Saturday roundup of Gloucestershire news - 12th April
Weekly news including peerage for former Forest MP, chip shop apology for high prices and stacks of positive news from the county!
Dear readers - welcome to another Saturday roundup of news from across Gloucestershire. One more weekend until Easter, it is incredible how time is flying. Many events are planned across the county, which brings me very nicely to an announcement.
If you look at the homepage, you’ll see a tab labelled ‘What’s On Gloucestershire’. I’ve formed an unpaid partnership with the webpage, which means if you have a Gloucestershire event, why not get in touch.
In case you missed my piece from this week on why Gloucestershire County Council elections matter, then do follow the link below. The full list of candidates can be found here and on Sunday the first of six leader interviews will drop into your inbox.
I appreciate some of you may be disconnected from local politics, an understandable opinion, but rest assured - other non-political pieces are on their way.
Gloucestershire County Council elections are on the horizon - why do they matter?
If you are reading this post I have no doubt that you have received a party political broadcast in leaflet form through your door by now.
Below is this week’s full roundup including the part you must not miss - the positive news section, which is absolutely jam-packed this week!
Gloucester, Stroud and Forest of Dean…
🗳️ Former Forest of Dean MP Mark Harper has been awarded a life peerage as part of the Prime Minister’s Resignation Honours, it was confirmed on Friday, April 11. Mr Harper, who served the Forest for 19 years until his defeat at the 2024 General Election, is among a select group of senior Conservative figures to be elevated to the House of Lords on the recommendation of outgoing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Mark Elson, The Forester
🚗 Gloucester Car Boot could return within weeks after deal was agreed with a new operator. It was previously held on Wednesdays and Sundays before the previous operator's licence expired in November 2024. Council bosses announced they had granted a lease to a new operator, who they said plans to run music events, a drive-in cinema and outdoor fitness events at the site on Hempsted Meadows. Ross Crane, BBC Gloucestershire
🚧 There are concerns a pedestrian crossing closure in Gloucester city centre is “dangerous”. Work is underway to install a cycle through the city. But the works where Southgate Street meets Kimbrose Way and Commercial Road is making the pedestrian route from the city centre to the Docks and Quays hazardous according to a local councillor. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🐟 A chip shop has apologised to customers for raising prices amid surging costs - as it now charges £15 for cod and chips. The Nippy Chippy in Stonehouse, is now charging £15 for a large cod and chips and for £12.50 for normal portion. The move comes after seeing the cost of fish surging by more than 60 per cent in just three months. James Felton, Stroud News & Journal
📽️ An independent cinema in the Forest of Dean is selling off its old movie posters to get some extra cash. Bosses at The Palace in Cinderford said it had experienced a fall of footfall and an increase in costs. Edward Rowe, BBC Gloucestershire
❤️ A loving son from Stonehouse has paid tribute to his father and praised the hospice who looked after him during his final days. Father of four, Andy Collins, was 73 when he died and now his son Luke hopes to give back to Longfield. Kim Horton, Gloucestershire Live
🛍️ The owner of a beloved gift shop in Dursley which has been open for nearly five decades is set to retire. Jan Johnson, long-time owner of That New Shop says she is looking for a new ‘challenge’ in her life. The popular shop in Parsonage Street - which has been running for 45 years - is now up for sale. Alice Knight, Gloucestershire Gazette
⛪ A rare memorial for a one-month-old baby who died in the 17th Century is being moved into public view after being rediscovered. Anne Baynhan's parents paid a "significant" fee for her Painswick stone effigy after she died in 1632, which was "very unusual" for that period. In December 2023, her memorial was found behind an organ at Holy Trinity Church in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, while the instrument was being dismantled for refurbishment. Following a year of fundraising, it will now go on display. Maisie Lilywhite & Andy Howard, BBC Gloucestershire
Latest crime news…
A man has been found guilty of several counts of sexually abusing a boy around 20 years ago. The jury at Gloucester Crown Court took less than an hour to find 41-year-old Wayne Harris guilty of six offences against the child. He has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced next week. Harris was found guilty on 3 April of four counts of causing or inciting a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity and two counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child.
Two Gloucester men, who broke into a house in Stroud while a baby slept upstairs, have been jailed. Colin Brown, aged 36 and of Stanway Road in Coney Hill and Craig Wood, aged 33 and of Portreath Way in Kingsway, were sentenced to a total of 16 years in prison when they appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday 27 March. They had pleaded guilty to robbery at a previous hearing.
Barbershops in Gloucestershire believed to be involved in criminal activity were targeted as part of a national money-laundering campaign last month.
Dozens of officers from Gloucestershire Police, The South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, Immigration, Trading Standards and HMRC took part in the operation across the county.
Warrants were conducted on two barber shops on Barton Street in Gloucester on Wednesday 5 March, resulting in a man aged 40 and from Gloucester being arrested on suspicion of fraud. He has since been released under investigation while enquiries continue.
A woman with a history of violent offending has been handed a Violent Offender Order (VOO) following her release from prison. Layla Warburton, aged 33 and from Gloucester, was serving a sentence for wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in 2016 before her release from prison on 20 March 2025. A Judge at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court imposed the order after being satisfied that Warburton was a qualifying offender and agreed that an order was necessary to manage the risk of violence now that she has been released.
Officers investigating the serious assault of a man in the Forest of Dean last week are continuing to appeal for witnesses. Police were called to Market Place in Coleford at 2.30pm on Saturday (5 April) with a report that a man had been assaulted outside a pub sustaining serious injuries.
Police are appealing for information after a man was assaulted in the toilets of a Cheltenham nightclub. It was reported that several men followed the victim into the toilets of Home and Botanic at around 2.45am yesterday (Sunday 6 April) before kicking him in the head. The victim, a man in his 30s, was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital for treatment to a facial injury.
