Previous News

Gold Medal Hero Pete Reed is coming to Nailsworth!

Come along to the King George V Playing Fields on Sunday September 25th to celebrate Pete's Gold Medal in the Men's eight at the Rio Olympics. 3:00pm until 5:00pm.

Pete will officially open the refurbished Tennis Courts and new sports equipment and then be available for selfies, photos, and autographs. 

All residents are invited to come along and meet Pete; bring a picnic!

A Nailsworth Referendum!

The CLT has been working very hard with Aster Homes and gcp Architects to draw up plans to develop the garage site at Lawnside/Bunting Hill for affordable homes. 

At the referendum on 18th August you will be asked to vote on a 'CRTBO' - a Community Right to Build Order - effectively you will decide the planning permission for this exciting development.

10 affordable homes are planned, a mixture of flats and terraced houses. If agreed, they will be available to rent for those on the Stroud Housing List that have local connections with Nailsworth. The Referendum will also include the removal of the Right To Acquire and the Right to Buy, meaning that these homes will stay in the town's ownership for ever.

These homes are being built at no cost to the town (other than the previously agreed administration set-up costs for the CLT). Details and the full CRTBO application are on the front page of the CLT website 

Nailsworth Children's Centre under threat.

Mothers using the Childrens Centre services in Nailsworth are very concerned that council cuts will mean the Centre closing. A group of mums met Nailsworth Mayor, Myles Robinson, on Wednesday to stress how much the services mean to the community.

The centre, based at the Arkell Community Centre in Forest Green, has weekly drop in sessions where residents can meet other parents and get help and support from the staff. It is currently funded by Gloucestershire County Council but is under threat from proposed cuts. Parents are able to share experiences, chat with others and get invaluable advice. A well stocked Toy Library, gives parents access to toys that they may not otherwise be able to afford.

The Nailsworth Mayor was left in no doubt that the drop in sessions are a vital support to families in Nailsworth. He said “I am convinced that there will be serious short and long term consequences if this vital well run run service is cut. We are doing everything in our powers to fight Gloucestershire County Council’s plans to cut the funding”.

One mother said “if the "Centre wasn't here I would be one of those Mums who never get out. It is company and adult conversation that I get most from, and the literacy and numeracy courses are such a help”. Another praised the help given by the staff “When I moved to this area I knew no-one and was struggling with money worries. The staff helped me a lot and even got me a grant for carpets."

Nailsworth Mayor added “These services are exceptionally important to young parents who might not otherwise get supportive company and conversation. It might be a small cut for Gloucestershire County Council but it is a devastating cut for our community.”

NTC is supporting Gloucestershire’s Car Sharing initiative.

Another Way to Travel... Having a problem getting from A to B? Want to save money on petrol and parking costs? Want to do your bit for the environment? Why not Car Share? Owning and using a car can be expensive, so why not reduce the cost by sharing some journeys? If you do have a car you can save running costs by sharing. If you don’t have a car then your travel can be much more flexible, for no matter what public transport there is there are times when a service isn’t available to you.

If you Car Shared just once a fortnight you will save 10% on your commute. Gloucestershire County Council has a county-wide car sharing facility at www.CarshareGloucestershire.com. It covers the whole of Gloucestershire and there are already nearly 3,000 members and more are joining daily. It is free to register and use and the site is very user-friendly.

Further details are available at the Town Information Centre, The Library or The Arkell Centre. Alternatively contact Cllr Anne Elliott.

Table Tennis in KGV Park

Mayor Jonathan Duckworth celebrated the National Table Tennis Day, 14th July, by serving up a game on the new outdoor table at the King George V Playing Fields. It was a family outing to celebrate the third National Table Tennis Day, a promotion aimed at bringing people together to have fun and promote the sport.

Jonathan said: “We had great fun playing table tennis in the park: being outdoors added another dimension, especially as we had to take account of the breeze. The table’s there to be used so please come along to the Playing Fields and have a go.”

The new equipment is part of a £45,000 package granted to the Town Council by Fields in Trust, an organisation that safeguards public open spaces for the future. The money was awarded to celebrate 90 years of the Trust, and, in addition to the table tennis feature, it has enabled the council to install outdoor gym equipment, a picnic table and benches and to refurbish the tennis courts, car park and changing rooms.

