Parish News – WWT free day for Slimbridge residents in August

Slimbridge Parish Council and WWT continue to build relations to work together in the community, with the latest offer from WWT coming

WWT Slimbridge are offering free entry for Slimbridge Parish Residents on Sunday 23 August 2026

To access the offer:

• Must be resident of GL2 7XX postcode, (list follows in this document)
• The lead visitor must provide proof of residence and photo ID (e.g. a driving licence or proof of address plus photo ID).
• Entry is limited to 2 adults and up to 3 children (aged 3–17) per proof of residence.
• Any additional adults and accompanying children in the same group/household will require separate proof of residence and photo ID.

Dragonfly Festival
Residents will be able to enjoy a range of dragonfly-themed activities throughout the day, including:

• Science shows
• Crafts
• Drone experiences
• Silent disco
• Pond dipping
• Circus skills workshops
• Wild safaris

More information can be found here.

Scott House Museum
Residents are invited to drop into a special open house at the Scott House Museum between 10.00-11.00 and 15.00-16.00, or can book onto a free tour in advance here

Local Membership Offer
Slimbridge Parish residents, with proof of ID and address, are able purchase annual WWT membership at half price during their visit. This will allow unlimited visits to all 10 WWT wetland centres across the country

Slimbridge Parish Postcodes

Parish News

Many residents who took part in the 20mph speed limit consultation will now have received a response from Gloucestershire County Council. While these responses have been issued, the process has not yet been completed and the Parish Council is still awaiting the final official outcome. We will keep residents updated as soon as we receive confirmation.

The Parish Council continues to work closely with Wisloe Action Group and has submitted comments to the current Early Scoping Consultation for Stroud District Council new Local Plan. We would encourage everyone to take the opportunity to have their say. The consultation closes on 9 August, and further information, including details of how to respond, can be found on the Stroud District Council website. New Local Plan 2026

Slimbridge Parish Council has a Flood Risk Working Group. The group’s initial focus is on the network of ditches from the A38 through to the playing field. By working with local landowners, the aim is to improve drainage by clearing and maintaining these watercourses, helping water to flow freely and reducing the risk of flooding within the parish.

Working alongside our Biodiversity Volunteers, the Parish Council will soon be installing a new planter on the playing field, as well as purchasing bird boxes for around the parish. We hope to hold some community events where residents of all ages can help build the bird boxes, choose suitable locations for them, and get involved with planting and maintaining the new planter. Look out for further information, we would love to see you there.

Another development is the creation of a Pavilion Working Party. The group’s first major project will be the refurbishment of the pavilion kitchen, with works hopefully planned for later this year.

If you would like to get involved in any of our working parties and help shape projects within the parish, please contact the Clerk for more information.

Finally, a reminder that applications to the Solar Farm Community Fund will open during August. The Community Advice Panel will consider applications in November, with the closing date for submissions being 16 October. If your community group, club or organisation is planning a project or activity that would benefit local residents and requires financial support, we encourage you to apply. Full details of the application process and forms is available on the website. Solar Farm Community Fund – Slimbridge Parish Council

Stroud Local Plan
Stroud District Council are now consulting on the Local Plan with an Early Scoping Consultation. Please do take the time to look at this and put in any responses. The Parish Council will be considering their response over the coming weeks.
The full Local Plan timetable, consultation documents and details of how to respond are available on the district council’s website.
Residents, businesses, community groups and other stakeholders are encouraged to take part to ensure as many voices as possible help shape the future of Stroud district.
Consultation opens: Monday 29 June 2026 Consultation closes: Sunday 9 August 2026 at 11pm
Find out more and take part: New Local Plan 2026 / www.stroud.gov.uk/environment/planning-and-building-control/planning-strategy/new-local-plan-2026/

Road closure – Churchend (September 2026)
Please be advised of the following closure: Churchend, Slimbridge
This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) from 02/09/2026 to 04/09/2026 to allow for a new water connection by Severn Trent Water.
Churchend Closure map
Emergency and pedestrian access will be maintained.
If you should require further information please email streetworks@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Parish News

