Saturday roundup of Gloucestershire news - 26th April
Including the Forest of Dean annexing to Ross-on-Wye, Tewkesbury MP banned from Russia and the weekly positive news section...
Dear readers - I will keep this week’s roundup introduction short as I would like to crack on with providing you with news from Gloucestershire.
Just two announcements I would like to say - I am now a reporter at the Hereford Times but that does not mean this Substack stops. It is transparent to say that I am covering stories in Herefordshire but I’ll still keep going with my roundups and other in-depth pieces on topics affecting Gloucestershire.
I remain steadfast and enjoy writing my Substack, so I hope lots of you stay with me to see new pieces arrive in your inbox soon.
I would also like to reiterate what I said from my Wednesday News from the Shire, which is I know that some of you cannot stand politics but you are staying with the newsletter. I accept that more non-political pieces need to be written and be assured that I’ve got ideas ready and waiting.
I believe that while journalism should hold local governments and MPs accountable, I don’t feel it should be front and centre week in week out. With an election campaign going on, the leaders interviews I’ve conducted are the exception. There is no escaping politics as it affects our everyday lives but I do share the sentiment of a Facebook post I saw this week saying they couldn’t wait for the local elections to be over!
Below is a featured story from this week plus the full Saturday roundup.
Gloucestershire cancer charity receives Royal invitation
Hope for Tomorrow, a pioneering mobile cancer care charity based in the county, has been invited to attend a community reception hosted by His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace.
A reception at the Palace is being held on Wednesday April 30 in celebration of community-based cancer support initiatives raising awareness of the needs of cancer patients. Members of the Hope for Tomorrow team, along with staff, supporters, volunteers, and partners of the charity have been invited by the Royal Family to attend, including Tina Seymour, CEO of the charity.
The exclusive invitation follows Hope for Tomorrow’s own royal event in October last year, held at the Honourable Artillery Company, the historic home of the oldest regiment in the British Army.
Attended by HRH Prince Michael of Kent, along with representatives from businesses, trusts and other foundations, this special event highlighted the charity’s mission to bring cancer care closer to patients through their mobile units - saving them both travel and hospital-related costs. It also underlined the support it provides NHS trusts by easing pressure on oncology departments across the country.
Founded in 2002, by the late Christine Mills MBE to drive cancer care forward, in 2007 Hope for Tomorrow launched the world’s first mobile cancer care unit, known to its team, nurses and patients as ‘Helen’. After nearly 20 years of service, the unit has recently undergone an upgrade and was launched at a special event held at Gloucester Rugby Club earlier this month.
In partnership with Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Helen treated over 1,820 patients in Gloucestershire last year, making their lives that much easier at a difficult time.
Tina Seymour said: “We are incredibly proud to be part of such a prestigious occasion. Our recent royal recognition is a testament to the hard work of our dedicated team, who work tirelessly to ensure that our mobile cancer care and support services reach patients across the country.
Of course, this incredible work would not be possible without the support of our team, our amazing fundraisers, event sponsors and corporate partners. The last few years have been incredibly difficult for the charity sector with individual donations down on average around 50%, as the cost-of-living crisis persists. This comes as cancer diagnoses continue to rise.”