The Mayor added: “The Town Council is delighted that we have been able to improve the facilities at the King George V Playing Fields through the grant from Fields in Trust.”

At the moment players have to provide their own bats and balls, but the council is looking into the possibility of getting some equipment which will be available for hire.

20mph Consultation

A group of residents and councillors from all three councils (County, District and Town) have been working in response to concerns from residents in Nailsworth about traffic.

A set of proposals has been prepared and these were shown at the Farmers Market on Saturday February 27th, in Mortimer Gardens. Members of the group were on hand to answer questions from residents and record comments. Afterwards the proposals will be shown in the Town Information Centre. They were also in the Nailsworth News March edition.

The consultation is now closed and a report will be prepared for the Council.

Works at the Tennis Courts by KGV

The tennis courts have been refurbished.

The fences, gates and nets have been replaced and the courts resurfaced. This has been made possible by a grant from Fields in Trust. 

We apologise for any inconvenience caused during the works and we hope you enjoy the new courts.

Proposed Boundary Changes

A Public Meeting was held on 23rd November at 7:00pm in The Mortimer Room to allow Nailsworth Residents to put forward their views on these proposed changes.

Nailsworth Town Council objected to the proposals, and supported the Stroud District Labour Group's plan which suggested changes including Painswick being included in The Cotswolds and Nailsworth remaining in Stroud.

The Town Council will be celebrating Tony Evans' 25th Year as Town Crier on the 25th of February. 

Please come along to the Farmers Market at 11:00 to celebrate with us. If it is very busy we will decamp to the Bus Station!

Filming for a Charity at KGV

NTC stepped in to help out a local resident on Friday 10th Feb. Robyn had arranged to film a promotional video for Duchenne UK in the play area at Horsley, but the play area is being renovated. 

We were happy to be able to allow them to film from 09:00 until 12:00. Whilst this meant that the play area was not open for other users, it did help ensure that the film could be made.

The promotional video is ready to be signed off by Duchenne UK, but in he meantime, here is a different edit of the video.

We are delighted to have been able to help out, with the exception of the weather! The fundraising page is here.

Town Council Election - 4th May

There has been an election to fill the vacant seat on Nailsworth Town Council.The election was held on the same day as the County Council election, Thursday 4th May.

Congratulations to Mike Kelly, who returns to the Town Council after two years. The results were:

Mike Kelly, Independent 1,243
Colleen Rothwell, Lib Dem 604

Thank you to both candidates.

Congratulations!

FGR are promoted - it's the Football League for Nailsworth!

Nailsworth Town Council congratulate Forest Green Rovers in gaining promotion to the Football League.

It has been a long and eventful journey over 128 years, but what a journey; the smallest town ever to have a Football League team. NTC thank everyone that has been involved in this journey, you have done our town proud.  

Mural Art Competition

Nailsworth Town Council are hoping to brighten up an area in the Town Centre by inviting the residents of Nailsworth to take part in a design competition for the newly plastered wall in the Bus Station.  Suggestions for a theme could be ‘A celebration of Nailsworth through the ages’.  One idea already submitted is ‘Nailsworth in Bloom’.  Councillor Sally Millett said ‘We would like the completed artwork to become a tourist attraction for Nailsworth’. Submitted designs will be displayed for local people to choose the one they would like to see on the wall and we will then look for a local artist to create the mural.  Please submit your ideas with full illustrations in writing to:

Nailsworth Town Council, Town Hall, Old Bristol Road, Nailsworth, GL6 0JF  for the attention of Cllr Sally Millet.  Closing date is Friday 14^th September.

Car Parking Charges

Nailsworth is a special place that has pulled itself up by its bootstrings and become successful through the endeavours of its people. It has done this with scant help. Nailsworth gets little from SDC, and yet it supports activities that the larger councils should provide, such as Youth Club, Library and Children's Centre.

Nailsworth has no secondary school, no museum, no canal, no Sub Rooms, no railway station, no sports centre, no swimming pool, no shopping centre for SDC to invest in. Nailsworth is different.

Stroud District Council are looking to consult on the introduction of charges for car parks across the district. On Thursday 14th June, at 7pm in Ebley Mill, the SDC Strategy and Resources Committee is deciding whether to introduce charges in a number of towns. 

Papers for the meeting can be seen here.

