Stroud District

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:

• 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.

Boundary reviews in 1991 saw the district gain the parish of Hillesley and Tresham from Northavon and cede the parish of Quedgeley to Gloucester.

Governance

| coa-pic = | coa-res = Green Green ; Administration (24) : Green (24) ; Other parties (27) : Labour (18) : Conservative (6) : : Independent (1)

Stroud District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

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.

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:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2025 the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2028.

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.

Elections

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.

Towns and parishes

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.

Notable Members of Stroud District Council (and predecessors)

Margaret Hills (née Robertson) was the first woman elected to Stroud Urban District Council in 1928. where she stood as a representative of the Stroud Women's Citizens Association (SWCA). She remained a member until 1936 when the council was expanded to cover Cainscross and Rodborough.

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. Tom Levitt is also a former member and served for a short time before moving to High Peak in the early 1990s.

References

References

1. "Stroud Local Authority".
2. "Profile of Stroud District {{!}} LSP".
3. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
4. {{cite legislation UK. (1973)
5. {{cite legislation UK. (1991)
6. {{cite legislation UK. (1991)
7. "The Chief Executive - Kathy O'Leary".
8. "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections emails".
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
10. "Election maps". Ordnance Survey.
11. (3 June 2024). "Council remains committed to district vision as new civic year starts".
12. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
13. (19 April 2008). "Stroud". [[BBC News Online]].
14. Harrison, Stephen. (1998-04-30). "Close contest as Labour battles to stay in control Voters across the Midlands go to the polls next Thursdaymay7. Today, Local Government Correspondent Stephen Harrison looks at the looming ballot battle in Gloucestershire". [[Birmingham Post]].
15. "Council decisions, 10 May 2001".
16. "Council minutes, 29 July 2004".
17. (30 September 2009). "Leader of Stroud District Council Chas Fellows is to step down". Stroud News.
18. "Council minutes, 12 November 2009".
19. "Council minutes, 17 May 2012".
20. (16 May 2016). "Councillor Steve Lydon elected new leader of Stroud District Council". Stroud News.
21. "Council minutes, 19 May 2016".
22. (26 January 2018). "Dursley's Doina Cornell elected leader of Stroud District Council". Gazette.
23. (26 January 2018). "Stroud District Council elects new leader". Stroud News.
24. James Felton. (30 June 2022). "Election hopeful Doina Cornell leaves Labour Party".
25. (22 July 2022). "Stroud District Council leader Doina Cornell resigns". Stroud News.
26. (21 July 2022). "Council minutes, 21 July 2022".
27. (27 May 2025). "Major changes in Stroud as announcement made". Stroud News.
28. (4 May 2024). "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian.
29. "Stroud". Thorncliffe.
30. {{NHLE
31. {{cite legislation UK. (2015)
32. "Parish Council contact details".
33. Womens Leader (formerly Common Cause) 27 April 1928
34. "Margaret Hills". Suffrage Pioneers.
35. (8 February 2018). "From political activists to singers, here's the women we think are some of the greatest in the county". Gloucestershire Live.
36. (10 May 2020). "Former Stroud MP David Drew in bid to be local councillor". Gloucestershire Live.
37. "Stroud District Council Election Results 1973-2012". Elections Centre.