Stroud District

Stroud District is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. The district is named after its largest town of Stroud. The council is based at Ebley Mill in the district of Cainscross, west of central Stroud. The district also includes the towns of Berkeley, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse and Wotton-under-Edge, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Over half of the district lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The neighbouring districts are Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Cotswold and South Gloucestershire.

History

The area is rich in Iron Age and Roman remnants and is of particular interest to archaeologists for its Neolithic burial grounds, of which there are over a hundred. Much of its wealth was built on the cloth industry during the Victorian era, and its many mills, most of which are now listed buildings, survive as testament to this. Much of the landscape in this area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Cotswold Way walk leads through the area. There are gliding clubs at Aston Down and Nympsfield.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of four former districts and parts of another three, which were all abolished at the same time:<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

• Dursley Rural District
• Gloucester Rural District (part, rest split between Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury)
• Nailsworth Urban District
• Sodbury Rural District (parish of Alderley only, rest went to Northavon)
• Stroud Rural District
• Stroud Urban District
• Thornbury Rural District (parishes of Alkington, Berkeley, Ham and Stone, Hamfallow and Hinton only, rest went to Northavon)

The new district was named Stroud after its largest town.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Boundary reviews in 1991 saw the district gain the parish of Hillesley and Tresham from Northavon and cede the parish of Quedgeley to Gloucester.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref><ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Governance

Stroud District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref> The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2011. Following the 2024 election a Green minority administration formed to run the council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "Stroud" in search box to see specific results.)</ref><ref name=change>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=looming>Template:Cite news</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1976
Template:Party name with colour	1976–1984
Template:Party name with colour	1984–1996
Template:Party name with colour	1996–1998
Template:Party name with colour	1998–2002
Template:Party name with colour	2002–2011
Template:Party name with colour	2011–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
John Stephenson-Oliver<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=29Jul2004/>	Template:Party name with colour	10 May 2001	29 Jul 2004
Chas Fellows<ref name=29Jul2004>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	29 Jul 2004	12 Nov 2009
Frances Roden<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=17May2012/>	Template:Party name with colour	12 Nov 2009	17 May 2012
Geoff Wheeler<ref name=17May2012>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=Cooke-Black/>	Template:Party name with colour	17 May 2012	May 2016
Steve Lydon<ref name=Cooke-Black>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	19 May 2016	Jan 2018
Doina Cornell<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	25 Jan 2018	30 Jun 2022
	Template:Party name with colour	30 Jun 2022	21 Jul 2022
Catherine Braun<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	21 Jul 2022	22 May 2025
Chloe Turner<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	22 May 2025

Composition

Following the 2024 election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2025 the composition of the council was:<ref name=Thorncliffe>Template:Cite web</ref>

Party		Councillors
Template:Party name with colour	24
Template:Party name with colour	18
Template:Party name with colour	6
Template:Party name with colour	2
Template:Party name with colour	1
Total		51

The next election is due in May 2028.<ref name=Thorncliffe/>

Premises

The council is based at Ebley Mill in the parish of Cainscross, a suburban town adjoining the west side of the town of Stroud. The mill was built as a woollen mill in 1818 and is a grade II* listed building. It was converted to become the council's offices between 1987 and 1990.<ref>Template:NHLE</ref>

Elections

Template:Also Since the last full review of boundaries in 2016 the council has comprised 51 councillors representing 27 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

Towns and parishes

Template:Further The district is entirely covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Berkeley, Cainscross, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse, Stroud and Wotton-under-Edge take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable Members of Stroud District Council (and predecessors)

Margaret Hills (née Robertson) was the first woman elected to Stroud Urban District Council in 1928.<ref>Womens Leader (formerly Common Cause) 27 April 1928</ref> where she stood as a representative of the Stroud Women's Citizens Association (SWCA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She remained a member until 1936 when the council was expanded to cover Cainscross and Rodborough.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

David Drew is also a former member of the council originally representing the Stonehouse ward, then Paganhill and Farmhill ward and most recently Stroud Central ward.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Tom Levitt is also a former member and served for a short time before moving to High Peak in the early 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Stroud District Council
• Stroud Voices (search page) – oral history site