Nailsworth Town Council will rigorously oppose these charges. We feel that the proposal laid out in the papers is fundamentally flawed, and lacking in detail. We followed the information on the Agenda paper and sent in questions, which are available here. We were told that we were only allowed to send three questions, so this is what we asked:

1 The officers’ report confirms that legal powers to set parking charges are to ‘secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of vehicles and other traffic in the locality’ along with air quality, amenity, access to premises, access for emergency vehicles. (2.4), why is no direct evidence provided to demonstrate that any of this is a problem in Nailsworth?

2 Given there is a lack of supporting information, such as details of the Car Park Surveys and their methodology, assessment of the nature of visits to Nailsworth, the importance of car borne shoppers to the town, the effect charges would have on on-street and private car parks, the effect parking charges would have on vehicle movements as drivers search for free spaces, the effect on non-retail and catering activities, any evidence of an impact assessment, how can the Committee make a decision to go for consultation without this information being available to them?

3 In Nailsworth a substantial proportion of the population lives at the top of a long steep hill and public transport is derisory, the likelihood of charging significantly influencing modal split in favour of walking and cycling is very small, in addition there is no station or commuter hub, or major publicly provided facility such as swimming pool, music/arts venue, museum, sports, leisure centre etc. however in this report most of the limited evidence presented derives from different, much larger places, it is not demonstrated that this reads across to Nailsworth, so why have the specific and unique circumstances of Nailsworth not been considered?

Councillors will be attending the meeting. If the SDC Committee decide that they wish to go ahead with the consultation charging then there will be 6 weeks in which to respond. NTC is likely to hold a public meeting. Further information will be posted here.

Annual Town Meeting

Showcasing Nailsworth 2019

Nailsworth’s Town Meeting was relocated to the town hall at the last minute when it was clear Storm Hannah would make the usual marquee location dangerous. Nailsworth Farmer’s Market was called off due to the high winds and the Town Meeting was able to squeeze into two floors of the old Town Hall.

There were nearly forty volunteer groups, showcasing Nailsworth’s famously strong community spirit. Residents had a chance to ask questions, hear the Town Council’s annual report and plans for the next year.

Mayor Jonathan Duckworth presented the Town Awards. The Arts Award was given to Nailsworth In Bloom for their achievements in gaining a Silver Gilt in last year’s Britain in Bloom. Nailsworth Primary School were given the Sports Award for their new multi-use games area and rowing suite. The Youth Award went to Minchinhampton and Nailsworth Youth Forum for their work campaigning and decision making on issues affecting young people. Finally, the Town Shield went to Nailsworth Community Land Trust for their amazing community work creating ten new social housing units for the town.

A unique piece of Nailsworth’s heritage was offered in a charity auction on Saturday when residents were given another chance to bid for a Nailsworth town road sign at the Town Council’s Annual Town Meeting. This was possible because  three years ago Gloucestershire County Council told us they were replacing the Town Signs, and the old ones were to be thrown away! Clerk Katherine Kearns saved the signs for the town, and with the 6 signs saved, Mayor Jonathan Duckworth suggested that we kept some and auctioned others off for good causes in Nailsworth. 

Previous auctions have raised £650 for Nailsworth Youth Club and £960 for NYCE at the Sub Rooms.The last one to be auctioned, on Saturday, raised £750 for registered charity Nailsworth Health Partnership which seeks to improve the health and well being of people who live and work in the Nailsworth area.

Of the remaining three, one is to be given to Nailsworth’s twin town, Lèves, one is in the Town Information Centre and the final sign has been left for for posterity in the Town Archives.

Valley Trading at Babdown

Valley Trading have applied to increase the amount of traffic allowed to and from their site near Beverston, south of Nailsworth. A significant proportion will come down the A46 through Nailsworth. 

You can find out more, and if you would like to make your views known, see the details on Gloucestershire Planning.

New Civic Centre is officially open

We are pleased to inform you that  Nailsworth Town Council has now moved to the new Civic Centre in Old Market.  The aim of the move is to have all services together in the centre of town to make them easily accessible for everyone.  The new address is:

Nailsworth Town Council
Civic Centre
Old Market
Nailsworth
Stroud
Glos
GL6 0DU

Opening Hours are 9.30-12.30 Monday to Thursday.

All telephone numbers and email addresses remain unchanged.