20mph Consultation. 
The Parish Council has now recieved the following information from Highways with regards to what to expect next:
The Formal TRO consultation period was completed 12^th of June (last Friday), currently we are waiting to receive an update from ADL Traffic & Highways Engineering our TRO partners who were handling formal representations (comments) from the public and are in the process of examining all feedback received and drafting responses which could take a few weeks.
Then our TRO team can draft the decision report which, will need to go to senior management to sign off, so hopefully a decision will be made in July.
See link here to TRO website (Various Speed Limits (20, 30 & 50 MPH) – Slimbridge, Stroud | Highways ).
TRO Process is detailed here on our website for public reference also: What is a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO)? | Highways
We will continue to keep you updated as we receive information.

Planning applications in the Parish. 
All planning applications that occur in the parish are on the agendas each month. These could be on the Full Council agenda or the Planning agenda which can be found on the parish council website. Applications can also be found on the Stroud District Council website – Search and comment on planning applications.

Fix My Street
If you come across any issues with highways, such as potholes, or footpaths, especially overgrown vegetation at this time of year, these can be reported on the FixMyStreet webpage at Gloucestershire County Council, pinpointing the exact location of the problem. You will get feedback on the status of the report you submit. Photos greatly help them look at this too which you can upload to the page. FixMyStreet

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk

20mph consultation
The 20mph consultation being run by Gloucestershire County Council comes to an end on Friday June 12th, so please do get your responses back to them. All information is available on our website at Slimbridge Road Safety Group – Slimbridge Parish Council, and also on the Gloucester County Council webpage at http://www.gloucestershire.gov.uk/tros. Any objections or representations to the proposal together with the grounds on which they are made must be sent in writing to ADL Traffic & Highways Engineering Ltd, ADL House, Oaklands Business Park, Armstrong Way, Yate, BS37 5NA or emailed to info@adltraffic.co.uk  no later than the 12th June 2026. (Please quote reference 5227-135). Representations of support will also be received during this period.

Solar Farm Panel member wanted
The Slimbridge Solar Farm panel is looking for a new member, if you are interested in reviewing the applications for funding, and advising the Parish Council on where the community funds should go, please drop the Clerk an e-mail and names will be pulled out of a hat at the June Parish Council meeting (15th June). Applications for the solar farm will open at the beginning of August with the deadline of 16th October for applications to be recieved by. Information and application forms can be found on the website.

Parish News

Good afternoon,

20mph consultation
Don’t forget that the consultation is now live and can be found at Gloucestershire County Council page Various Speed Limits (20, 30 & 50 MPH) – Slimbridge, Stroud | Highways; and information on this can also be found on Slimbridge Parish Council page at Slimbridge Road Safety Group – Slimbridge Parish Council
Any objections, support or general representations to the proposal together with the grounds on which they are made must be sent in writing to ADL Traffic & Highways Engineering Ltd, ADL House, Oaklands Business Park, Armstrong Way, Yate, BS37 5NA or emailed to info@adltraffic.co.uk no later than the 12th June 2026. (Please quote reference 5227-135)

Solar Farm
The Slimbridge Solar Farm panel is looking for a new member, if you are interested, please drop the Clerk an e-mail and names will be pulled out of a hat at the June Parish Council meeting (15th June). Applications for the solar farm will open at the beginning of August with the deadline of 16th October for applications to be received by.

Annual Council Meeting
Slimbridge Parish Council held the annual meeting of the council on the 18th May and Cllr Mike Stayte was voted in as Chairman with Cllr John Cullimore as Vice Chairman. All Councillors have designated roles looking after various aspects of the parish, and this is available on the Councillor section of the website.

