Telephone: 01453 828829 - Stroud District Council

An Industrious Culture
Stroud Town is unique within the District, as the central
point where five picturesque, yet very different valleys
meet. It was the hub of the mid Gloucestershire cloth
producing valleys transforming it from a traditional
Cotswold town to a vigorous Victorian business and
social centre. This is evident today in the plethora of
historic mills lining the valleys.
The quality of the District’s industrial heritage is also
evident in the area’s canals, which are now part of a
nationally important restoration project. This exciting
project aims to once again link the Thames and Severn
rivers, bringing two of England’s most beautiful inland
waterways back to life. The first phase of the project has
received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, to start
work on a 10 mile stretch of the root.
Today, Stroud Town is a centre for alternative health
activities, organic produce and fair-traded goods. It is
also a bustling working market town, with a thriving
farmers market and an expanding range of local
speciality shops and businesses. Central to this success
are its local residents, a considerable number of whom
are gifted artists and artisans, providing the town with a
vibrant music, festival and cultural scene.
Trading on Distinctiveness
The other main towns within the District are known for
their diversity and distinctiveness. Painswick and
Minchinhampton are renowned for their idyllic settings,
narrow streets and Cotswold stone buildings. In the south
of the District, Wotton-under-Edge has a busy high street,
based upon medieval street patterns and dramatic views
of the Cotswold Hills. On its outskirts lies Renishaw, one
of the most successful engineering firms in the District, at
the forefront of automated metrology and employing
1,200 people worldwide.
View from Frocester Hill
Nailsworth, towards the south of Stroud Town, is a
bustling, creative market town with a national reputation
for gastronomy, and a number of Gloucestershire’s finest
restaurants, all within easy walking distance. Both
Dursley and Stonehouse are working towns, founded
upon a long-standing industrial economy, but they still
retain many historic features and places of interest. In
fact, Dursley, like Painswick, straddles the route of the
Cotswold Way trail.
In contrast to the valleys, the area of the District bordering
the River Severn and the Gloucester Sharpness Canal is
lined with old villages, such as Frampton-on-Severn,
which boasts one of the longest village greens in the
country. Other features in this area include Sharpness
Docks, which has been an operational port since the late
19th Century and Berkeley Castle, one of England’s
oldest inhabited castles, made infamous by the murder of
Edward II in 1387.
Forecasting Strong Growth
In addition to the restoration of the Cotswold Canals,
major regeneration activity is also focusing upon:
• The continued physical rebirth of Stroud Town –
refurbished arts / entertainment facilities, a new leisure
complex and transport interchange.
• The development of an innovative ‘urban village’ at
Cam / Dursley, integrating housing and employment uses
and involving considerable financial investment by the
South West Regional Development Agency.
• The continued development of Sharpness Docks as an
important short sea-shipping hub, for Europe and beyond.
Work is also ongoing in many of the District’s diverse
communities to establish town and parish plans, which set
the strategic context for new action and investment. This
is about directly addressing the needs of local people and
businesses and setting clear priorities for development
and growth.
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