The bid to restore a Gloucester Docks water tap
Plus, Julian Dunkerton's No 131 plans given the green light and sacked school worker wins Court of Appeal case
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Petition delivered to restore Docks water tap
How many times have you walked around Gloucester Docks and noticed a Local Board of Health 1863 water tap?
Just outside North Warehouse, a business owner has handed his own petition asking for the City Council to restore the redundant feature of history.
David Purchase, who runs On Toast at the Docks, argues that global temperatures rising due to climate change means it makes sense to provide fresh drinking water to visitors and residents in the city.
“When temperatures rise and even in my shop when they reach above 24 degrees I have found that footfall has dropped dramatically, Mr Purchase said. People won’t shop in high temperatures in heat as it is not pleasant. This is a first step to pushing the council at looking for a heat mitigation plan for the future, including tree areas for shade and more drinking fountains. Let’s make it more pleasant for visitors.”
A previous bid by the Liberal Democrat group last March to spend up to £15,000 on installing water fountains in Gloucester was rejected during a former City Council budget debate. The Community Independents supported the proposals but the Conservatives and Labour did not. Leader of the council, Richard Cook, argued at the time that it would “incur extra costs onto the taxpayer” and believed that people can go into businesses and ask for drinking water.
Mr Purchase adds that coastal communities in other parts of the UK have water fountains, so why not Gloucester too? He adds: “If you’ve come into a new area for the first time you would feel uneasy to ask a business for water and I think that’s unfair. Water prices are high so why should commercial businesses have to provide this when it should be the responsibility of council. Back in 1863 they obviously thought it was a good idea to provide drinking water to people in the area who needed it, so why not go back to the future!
The petition will be presented at the City Council’s upcoming budget meeting, where cabinet members for resources and environment, councillors Declan Wilson and Sebastien Field, will look at the petition closely.
Lib Dem councillor for Westgate, Rebecca Trimnell (also cabinet member for community), said: “It will be good to present the petition publicly as it is a worthwhile venture and it has clearly been put here for a reason. Water is a basic human right and our summers are getting hotter. To have this without people needing to go into nearby shops is vital and I’m surprised this has never been done before. You cannot underestimate the long-term gain this will have for the city. Yes this will cost money but I think done proportionately and out of the right budget this does have practical and historical significance.”
In other news across Gloucestershire…
🐑 Gloucestershire Police have appealed for information after a dog attacked nine sheep in the Forest of Dean. The sheep were attacked in Blakeney on the morning of Wednesday February 12. There have been more reports of livestock worrying in other areas of the district including Popes Hill and Tibberton. The police have warned dog owners that livestock worrying is a crime and “dog faeces left on grazing land may also carry disease that can kill sheep and affect unborn lambs.”
➡️ A Christian school worker who lost her role as a pastoral administrator at Farmor’s School in Fairford, has won a Court of Appeal case over whether her dismissal was lawful. Kristie Higgs was dismissed in 2019 after sharing Facebook posts criticising plans to teach about LGBT+ relationships in schools. The school has previously denied dismissing Mrs Higgs because of her religious beliefs and said she was sacked because of the language used in the posts.
🏠 Plans for 12,000 homes may have to be withdrawn after inspectors recommended Stroud District Council to withdraw its draft local plan. The reason why inspectors have come to this conclusion is due to the need to upgrade junction 12 and 14 of the M5 in order to deliver future development. Reported by Gloucestershire Local Democracy Reporter Carmelo Garcia, Green party council leaders say they are disappointed that work by the council has effectively been dismissed, while the Conservative group say the authority cannot afford to waste any more money.
🚜 Farmers have protested again in Gloucester, Stroud and Tewkesbury against inheritance tax changes. The government announcing a 20 per cent inheritance tax on agricultural assets worth more than £1m for the first time, has not gone down well with farmers. Stroud’s Labour MP Simon Opher told the BBC, the new measures are “tough but necessary.”
🚒 Firefighters from across Gloucestershire have gathered at a mass meeting in opposition to the county council forcing through “unjustifiable” changes to their working hours.
🐔 “Disgusting smells” was the description used for a proposal to build 30 homes near an intensive poultry farm in the Forest of Dean, which has been rejected. The District Council considered the under three acre plot just north of the B4132 Lydney Road in Bream. In other news nearby, the next stage of improvement works at Lydney Harbour will focus on the piers, the Environment Agency has said.
Photo of the week
The rest of the news…
🏗️ Superdry founder Julian Dunkerton’s plans for No 131 Promenade were approved this week by Cheltenham Borough Council. Two different planning applications for a covered outside seating area at 129-133 were considered and in the end plans for a permanent glass structure outside the venue were given the green light. In other Cheltenham news, congratulations to restaurant Le Champignon Sauvage which has retained its Michelin star for the 29th year in a row.
➡️ In an update on plans for a third McDonalds coming to Cheltenham, 16 schools have written a joint letter to voice opposition. Steve Jeffries, headteacher at Bournside, wrote the letter this week speaking out about the impact the development will have on the “safety and wellbeing of our students” citing concerns about “increased fast-food availability on the health and dietary choices of young people.”
🏏 Roger Gibbons, former president of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club has died. Born in Stroud in 1944, Roger had an association with the club for almost 75 years. The club commented with “profound sadness” of Roger’s death and described him as a “true gentleman”.
☕ Plans for a new drive-thru Starbucks at Gloucester Business Park in Brockworth have been given the go-ahead. Hucclecote Parish Council objected to the plans due to being close to homes on James Way.
🍽️ A mother and daughter are launching a bistro above their high-street shop in Tetbury just weeks after it opened for business. In other food and drink news, Woodchester-based Fresh Standard Brew Co’s porter has been voted the Gloucestershire Beer of the Festival title at the Tewkesbury CAMRA Winter Ales Festival, well-known for showcasing the best winter beers from the county.
⚽ A youth football club near Stonehouse kicked off a new era by celebrating the opening of its new home ground. As Stroud News & Journal’s James Felton reports, Great Oldbury Youth FC played their first matches at their new playing fields in Daniels Way and opened with a special ribbon cutting.
📷 A professional photographer from the Forest of Dean has won a prestigious national award from one the UK's leading photography associations in 2025. So Glos writes that Huw Jones won the award thanks to photo submissions taken of Premiership Women's Rugby team Gloucester-Hartpury.