News from the Shire - Wednesday 5th March
The latest roundup of news away from Gloucester and Cheltenham…
Dear readers - To start my latest Substack delivered to your inbox, there is a scheduling order to when you’ll receive certain pieces.
Two roundups will be delivered each week, one on a Wednesday at 8pm called ‘News from the Shire’, dedicated entirely to Gloucestershire news away from the county’s two main urban centres - Gloucester and Cheltenham. If you live in Tewkesbury, Stroud, the Cotswolds or Forest of Dean, this newsletter will feature as much news as I can find and write for your area.
The second will be every Saturday morning at 8am, a roundup of weekly news from across the whole county. Some stories from the Wednesday roundup may be repeated, but overall this will include stories from Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Any extra pieces of local journalism and my own personal interests will arrive in your inbox either on a weekday or at the weekend, including some good pieces coming your way for the rest of March.
If you can share this post with someone you know who may find this new form of journalism condensed to a newsletter interesting, the button is below.
On this Wednesday evening, here is a roundup of news from Gloucestershire involving Tewkesbury, Stroud, the Cotswolds and Forest of Dean only. More news from Gloucester and Cheltenham will be included for Saturday.
Tewkesbury
🛣️ Improvements to the M5 at junctions 9 and 10 have been given a funding boost of almost £14 million. Council leaders from Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury Borough have agreed to allocate funding from developments to important transport schemes in the county. This means the M5 Junction 10 Scheme will receive up to £10m while the M5 junction 9 and A46 Aschurch transport scheme will receive £1m. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🏠 All 144 homes at the Whittle Gardens development in Innsworth have officially sold out. Barratt Homes have said that over a third of the homes have been purchased by key workers including NHS staff and education professionals. Daniel Wood, Punchline
📜 Tewkesbury Methodist Church will be the venue for a Tewkesbury Voices event about the slave trade and the town’s part in its abolition. The talk by John Dixon is called ‘Tewkesbury in the context of the Codrington Family’ and asks some key questions on what was Codrington’s part in the slave trade, how were the Codringtons connected with the old town hall and how did Tewkesbury people influence the 1834 Abolition?
Stroud
🌊 Villagers on the banks of the River Severn have celebrated the pause of a “completely bonkers” plan to turn hundreds of hectares of farmland into salt marsh. Arlingham was one village selected to see whether 40 hectares of salt marsh would compensate for the fish that would die at Hinkley Point C in Somerset. John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
♻️ Hundreds of residents in Berkeley, Alkington, Ham and Stone are calling for the “right to use the nearest tip” as people have to make a 13 mile trip to use the County Council tip near Horsley. The nearest public tip is in Thornbury 6.5 miles away. Residents in the north of the Forest of Dean District in places such as Dymock and Kilcot face a similar problem. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
😢 A commemorative bench installed by veterans to remember fallen comrades, has been vandalised. Maintained by Stroud Town Council, the bench in Park Gardens was given to the town by Sidney B Park in memory of his son, Herbert Sidney Park who was killed in the First World War. Gloucester News Centre
🏃 Dozens of runners took part in a brand new event to celebrate the achievements of Berkeley’s Edward Jenner, who pioneered the concept of vaccines. The 10k event, nicknamed the Jenner’s Jog was organised by community run club New Berkeley Harriers in collaboration with Dr Jenner's House. Alice Knight, Gloucestershire Gazette
🥞 The annual Dursley pancake race has taken place to mark Shrove Tuesday. Lots of runners in fancy dress (including Father Christmas!) turned up to compete against each other down Parsonage Street whilst flipping pancakes! Ash Loveridge and Matt Bigwood with some great photos, Stroud Times
Cotswolds
🌊 Cotswold Water Park has officially changed its name in time for it first event. The park is now officially called Cotswold Lakes to “better reflect the stunning wetland landscape”. Changing the name coincides with the first-ever Cotswold Lakes Day on Saturday, March 29. Abigail Nicholson, Gloucestershire Live
😋 Bourton Kebab Van, based in Bourton Link in Bourton-on-the-Water, has won a Highly Commended accolade in the Kebab Van of the Year category in the British Kebab Awards for 2025. The van was chosen for the award out of 11 finalists, including Tetbury Kebab Van in Tetbury’s Cirencester Road. Kate Jones, Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard
🙌 A student has restored a championship go-kart for his college project. Jakub, a second-year student at Cirencester College, has spent four months restoring the retired racing kart as part of his Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Matty Airey, Wilts & Gloucestershire Standard
Forest of Dean
➡️ The business behind a venture to set up 41 holiday lodges on a former caravan site near Lydney which had been refused by planners last April has been told that the local authority's decision was correct - and the appellant must now foot the bill for the appeal. Simon Hacker, Punchline
🎶 Singers from the Forest of Dean Climate Choir participated in a powerful flash mob protest at St Paul’s Cathedral, calling on the Church of England to commit to rewilding more of its land. Luke Davis, The Forester
📖 A school library is being dedicated to a British veteran of the Battle of Imjin River. Roy Mills, from Cinderford, was the last surviving member of the Glorious Glosters - a name given to the Gloucestershire Regiment who fought at Hill 235, now known as Gloster Hill, in South Korea. Christopher Mace, BBC Gloucestershire