, GWT, EA, plus Severn Trent, Forestry Commission and a couple of other stakeholders. The group met in August for a Gloucestershire Citizen Science workshop which was really positive – there are lots of people on the same page, but each have their own mini agenda and the scope is huge. The project is for three years, with the intention of making it sustainable. We sweated out a lot of details and a summary will be provided, but in a nutshell, it is about gathering all of the water related (rivers, ponds etc) citizen science data together in an accessible place and once the data is there, being able to make use of it for the restoration of our rivers and the improvement of biodiversity. The project may include events, collaboration, standardisation, a calendar of what is happening where, education, volunteer training etc etc.
Tewkesbury Borough
As lead member for Climate and Ecology, I now attend Climate Leadership Gloucestershire (CLG) as Tewkesbury Borough’s member representative. The group also includes fellow County Greens Chris (Forest of Dean) and Chloe (Stroud) also via their district roles. This week the group met in person for the day in Cirencester and Chris passed the rotating chair onto the vice chair Mike McKeown (Cotswold) and I became the vice chair. We have a new county wide bid writer for the cross party group which is excellent news.
Lastly, here is my latest Parish report:
Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) Report – Cate Cody – September 2024
In Nov ‘23, I proposed a motion to full council to help veterans by providing free bus travel. The motion was passed and officers agreed to look into the logistics. Following this, our group secured a £100, 000 budget amendment to fund the scheme in Feb ‘24. The outcome is that a scheme to help with bus travel for veterans seeking employment was launched in August. (Those who are of pension age or have a disability can already apply for a travel pass). Voucher books are available at job centres. For more info and to share with anyone who it may benefit, please see: https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/gloucestershire-county-council-news/news-august-2024/free-bus-travel-for-veterans-seeking-employment/
Cate with veterans at the café launching the new bus passes.
All county libraries are running Halloween costume swaps this Autumn.An estimated 7 million Halloween costumes are thrown away every year, adding to 2,000 tonnes of plastic waste, (equivalent to 83 million plastic bottles). Donate a costume to any library between 23 Sep and 7 Oct. Swap an old costume for a new one between 7 Oct and 1 Nov. Further ideas: how to have a sustainable Halloween. The swap supports the Library Greener Togetherinitiative launched in 2021, which explores ways that libraries can help to mitigate climate change, raise awareness and support individuals and local communities who want to take practical steps towards leading a greener, lower carbon lifestyle.
GCC is working with Adoption West to ensure any mothers, or children who are now adults who were affected by forced adoption practices have access to support. Between 1949 and 1976 an estimated 185,000 babies in England and Wales were taken from unmarried mothers and placed for adoption due to pressure from their families and society. The Adoption West Birth Links Service can provide: Support to apply to the Registrar General for the information needed to obtain a certified copy of their birth certificate; Access to birth record services; Up to six sessions of emotional support for birth family and adopted adults; Advice about intermediary services; Birth parent support groups. Please visit: https://adoptionwest.co.uk/adopted-adults/ or phone 03303 550 333.
At last week’s meeting of Full Council, Cllr Stephen Davies was elected as the new Leader of GCC, taking over from Cllr Mark Hawthorne who led the council for 14 years.
Are you over 60 or part of a multi-generational family with a beloved recipe? Gloucestershire libraries invite you to bring your favourite recipe and the story behind it to any local library for a chance to be featured in the Inter-generational Reminiscence Recipe Bookand have your dish recreated in the community. Submit your recipe with an explanation of why it’s important to you. Handwritten submissions most welcome, but all formats will be accepted. Include your contact details, (name, address, email and phone number), or bring in a copy of your recipe to the library. https://gloslibraries.uk/form/share-your-cherished-recipes
GCC in partnership with the NHS, provides the Gloucestershire Equipment Loan Service, which lends free equipment to people for as long as they need it, for example, after a hospital visit or to maintain their independence. Equipment ranges from hospital grade beds and wheelchairs, to crutches and perching stools. Residents return around £500,000 worth of equipment each month freeing up council funding to help more people get back on their feet. However, the service thinks there could be even more equipment and daily living aids in people’s homes that aren’t being used. Equipment handed back is cleaned and fully refurbished before being loaned to anyone else and anything damaged beyond repair is recycled. The service recently changed its name from GIS Healthcare to the Gloucestershire Equipment Loan Service, to make it more obvious to the community what the service is and how it can help. Residents can arrange a free collection from their home. Call 01452 520438 or fill out a short form on the website https://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/return-equipment Smaller pieces of equipment like walking sticks, walking frames and crutches can also be dropped off at libraries, including Tewkesbury.
Daytime Dances Free events, all are welcome – you can enjoy a cup of tea, a chat and some happy swing music, or even join in with some dancing if you like. Next date is Wed 16th October, 1-4pm, Watson Hall, Barton Street, Tewkesbury. You could book the Robin to get there!
Tewkesbury East
Summer Autumn 2024
August 2024
Tewkesbury Town Council
In June there was a climate change working group meeting. The organisation of “Tewkesbury Goes Wild” in July was ironed out and Cate managed to produce a full month’s programme as planned.
The Moorings working group has been looking at both a vision for the future use of the riverside and moorings assets and also what needs to be done in the short term to manage the Town Council’s sections effectively.
Hilarie has followed up with volunteers who monitor the 50 odd footpaths in the Town Council area, and Helena and Hilarie made contact with the local ramblers group in Southam at their 40th Anniversary walk and cakes meeting. They will give us support and advice where there are issues with footpaths in the area, which we report to the Footpaths officer at Gloucestershire County council.
2024 Spring
- Our local PCSOs answer some frequently asked questions
- Local elections – register to vote
- FixMyStreet success stories
2023 Autumn
- Tewkesbury Colts gets a new home
- Tirlebrook footpath clearup
- Grass cut along the Premier Inn footpath
2023/24 Winter
- Newtown traffic island petition
- Strategic and LocalPlan (SLP)consultation
- How to report a problem on FixMyStreet