⏩ The Gloucester Start: Monday April 28th
New sports centre opens | Footbridge closed | Plans for new hotel
Good morning, welcome to Monday’s Start - and thanks for bearing with me while I took last week off for the Easter break. For the new subscribers who have signed up recently, here’s a quick summary of what the Start is about and what you can expect. Onto today’s bulletin.
☀️ Today’s weather: Sunny, bright and warm with minimal breeze and a very high pollen count.
🏋️♀️ An all-new leisure and sport centre officially opens in Podsmead today. The Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub is a purpose-built facility that’s part of wider regeneration plans for the area. - Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub
↪️ Local families got the chance to enjoy it first over the weekend. - Blackbridge Community and Sports Hub on Facebook
❌ Residents who say they’ve been raising concerns about the condition of the Lower Hempsted footbridge across the Gloucester-Sharpness Canal for three years have been left frustrated after it was closed in an ‘appalling state of repair’. It’s not known when it will reopen. - BBC Gloucestershire
↪️ Gloucester MP Alex McIntyre has got involved too, promising to ‘push for a resolution’ from the Canal and Rivers Trust, and Gloucestershire Highways. - Alex McIntyre
🅿️ ‘Disgusting’ parking fines at The Peel Centre are ‘disgraceful’ according to a city councillor who was reacting to a shopper’s story of being stung £100 for allegedly staying 17 minutes over the time limit. Nathan Hopkins said he hasn’t come back as a regular customer since being penalised in January. - Gloucestershire Live
👨⚕️ Waiting times to see a GP in Gloucestershire are among some of the worst in the country. Analysis shows 11% of people requesting a doctor’s appointment in the county are waiting more than 28 days to be seen. - Gloucestershire Live (interactive)
🎭 There’s still time to register and have your say on shaping Gloucester’s new cultural strategy. It’s set to be drawn up soon and a day of workshops and discussions open to the public is being held on Wednesday at the Guildhall to help guide it. You need to register in advance to join, for free. - Gloucester Guildhall
📯 Wreaths were laid and the Last Post played out at Gloucester War Memorial yesterday to mark ANZAC Day and the anniversaries of the Battle of Imjin River and Battle of Katia. - Gloucester Royal British Legion
🍳 Men are ‘getting their independence back’ thanks to cookery sessions being delivered for homeless veterans. Residents at Imjin House are learning critical life skills in partnership with two other charities. - BBC Gloucestershire
🎶 Gloucester Cathedral’s £3million appeal to restore its historic organ is expected to be delivered next year. The money will also help ensure music and organ academies can run so more choir opportunities are available to all ages in the city and beyond. - Cotswold Life
📷 An exhibition showcasing untold stories through the history of Gloucestershire’s railways has opened. It’s been installed at Gloucestershire Archives in Alvin Street and is running until mid-July. - Gloucestershire Live
🏃♂️ Runner Louis Badham was among the thousands pounding the streets in the London Marathon yesterday. Louis, from Longlevens, was running in memory of his dad and raising money for Sue Ryder Care. - Gloucestershire Live
↪️ He finished in an impressive 3hrs 20mins - you can donate to his fundraiser here.
🏡 Work has started on the site of 185 new homes in Hempsted. Bellway Homes is building Hawthorn Park off Hempsted Lane and has set up a sales office at Gloucester Quays. - Gloucester News Centre
🏗️ Planning applications have been submitted seeking to transform two central Gloucester buildings:
↪️ Beaufort House - part of what most people will know as the former Ecclesiastical headquarters in Brunswick Road - could become a 36-room hotel. - Gloucester City Council planning portal
↪️ And the former data centre in Llanthony Road - opposite Bill’s restaurant and Bake & Brew near the Quays - could become a new superstore and cafe. - Planning portal
↪️ Another planning application has been lodged - this time for six new EV chargers to be installed at the Westgate Retail Park. They would replace eight existing parking spaces there. - Punchline Gloucester
🗳️ Election watch
🗳️ Gloucestershire County Council’s elections take place this Thursday, May 1st:
See who’s standing where you live using your postcode - Who Can I Vote For
Not sure where your polling station is? Find it here
🤞 Who’s promising what? Interviews with representatives of the main parties fielding candidates by community journalist Will Luker are a good place to start. You can find his pieces with the Liberal Democrats, Reform, Conservatives and Greens already published, with more to follow on his Substack soon.
🎤 BBC Gloucestershire’s election debate, featuring representatives from Labour, Reform, the Green Party, Conservatives and Lib Dems, can be recapped here.
🧀 Want the election explained via the medium of cheese? No problem, that’s been done too. - BBC Gloucestershire
❓ And if you’re unsure about what the county council actually does, there’s a decent summary here, also from BBC Gloucestershire.
📌 Community Noticeboard
This section is powered by you. Submit community news, initiatives and events, new openings and fundraisers, and plenty more, via this simple form for inclusion. It’s free.
📌 A reminder that this Thursday is the final deadlines for community groups to apply for a £500 grant. Rotary in Gloucester Community Awards are organised by the four Rotary Clubs in the city – Rotary Club of Gloucester, Gloucester Quays, Rotary@Kingsholm and Gloucester Severn. The aim is to support organisations with a small grant up to a maximum of £500, which ‘will make a real difference’. No application will be considered to be too small. Successful applicants will be notified by Friday May 16th. Download an application form here. - Rotary Club of Gloucester (Thanks to subscriber Clive for this submission)
📅 Things to do today and tomorrow
🏉 Walking rugby at Gloucester Cathedral | Today, 9.30am | Free | Details
📖 Poetry, Story Time, Baby Bounce and Rhyme and Social sessions at various Gloucestershire libraries | Days and times vary | Free | Details
🎫 Guided city walks starting at St Michael’s Tower | Daily except Sundays, 11am | £7 | Details
📣 Banned Bandito open mic poetry at The Dick Whittington | Tuesday, 8pm | Free | Details