Photo of the week
Cheltenham, Tewkesbury and Cotswolds…
🅿️ Fish farm owner Max Thomas claims his new plan for Bibury, dubbed England’s most beautiful village, could be the answer to its traffic congestion nightmare. The picturesque Cotswolds village has been plagued by issues due to over-tourism, with thousands of visitors from across the world visiting daily. Carmelo Garcia & Robin Jenkins, Gloucestershire Live
🚌 In similar news, a controversial plan to keep coaches out of Bourton-on-the-Water is set to go ahead despite a potential last minute U-turn by the parish council. Concerns about over-tourism and a lack of parking for coaches in the village led the parish council to ask Gloucestershire County Council to tackle the issue. Subsequent talk of banning coaches has polarised opinion in the village, which is known as the Venice of the Cotswolds, with many businesses saying tourism is vital for their survival but some residents bemoaning the extremely heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic during peak holiday periods. Punchline
🛤️ A project to get a rail link to Cirencester has taken a step forward as campaigners marked an important achievement recently. The Cirencester Community Railway project celebrated the signing of documents to establish a community interest company on Thursday, April 3. The CIC, which will be known as the Cotswold Community Railway CIC, is a not-for-profit company committed to improving public transport services in the Cotswolds. Kate Jones, Wilts & Glos Standard
🍺 The Red Lion at Wainlode Hill beside the River Severn near Gloucester is in need of a new tenant. The property is of Georgian design, constructed of red brick under a pitched slate roof. It offers three internal trading areas and spacious owner's accommodation. David Wood, Punchline
🍻 In other pub news, Wiltshire brewery Arkell’s has bought a pub in Stow-in-the-Wold. The Swindon-based brewery now owns The Old Stocks Inn, which is next door to another of the brewery’s own pubs, The Stag at Stow. Both hotels will now combine. Kate Jones, Wilts & Glos Standard
💷 Cheltenham MP Max Wilkinson has expressed his disappointment at the government's rejection of the Liberal Democrats’ Buy British campaign. The campaign encourages people in Cheltenham to buy local products, as a way of standing tall against President Trump's trade war and to back businesses in the community as they deal with the fall-out. The Chancellor Rachel Reeves criticised the campaign as "inward looking" and said the government would not be backing it. Sarah Wood, Punchline
🚂 A Victorian steam engine built in 1896 will be the star of the show at the Cotswold Festival of Steam. The 129-year-old locomotive, known as 'O1' class 0-6-0 no. 65, will be on loan from the Bluebell Railway in Sussex for the festival at the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Steam Railway (GWSR) from Saturday 24 to Monday, May 26. Nathan Russell, Cotswold Journal
The positive news section…
🎵 Newent Choral Society celebrates its 80th anniversary with a concert of sacred and profane music today (April 12). The concert, which is being held at Newent Community School, begins with a series of motets – vocal compositions, often in Latin and usually with a religious theme which are sung in several parts. Mark Elson, The Forester
🙌 Members of the Cam and Dursley community came together to celebrate the boss of a vital charity in the area who has helped thousands of people. Tributes were paid to Indigo Redfern - the departing CEO of GL11 Community Hub - at a celebration party on Friday. Ms Redfern - who is planning to relocate to Suffolk - has been at the helm of the Cam charity for 11 years, having taken on the position in 2014. Alice Knight, Gloucestershire Gazette
🚂 The Vale of Berkeley Railway Charitable Trust has passed a critical milestone in its aim to run heritage trains at Sharpness, by obtaining a Mainline Licence Exemption from the Office of Rail and Road (ORR). This gives the Vale of Berkley Railway (VoBR) permission to operate trains at its rapidly developing heritage centre, located at the former freight exchange sidings that served the Sharpness branch and Sharpness Docks. It’s a major advance towards the VoBR’s objective of running heritage trains along the line which last saw passengers in 1964. Matt Bigwood, Stroud Times
❤️ Residents at a Bupa care home in Cirencester were treated to an unusual four-legged visitor — and it wasn’t a petting zoo escapee. Poppy the pony from Dinky Ponies proved a hit during a heart-warming therapy visit that left the elderly residents visibly uplifted. Lewis Clarke, Gloucestershire Live
🥰 A nine-year-old girl has raised more than £200 for the air ambulance charity that tried to save her dad. Ivy-Sue Moore, a pupil at Stonehouse Park Federation, organised a fundraiser in memory of her father, Simon Moore, who died in November after being airlifted to hospital by the Great Western Air Ambulance Charity. The event saw pupils and staff at the school wear green, the charity's official colour, and was attended by Charlie Bear, the charity's mascot. Matty Airey, Stroud News & Journal
➡️ A chef from Stroud is ‘gobsmacked’ after he learns he’s related to a fallen First World War soldier. Nicholas Allan, chef and co-founder of Star Anise Cafe, has found out about his great uncle Lieutenant James Allan after DNA tests proved his identity. Phil Norris, Gloucestershire Live
❤️ A girl from Coleford got chatting to a lad from Llangrove outside Monmouth’s cinema – and nearly three-quarters of a century later they have just celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. Rita and Reg Marshall were married at the Baptist church in Coleford on April 2nd 1955. Many congratulations! Mark Elson, The Forester
⚽ A 31-year-old Gloucester man who says he had had enough of being tired and in pain due to the weight he had put on has now lost a fifth of his body weight – almost five stone – on a local FA accredited health and wellbeing football programme. Josh Witts, who weighed over 23 stones (148.5kg ) when he began taking part in MAN v FAT Gloucester in April 2024, says joining the club has helped him make a positive change to his lifestyle. Gloucester News Centre