Parish News 4th September 2025

Good afternoon,

The Parish Council are busy with a number of things presently.

St John’s Road culvert
The culvert on St John’s Road where there is a blockage, causing flooding of property gardens and St Johns Road in heavy rains, will be repaired this month. This will cause some minor disruption on the pavement whilst the works take place, but the long term benefits will obviously outweigh this. The Parish Council and Gloucestershire Highways are paying for this as a one off goodwill gesture with future maintenance and responsibilities to be sorted.

Planning applications
The Battery Storage planning application will now go to Stroud District Development Control Committee in October, and the Parish Council will make representations. The Parish Council are still waiting for the planning application for Wild Goose Lodge.

Playing Field
The Parish Council are also in the process of getting the playing field assessed to see how this can be managed going into the future. Cllr Steve Tilley is seen below digging out for soil samples. reports are expected soon and then Cllrs can look at options for maintenance.

St Johns Churchyard
Cllrs and volunteers also took part in a working party this morning at the Churchyard making sure that the listed tombs and other graves are kept free of brambles. We are looking at having regular dates for this and would love to have more volunteers involved. Cake is always available! Below is Cllr Anna Butcher clearing a cross at the entrance.

Solar farm Fund
Finally, if you are part of a community group undertaking any projects or activities, don’t forget to look at the Solar farm Fund for opportunities to apply. Details are on the Parish Council website at: Solar Farm Community Fund – Slimbridge Parish Council. Applications are now open with a deadline of 17th October.

Parish News

Battery Storage planning applications
Slimbridge Parish Council had their planning meeting last night, where the Battery Storage application has come back again as a new Variation application which is the same as the previous Variation application that has gone to appeal.
So this means that the applicants have a current application at Stroud District Council (S.25/1339/VAR) which the Parish Council have resolved to object to, and request that it is called into the Development Control  Committee; the applicant also has the previously refused application (S.25/0713/VAR) going to appeal. Therefore if you commented on the previous application through Stroud District Council, then you will now need to go to the new application to submit your comments again.

Churchyard working party
We are planning another working party date at St Johns churchyard on Thursday 4th September at 10am. If anyone would like to join us it would be much appreciated. Please bring gloves and any small tools to use. If you would like to let me know if you can join, then I can plan for the jobs we need to carry out.

Upcoming roadworks
Please find attached letter and map regarding the upcoming works on CAMBRIDGE LAYBY OFF A38 GLOUCESTER starting 20th August 2025.
Road closure for Spray Injection Patching.
Cambridge Layby letter
Please find attached letter and map regarding the upcoming works on ELMCOTE LANE CAMBRIDGE  starting 21st August 2025
Road closure for Spray Injection Patching
Elmcote Lane letter

Churchend Roadworks

Good morning all,

I have had notification that the roadworks planned for Churchend, Slimbridge will now take place on the 28th – 30th July.
Road closure map
This is due to works by Severn Trent Water

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk
07943 894637

Slimbridge Gardening Club
BEST Plant IN YOUR Garden Competition 23 June 2025
Slimbridge Parish Residents!
Enter the best plant in your garden in the Slimbridge Gardening Club competition. It could be big or small, just simply beautiful.
It’s free to enter!
Plants will be judged on 23 June. The trophy will be awarded at the Summer Show on 16 August.
Simply ring Danielle on 01453 899230 with your contact details by 6 pm 21 June. We’ll be in touch to arrange the judging.

Churchend Road Closure update
After liaising with Highways they have now put in a one way diversion for when the roadworks at Churchend occur in July

Gloucestershire County Council, as traffic authority, intends to make an Order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended) to temporarily close part of the C227 Churchend from outside of the property known as ‘Blacksmith Cottages’ to outside of the property known as ‘Beehive Stores’ for a distance of approximately 55 metres. The reason for the said closure is for pipe renewal works by Severn Trent Water. The said road is expected to be closed from 08:00hrs on 21st July 2025 to 16:00hrs on 23rd July 2025 or until the works have been completed. For further information, please contact Gloucestershire Highways on 08000 514 514 or visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk. Alternative Route – as signed on site Pedestrian access to premises on or next to the road, and emergency access, will be maintained.
Road closure map

Battery Storage, Kingston Road
This went to Development Control Committee last night where Cllr Mike Stayte spoke for the Parish Council. This was refused by the Committee, but we are expecting a revised application back with a smaller building size.