News from Gloucester, Stroud & Forest of Dean
🌉 Residents are calling for urgent repair work to be carried out on a canal bridge which is in an "appalling" state. Lower Hempsted Bridge in Gloucester provides pedestrian access over the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal but the tarmac on the structure is wearing away and exposing the wooden foundations. It is currently closed for safety reasons. The Hempsted Residents Association has been urging the Canal and River Trust and Gloucestershire County Council to take action and repair the bridge, but they said no work has been done yet. Chloe Harcombe & Danielle Hunt, BBC Gloucestershire
➡️ The demolition of “Britain’s biggest man cave” cost taxpayers around £220,000 – and the council wants millionaire accountant Graham Wildin, who built the huge leisure complex, to foot the bill. Forest of Dean District Council demolished and removed the 10,000sq ft building in Meendhurst Road in Cinderford last summer. The leisure complex at the back of the home of Mr Wildin, 73, had a bowling alley, casino and a cinema and was built without planning permission in 2014. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🗳️ A Gloucestershire council candidate is proposing the “radical” plan for the “Forest of Dean annexation of Ross-on-Wye” in a bid to avoid the need to build a new town near Gloucester. The recent trend among some politicians of talking about annexing their neighbour’s land has surfaced in the run-up to this year’s Gloucestershire County Council elections. Former Forest of Dean District Councillor Thom Forester is proposing the annexation of nearby Herefordshire market town – which needs to find sites for another 3,000 homes over the next 20 years. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🏠 Plans to build new homes at a beauty spot in the Dursley area have been blasted as ‘utter madness’. An outline planning application has been submitted to build up to 73 homes in a development off Taits Hill Road between Cam and Stinchcombe. The plan - submitted by Clifton Homes - also includes creating an area of open space, a community orchard, a play area and improving pedestrian access to the proposed site. Alice Knight, Gloucestershire Gazette
🚦 Business owners have raised their concerns about the impact of roadworks in Nailsworth, which they say has a negative impact on trade and footfall. George Street is currently impassable after contractors carrying out resurfacing works accidently hit a gas pipe last week. The impact on traders has been palpable with footfall falling off a cliff and creating a feeling reminiscent of lockdown around the town. Ash Loveridge, Stroud Times
➡️ A volunteer-led community project in Lydney is calling for support to help secure its future. The Lydney Exchange, which is backed by Forest of Dean District Council, redistributes donated pre-loved items such as clothing, books, toys and household goods completely free of charge. Luke Davis, The Forester
🚗 There are renewed calls for a Forest of Dean Gateway road to bypass Chepstow and ease congestion on the A48 amid fears hundreds of new homes will make people’s lives a misery. Campaigners for a Chepstow bypass say the revision of the blueprint for development in the Forest of Dean is an ideal chance to ensure the adequate transport infrastructure is included to avoid “storing up problems for the future”. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🍺 Plans for a new shop selling beer with a taproom have been submitted. Mills Brewing has submitted a premises licence application to open a site at Griffin Mill trading estate off London Road in Thrupp. If plans are approved by Stroud District Council, the site would be allowed to sell alcohol from 10am to 10pm everyday. Alice Knight, Stroud News & Journal
➡️ Stroud Common Wealth has made a bid on behalf of Rodborough Fields and Frome Banks Preservation Group, for a community buy-out of the fields that border the south bank of the River Frome. Together, they plan to acquire these valuable, wildlife-rich and uncontaminated fields in the midst of Stroud, so as to secure them for the community in perpetuity. Ash Loveridge, Stroud Times
Latest crime news…
Officers investigating a hate crime are appealing for information after a group of teenagers are reported to have repeatedly harassed and assaulted a blind man in Coleford. In one incident, the group approached the victim on Sunday April 20 before riding their mopeds in circles and attempting to punch him. The crime took place on the corner of Market Place at around 8.30pm and resulted in the victim falling over.
A man from Gloucester who raped and sexually abused a girl two decades ago has been jailed for four and a half years. The victim read a statement to the court which said she cried from the depths of her soul when she was told about the guilty verdicts, knowing she had been believed. Kevin Ridler, now aged 44 and of Twigworth, denied two counts of sexual activity with a child and one count of rape but was convicted of the offences on 7 February following a trial at Gloucester Crown Court.
A Cheltenham man has been banned from an area of the town as part of a Criminal Behaviour Order. Jason Turner, aged 51 and of Painswick Road, was given the order at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Thursday 10 April.
It was granted after magistrates heard reports of Turner's convictions for stealing bikes worth thousands of pounds from Bath Road in November 2024 and February 2025.
