Saturday roundup of Gloucestershire news - 5th April
Weekly news including burial errors at Gloucester crematorium, anniversary for county university and a new recipe for marmite
Dear readers - after a well earned break I am back with my weekly roundups.
The birds are singing loud, the bluebells are appearing and the lambing season is in full swing across Gloucestershire. Easter is fast approaching, the daylight hours are longer and the best part? We live in a beautiful county to take all of it in.
Delivered to your inboxes very soon are pieces I look forward to sharing with you, including some of my own personal interests. May is National Walking Month so expect something on the theme to be published.
Elsewhere, county council elections are on the horizon. Being a solo writer means I cannot cover everything but be prepared for some coverage that could help those of you who may be decided or undecided voters. The full list of candidates has been revealed.
If you did not catch Wednesday’s News from the Shire roundup, the latest link is here.
News from Gloucester, Stroud & Forest of Dean…
🪦 A woman who discovered another body had been buried in her plot beside her parents at Coney Hill Cemetery and Crematorium, says she does not want the same thing to happen to other families. Gloucester City Council, who own the cemetery, had to apologise this week after accidently burying two people in the wrong plots. This story has even made national headlines.
🍺 Efforts to reopen a village pub owned by the community have been shelved for now. Villagers were hoping to buy and run the Rose and Crown Inn at Nympsfield - which closed its doors in March 2023 - as a community pub. Alice Knight, Stroud News & Journal
➡️ Charities and businesses have been told they will have to find a new home as their current building is being redeveloped. The Science and Technology Park in Berkeley is to be transformed into a small modular reactor for nuclear technology, owners Chiltern Vital Group (CVG) have announced. Edward Rowe, BBC Gloucestershire
🍦 The future of Gloucester as the “Home of Wall’s ice cream” has been secured as city chiefs approved plans for a “multi-million pound” upgrade of their facilities. Unilever UK Ltd, who owns the Wall’s ice cream brand, has been granted permission for new buildings and a replacement mix plant facility at their site off Corinium Avenue in Barnwood. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🗳️ Stroud Green councillor Steve Hyndside has described a Labour Party leaflet boasting about deporting more people than the Tories as “sickening”. The leaflet shows a passenger jet taking off with the heading “Labour has the four biggest deportation flights in UK history”. However, a Labour Party spokesperson defended the Government’s record and they say they are putting people’s priorities, such as immigration, at the heart of their policies. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🌍 An environmental campaign group has blasted the financial impact of the Javelin Park incinerator contract and claim it has cost taxpayers £42m over its first five years. Community R4C, a community-owned organisation advocating for lower-cost, environmentally sustainable waste management, claims the Gloucestershire County Council contract with Urbaser Balfour Beatty for incineration has cost taxpayers more than landfill. But Conservative Cabinet member David Gray said the decision to invest in Javelin Park was taken over a decade ago. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🕙 A new piece of artwork unveiled this week at Five Valleys Shopping Centre in Stroud has given a timely nod to the fascinating history of when the town had its own time zone. Set permanently to 12:09 the piece is a well-timed reminder that in the 19th Century, Stroud followed its own local time system - based on the position of the sun. James Felton, Stroud News & Journal
🏉 The artificial turf pitch to be laid at Cinderford Rugby Club later this summer will be “among the best” playing surfaces in the country. New floodlights being installed allow the club to host under-20 internationals and meet the criteria for Championship rugby, a launch event at the Beavis Memorial Ground was told. Mark Elson, The Forester
🚲 The Veteran-Cycle Club's annual Pedersen gathering is set to take place in Dursley. The event will be held on Saturday, April 12, with a variety of activities planned throughout the day. The highlight of the gathering will be the arrival of the club on their Pedersen bicycles at Dursley market place from 11am. Matty Airey, Stroud News & Journal
🎵 Stroud record shop Sound Records is one of only two in Gloucestershire participating in this year’s Record Store Day and long queues are expected from early in the morning on Saturday, April 12. Shop proprietor Tom Berry has nominated his five crucial releases this year. Ash Loveridge, Stroud Times
Photo of the Week
Latest crime roundup…
A man has been jailed for his involvement in running drugs lines which supplied cocaine to vulnerable drug users living in Cheltenham. George Mahon, aged 25 and formerly of Hygrove Lane in Minsterworth, was sentenced to four years in prison after appearing at Gloucester Crown Court.
A woman has been convicted of the manslaughter of her four-month-old daughter after violently shaking her on more than one occasion. Melissa Wilband, 28, had denied killing Lexi Wilband, but it took jurors just over 10 and a half hours to find her guilty following a four-week trial at Bristol Crown Court. The court was told that Lexi collapsed at her home in Mantley Grove, Newent, Forest of Dean on 12 April 2020. She died in hospital on 18 April 2020.