Parish News

Slimbridge Cllrs were sad to learn of the passing of Beryl Howell, who was a Cllr and Chairman in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s. Beryl’s funeral will be on June 2^nd at 12.30pm at St Johns Church.
Slimbridge Parish Council have just held their annual meeting where Cllr Mike Stayte was re-elected as Chairman and Cllr John Cullimore as Vice Chairman. The Council also welcomed 2 new Cllrs – Cath Cox and Adrian Joslin, as co-option took place; it was great to have 4 candidates applying for the two positions! All details of the Cllrs will be updated on the website soon.
The air source heat pump in the pavilion is now fully up and running and we look forward to seeing the pavilion being used more in the future. This was part funded by a grant from The Rural Prosperity Fund.
With the listed tombs at St Johns Church now completed, it is hoped regular working parties can be had to keep them clear of vegetation and also other parts of the churchyard too. If you would like to be part of this, please let the Clerk know. There are currently two areas being left to grow in the churchyard to see what elements of Biodiversity will show up. Please do have a walk through and if you can download the Inaturalist app and record some of the flowers, and insects that you see, that would be great. The Merlin app is also a great tool for listening to the birds and identifying them.
The Parish Council have just objected to the recent amendments on the Battery Storage application on Kingston Road, and also are still waiting the outcome on the SEND school application at Wild Goose lodge.
Lastly, the Parish Council are looking for a new Community Advice Panel member for the Solar Farm funding applications. This group meets once a year in November and the person would be on the panel for up to 3years. This entails looking at the applications that come in and putting forward recommendations for distribution. Please send your name to the Parish Clerk by June 13^th and if there are more than one applicant, names will be put in a hat to be drawn at the next Parish Council meeting on the 16^th June.

Road closure 
Please be advised of the following closure:
Churchend, Slimbridge
This road will be closed (as per the attached plan) from 21/07/2025 to 23/07/2025 to allow for pipe renewal work by Severn Trent Water.
Emergency and pedestrian access will be maintained.
If you should require further information please email streetworks@gloucestershire.gov.uk

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk
07943 894637

Parish News

Biodiversity blitz and Inaturalist app usage – tonight at St Johns Churchyard, 6.30pm with Cllr Steve Tilley
Don’t forget to meet up with Cllr Steve Tilley tonight to begin learning how to use the app and record what we have in our parish
“Inaturalist is a cool tool. I have recorded some plants in my wildflower meadow,
You can see below.
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/white-house-farm-gl2-7ae-wildflower-meadow
It is incredibly easy, and the plants are located accurately.
I have set up a map of the churchyard.”

Slimbridge Gardening Club
The very popular plant sale is back on 10th May at Slimbridge Hall.
Gardening Club members will be bringing a huge range of garden plants for sale. An ideal time to stock up your garden.
We start at 10am and close by Noon. Come early to grab a bargain, it always sells out very quickly.
Refreshments will be on sale.

Churchyard working party
Thanks go to the group of volunteers who came and helped clear the Hadley tomb yesterday at the Churchyard. This was covered in very thick bramble, but within an hour and a half it was all revealed. Also some maintenance around the listed tombs to keep the vegetation away from the bases was done too. A lovely sunny afternoon for the job!

Road closures
Gloucestershire County Council, as traffic authority, intends to make an Order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (as amended) to temporarily close part of the Tyndale Road from its junction with A38 Northbound Gossington Road to outside the property known as ‘Springfield House’ for a distance of approximately 50 metres.
The reason for the said closure is for works by Severn Trent Water.
The said road is expected to be closed from 9th June 2025 until 11th June 2025 only or until the said works have been completed.
For further information, please contact Gloucestershire Highways on 08000 514 514 or visit www.gloucestershire.gov.uk.
Proposed Alternative Route: as signed on site
Pedestrian access to premises on or next to the road, and emergency access will be maintained.