Photo of the Week…
News from Cheltenham, Tewkesbury & Cotswolds
➡️ Tributes have been paid to “incredible” Tewkesbury Borough Councillor Elaine MacTiernan who campaigned “loudly” against the controversial "bridge to nowhere" near the M5. Colleagues have paid tribute to the “kind, witty and hardworking” Northway councillor who died this week at the age of 77 after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Carmelo Garcia, Local Democracy Reporter
🚫 Cameron Thomas, Liberal Democrat MP for Tewkesbury, has been banned from entering Russia after a humanitarian trip to Ukraine. Mr Thomas went to Kyiv to deliver aid and is one of 15 MPs and six members of the House of Lords named on a Russian stop list. Maisie Lilywhite, BBC Gloucestershire
🚌 A temporary solution to Venice of the Cotswolds’ ‘coach parking chaos’ has been thwarted by the presence of underground electricity and telephone lines which stopped workers from installing street signs – making parking restrictions unenforceable. Gloucestershire Highways had planned to start a trial scheme designed to address the shortage of coach parking facilities in Bourton-on-the-Water in time for Easter. Carmelo Garica, Local Democracy Reporter
🚨 Shops in the Cirencester area have been caught selling vapes to under-18s. Police undertook a test purchase operation on eight stores licensed to sell vapes between Tetbury, Cirencester, South Cerney, Siddington and Fairford on the evening of Thursday, April 17. Most passed the test and refused the sale of a vape to an under-18. Kate Jones, Wilts & Glos Standard
🧰 A family-run DIY store and builders' merchants, which traded for more than half a century, has closed its doors for the last time. The Handyman Centre in Tewkesbury had been open for 51 years but - in a message to customers - revealed it had been struggling financially for a long time. Sarah Wood, Punchline
🏫 A new primary school building has opened in Siddington. The 1,070 square metre building at Siddington Church of England Primary School has been built as a legacy project by Bathurst Development Limited (BDL), as part of their overall investment in educational facilities in the Cirencester area. It will initially be used by Siddington Church of England Primary School, and in the future will host the initial intake of pupils for The Steadings until the primary school is built within the new neighbourhood. Matty Airey, Wilts & Glos Standard
🏅 The addition of the Cotswold Olimpicks to a new heritage list could be "vital" for its future, a historian has said. The event takes place in Chipping Campden and counts the world shin-kicking championships and tug o' war among its disciplines. The government will soon be seeking submissions from the public to nominate their favourite traditions that best reflect the nation, which will be recorded in the new Inventory of Living Heritage in the UK. Maisie Lilywhite, BBC Gloucestershire
The positive news section…
🪿 Hawaiian geese have hatched at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre. The centre announced the arrival of the nēnē goslings this spring in their Mission Possible exhibit. The nēnē pair, new to the centre's exhibit, are living in a Hawaiian-themed habitat. Matty Airey, Stroud News & Journal
🎭 The Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham has announced that it is one of the first venues in the country to introduce a cutting-edge new hearing assistance system, funded in part by a generous £10,000 grant from the Barnwood Trust. This state-of-the-art technology will greatly improve the theatre experience for visitors who are visually impaired or hard of hearing, ensuring that live performances remain accessible to all. Gloucester News Centre
🌳 A Stroud charity has broken its own record by planting more than 19,000 trees in one season. Stroud Valleys Project (SVP) said it planted 19,139 trees between November 2024 and March 2025. This is more than double the amount planted in the previous season. The charity, which works with volunteers and community groups in green spaces all over the district, plants trees every year in line with national and regional targets. Matty Airey, Stroud News & Journal
🙌 Volunteers at a village shop that was saved from closure are "thrilled" after it was named the best in the region. Longborough Village Shop and Café has won the regional award for best village shop or post office at the Countryside Alliance Awards 2025. The shop is now in the national finals for the awards, with winners to be announced at a House of Lords reception in June. Mary Stenson, Cotswold Journal
🏛️ Mythical creatures and animals made of Lego are gracing a museum to celebrate the anniversary of a Roman mosaic's discovery. The Corinium Museum, in Cirencester, launched its Brickus Orpheus Trail on 15 April, which is part of the Project Orpheus partnership event between the museum, the Barn Theatre, and New Brewery Arts. Organised to mark the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Orpheus mosaic at Barton Farm in Cirencester, external, the event will run until 2 November. Maisie Lilywhite, BBC Gloucestershire
🚴 Seb Devlin and Ashley Watkins competed a monumental challenge: cycling around the border of Gloucestershire to raise vital funds for Sunflowers Suicide Support, a Stonehouse-based charity dedicated to supporting individuals and families affected by suicide. Their epic journey started at De Vere Hotel in South Cerney, and finished on Saturday 19th April at The Crown pub in Paganhill, where Seb also happens to be the landlord. Matt Bigwood, Stroud Times
⛪ The Friends of Longhope Church (FOLC) in the Forest of Dean held their annual Easter Lilies fundraiser, a cherished tradition that brought warmth, remembrance, and community spirit to All Saints Church at Easter. The event featured a stunning display of over 80 Easter lilies, each symbolising hope, renewal, and the joy of Easter. Mark Elson, The Forester
Congrats on the new job, Will. Glad to hear the Glos news roundups will continue!