A former Gloucestershire police and crime commissioner candidate who was banned from contacting Cheltenham MP Max Wilkinson as well as several councils due to threatened use of violence has seen his injunction order extended for another two years. Gloucestershire Constabulary successfully applied for an injunction order against Matthew Randolph, 54, of Cheltenham Road, Longlevens, Gloucester in July last year. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
A former PCSO who used police computer systems to check on the whereabouts of a colleague and watch her body worn camera footage has been given a suspended prison sentence. Ben Hale, who was based in Cheltenham, became fixated on a member of his team to the extent he refused to be partnered with anyone else and tried to monopolise her company.
News from Cheltenham, Tewkesbury & Cotswolds…
🚘 Nearly 70 parked cars could be counted on the roadsides in Chesterton Park, Cirencester when the Wilts & Glos Standard visited on Monday afternoon as police begin a crackdown on the problem. Although some vehicles clearly belonged to residents, it was evident that the vast majority were student cars. Householders say Cirencester College students are clogging the roads with irresponsible parking - leading to the area being branded ‘Chesterton Car Park’. Kate Jones, Wilts & Glos Standard
🛍️ Cheltenham MP, Max Wilkinson, has launched a Buy Cheltenham, Back Britain campaign to support local businesses in the wake of Donald Trump's tariffs announced this week (April 2). Mr Wilkinson said that people should rally round local businesses at risk from the economic shock caused by Donald Trump's trade war, including local producers and high street shops. Sarah Wood, Punchline
🏗️ New plans submitted to Tewkesbury Borough Council reveal how Marks and Spencers now intends to open a new store in Gloucestershire, having taken a prime spot at the Cotswolds Designer Outlet, which is tipped to open for the first visitors in July. Simon Hacker, Punchline
🗝️ A business which has been in Stow-on-the-Wold for nearly five decades is relocating after its owners have decided to take a step back. Baggott Church Street Ltd, which deals in antiques, is moving from Church Street to Huntman's Yard in Sheep Street, Stow, after its owners, Jack and Chrissie Baggott, have decided to 'take a step back' and let their son, Henry, take the helm. Daniel Kelly, Cotswold Journal
🚜 The Royal Agricultural University (RAU) is sowing the seeds of celebration as it marks its 180th anniversary with a packed calendar of events throughout the year. Founded in 1845 as the first agricultural college in the English-speaking world, the university has been a pioneer in agricultural education, research, and innovation. Lewis Clarke, Gloucestershire Live
🎤 Stars from the 80s are jetting into an airport near Cirencester for a new music festival this summer. Fly Back To The 80s at Cotswold Airport near Kemble invites ticket-holders to rewind to the golden age of music, when neon ruled the day and the hair was as big as the shoulder pads. The event is on June 7th. Kate Jones, Wilts & Glos Standard
The positive news section…
🪟 A grandfather who makes coloured glass creations at home says he was "delighted" to receive a commission a rocket engineer at US space agency Nasa. Roland Berry from Cheltenham, who has been seen by millions on TikTok, has created a 96.5cm x 38cm (38in x 15in) coloured glass panel with Nasa's first space launch system (SLS) rocket, Artemis I, on it. Steve Knibbs & Maisie Lilywhite, BBC Gloucestershire
🚲 A Stroud duo are set to cycle 500 miles for the MS Trust. Leanne Hargreaves and her colleague, Jon, both wind turbine technicians for Ecotricity in Stroud, are embarking on the challenge to raise funds for the charity. The cause is particularly close to Jon's heart as his father has recently been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Matty Airey, Stroud News & Journal
🍬 A young man has opened his own sweet shop in the centre of Gloucester after travelling in Europe and seeing how much people loved pick 'n' mix stores. Roman Gunko, 22, originally from Ukraine but now living in the city, has opened Captain of Sweets in Worcester Street. Kim Horton, Gloucestershire Live
🙌 Drybrook U14s girls’ rugby team has been hard at work both on and off the pitch, taking on a large-scale litter pick in Cinderford to help raise funds for their upcoming rugby tour. Luke Davis, The Forester
🏃♂️ A man from Stonehouse will be running the London Marathon in April to raise funds for international animal welfare charity The Donkey Sanctuary. Luke Roche, 32, wanted to honour the memory of his late grandad by supporting a cause that was close to his heart, and has chosen to take on the iconic event around the streets of the capital on 27 April. Ash Loveridge, Stroud Times
🙌 Ashley Manor Prep School in Charlton Kings have painted Cheltenham red as staff and pupils dressed up and baked up a storm to raise money for the Midlands Air Ambulance Charity. Netting almost £870, the money raised will help fund three lifesaving missions. Lewis Clarke, Gloucestershire Live
🍯 AND FINALLY, A QUIRKY STORY: A chef who doesn't like Marmite has created a new 'mellower' version – and hopes everyone will like this one. Joe Parke, chef manager at Harts Barn Cookery School in the Forest of Dean, has created recipe using leftover yeast from a Wye Valley-founded company which brews mead– an alcoholic drink made from honey. Filipa Gaspar, SWNS/The Forester