Warm Homes Local Grant Scheme
Severn Wye are working on behalf of the Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire local authorities who have government funding available
📢 Fully-funded energy-saving improvements for homes in Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire
🏡 Funded by the government’s Warm Homes Local Grant.
To benefit from a home upgrade grant, you must: live in Gloucestershire or South Gloucestershire, have an inefficient home (EPC rating of D, E, F, G) and total household income under £36,000 per year.
 ‘I’m very grateful to have received the grant and I hope others will take advantage’, this local resident’s home was fitted with solar panels and an air source heat pump.
This scheme will provide:

• Expert survey, report and recommendations for your home
• Fully funded energy-saving upgrades
• Improvements such as insulation, heating, renewables
• Support for you and your household at each step

Check if you qualify for a FREE home upgrade grant and save on your energy bills 💸
👉 Call 0800 500 3076 or visit severnwye.org.uk/upgrade
*subject to eligibility

20mph Traffic Road Order
The Parish Council has now been informed that the Traffic Road Order public consultation for the 20mph scheme in the parish will take place from 21st May – 12th June 2026.
We won’t have the paperwork in until a couple of days before when the Gloucestershire County Council legal team will send it out. We will publish this on the website Slimbridge Road Safety Group – Slimbridge Parish Council, and the Parish Council Facebook page, and send out on e-mails to those who are signed up (please sign up from the front page of the website if you wish to receive the Parish Council e-mails and encourage others to do so if they wish to hear of local information)

Parish working groups
As well as the Road Safety Group, we also have other working parties should you be interested in joining any of them, these include Flooding working party and Biodiversity working party. Please contact the Clerk if you would like to find out more and be part of these too.

Parish News

Local Government Reorganisation Consultation
The government is running a public consultation on Gloucestershire’s Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) proposals.
The consultation asks whether the proposals for either a Single Unitary, Two Unitary (East / West split) or Two Unitary (Greater Gloucester City)  :

• Are based on sensible geographies and economic areas
• Will deliver the outcomes described in the proposals
• Are the right size to be efficient, improve capacity, and withstand financial shocks
• Will enable stronger community engagement and support devolution
• Will deliver high-quality, sustainable public services that meet local needs

The government will use the responses to help assess which option best meets the criteria for effective local government.
The consultation will run for seven weeks from Thursday, 5 February. The link for this can be found: Proposals for local government reorganisation in Gloucestershire – GOV.UK

Please do take the time to respond

STW and parish flooding
The Parish Council now have a flood working group set up with Cllrs and volunteer parishioners. We have made new links with STW who are trying to now have better communications. They have been invited to attend the Annual Parish Meeting and bring various advice leaflets. One of the things being stressed is that ALL flooding incidents, no matter what, MUST be reported. whether that be in the roads, gardens, toilets etc. This will then help build up a bigger picture for them and move Slimbridge issues up their priority list. The link to report is: Wastewater services | Contact us | Help and Contact | Severn Trent Water Videos and photos of issues happening at the time are also appreciated as they can’t be there straight away at times to see. there are a number of ways to report – phone, text, WhatsApp,

Parish Council news
20mph Traffic Road Order is still with Gloucestershire Highways and we are waiting for the public consultation date which we will publish as soon as we know.
Cllrs proposed and resolved to set the precept at £75,740 which is an increase of £5,070.00. This equates to a 7% increase, and for a Band D household equates to £10.41 per year increase (87p per month or 20p per week). Budgets, alongside the general running of the Council, will be for IT and data security, playing field management and pavilion projects, recycling and waste bins as part of changed legislation, Devolution as more work may come down from this to Town and Parish Councils, and continued work on flooding aspects in the parish such as ditches and culverts. The increase comes after the freezing of the precept last year.
The Council is also at the very early ideas of considering a mural on the wall in the playing field to brighten up this space, and look at grant funding for this.
The Neighbourhood Development Plan will also be under review considering any impacts Government Housing numbers may have on Stroud District and in turn within Slimbridge.
The Parish Council will be letting the grass grow in the back areas of the Churchyard again this year, so please do look out for the varying biodiversity this brings with it.
The Annual Parish Council meeting will be on Monday 13th April with the hall opening from 7.15pm and the meeting starting at 7.30pm

Just to let everyone know that the next Parish Council meeting is on Monday 9th February, not the 16th for this month.