Parish News

Good morning,

Churchyard working party event – Tuesday 6th May 1pm
After a successful working party last year before the works started on the tombs, we had a working party where we cleared some of the tombs. We would like to carry these on, to maintain the newly restored tombs and to also clear some of the other graves that need some TLC. We will be at the churchyard on Tuesday 6th May from 1pm to do an hour or two of clearing. If you would like to come along, please wear suitable clothing and bring some gardening tools and gloves to be able to do some weed clearing and bramble clearing too. Please let me know if you are able to attend

Biodiversity event – Wednesday 7th May 6.30pm
We are following up from our Biodiversity event with the following activity – Using Inaturalist App to record species in the parish:
We will do our first bit of biodiversity work on Wednesday, May 7^th, at 6:30 in the Churchyard.
We will be looking at the different types of plants in the Churchyard and using the Inaturalist app to record and identify what we find.
Do not worry if you don’t have the app or don’t want to use it; please come along and help.
Please let me know if you can attend.
Please let Cllr Steve Tilley know if anyone wants help downloading or using Inaturalist.
cllr.steve.tilley@slimbridge-pc.gov.uk

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk
07943 894637

Good afternoon

There are two Parish Council vacancies. Due to the resignations of Giles Storey and Caroline Tatham, there will be two vacancies on the Parish Council. This will be advertised to allow any parishioners to call a by-election if they wish before the 8^th and 9^th April; or if this doesn’t happen, then the Parish Council can co-opt in May. I will send out information on this over the coming weeks, but if anyone is interested in becoming a Parish Councillor and wanting to represent the community, then please do drop the Clerk an e-mail or have a chat to one of the Councillors
Parish Vacancy Notice 1
Parish Vacancy Notice 2

Belong Learning School planning application at Wild Goose Lodge. Slimbridge Parish Council have objected to this application with the main concerns being traffic and access to the site, and lack of emergency evacuation plans due the Battery Storage site. If you wish to comment on the application you can do so on the Stroud planning website https://publicaccess.stroud.gov.uk/online-applications/, however, your comments will not immediately appear as they have to be manually verified. They take about a week to appear but are available to the planners immediately. You can also email about the development at planning@stroud.gov.uk . Put the planning reference S25/0408/FUL in the subject and write your opinions in the email. However, you MUST include your name and address in the email.

Annual Parish Meeting. This is taking place on Monday 7^th April at 7.30pm, the agendas are out with the newsletter. Please join Councillors to hear about the work over the last 12 months and plans for the coming months. There will be refreshments and everyone is invited.

Pavilion air source heat pump. The works are well underway and due to be completed by the end of the month. This will be a great improvement on the heating and water system for the pavilion.

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk
07943 894637

Parish News

Good morning,

Biodiversity Community event
Don’t forget our Biodiversity Event this Wednesday (24th) at 6.30pm in Slimbridge Village Hall, There will be a small presentation on Biodiversity about plants and wildlife, and also about the plans to rewild parts of the churchyard. There will be refreshments and a quiz, and we would love to hear your ideas on how we can expand the parish’s wildlife and plants with community and individual projects.

Hedgehogs
Please also check your grass before strimming after another hedgehog had to be taken to the Wildhogs Rescue centre last week after being strimmed. Unfortunately hedgehogs hide and do not move when they are frightened

Slimbridge Gardening Club
The Slimbridge Gardening Club is on 29 March at the Village Hall from 2 pm. We are looking for talented gardeners, flower arrangers, cooks and handcrafters to enter a wide range of classes. We’ve a great selection of classes for children too. Remember entry is free for Children. You can get the schedule including entry form from the Post Office or online. Entries in by 26 March and pay on the morning of the show.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/slimbridgegardeningclub

Kind regards
Helen Dunn, Parish Clerk
07943 894637