Stroud District

Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the western outskirts of the town.

Stroud District
Stroud shown within Gloucestershire
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Constituent countryEngland
RegionSouth West England
Non-metropolitan countyGloucestershire
StatusNon-metropolitan district
Admin HQStroud
Incorporated1 April 1974
Government
  TypeNon-metropolitan district council
  BodyStroud District Council
  LeadershipCommittees[1] (Labour / Green / Liberal Democrat)
  MPsSiobhan Baillie
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Area
  Total177.9 sq mi (460.7 km2)
Area rank95th (of 317)
Population
 (mid-2019 est.)
  Total119,964
  Rank194th (of 317)
  Density670/sq mi (260/km2)
  Ethnicity
98.7% White
Time zoneUTC0 (GMT)
  Summer (DST)UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code23UF (ONS)
E07000082 (GSS)
OS grid referenceSO8508905550
Websitewww.stroud.gov.uk

The district is mixed and consists of part of the Cotswolds and the Vale of Berkeley, an area of the flat, fertile valley of the River Severn. The town of Stroud is the largest in the area. The southern portion of the district is served mostly by its own market towns, chief among which are Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge.

History

Stroud District Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974, by a merger of Nailsworth and Stroud urban districts, Dursley Rural District, Stroud Rural District, and parts of Gloucester Rural District, Sodbury Rural District and Thornbury Rural District.

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 100. 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 esteemed Cotswold Way walk leads through the area. There are gliding clubs at Aston Down and Nympsfield.

Politics

Elections to the district council since 2016 are now held on a whole council basis every four years. Previously since 1983 elections by thirds took place in three out of every four years. At the 2016 election, the coalition of Labour, Greens and the Liberal Democrats retained its majority on Stroud District Council. The 2019 general election saw Siobhan Kathleen Baillie, a British Conservative Party politician, elected as Member of Parliament for Stroud.

References

  1. "Council Meeting 29 November 2012, Minutes" (PDF). Stroud District Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017.
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