⏩ The Gloucester Start: Monday February 3rd
Pothole patrol | Quays record Christmas | Things to do this week
Good morning and welcome to the first Gloucester Start of February. There’s a new TV channel launching for Gloucestershire, a push on pothole repairs and kids have the chance to start a new city centre business, plus more in today’s bulletin. Send your community submissions into me here too.
👷 Gloucester MP Alex McIntyre says he’s secured extra funding for pothole repairs and is building a dossier of the city’s worst roads to hand to the county council to fix. You can submit roads for repair to him too. - Alex McIntyre on Facebook
⛺ As covered in January 17th’s Start, the Salvation Army has raised serious concerns about the number of rough sleepers on Gloucester’s streets and is anticipating continued demand for its services having served almost 4,000 hot meals last year. - Gloucestershire Live
☀️ Today’s weather: Overcast to start but that’s set to give way to bright sunshine and temperatures above 10C through the middle of the day.
😕 Still confused about devolution? BBC Gloucestershire’s political editor Esme Ashcroft has likened the decision facing Gloucestershire to a tricky dating app quandary in this video explainer 👇
🧠 Youngsters in or near Podsmead have a great chance to realise their big business ideas with the help of artists. Kids Business is a series of free creative workshops starting tomorrow that will see children’s ideas turned into a real pop-up business in the city centre. - Blackbridge Charitable Community Benefit Society
🏙️ Gloucester is the 109th best value town or city to live in the UK, according to new analysis. Factors including median wages, house prices and monthly expenses as a share of income were used to rank 161 locations. Barrow-in-Furness came top, Penzance bottom. - Telegraph (sign-up required)
📈 Gloucester Quays enjoyed record trading over Christmas. Owners Peel Retail & Leisure said retail sales grew by 3.6% and food and beverage was up by 7.6% over the festive period. - The Business Desk
👍 The new owners of bar and restaurant Dr Foster, in the Docks, are loving life since taking on the venue. They say they feel part of the local fabric already, and a string of top TripAdvisor reviews suggests the feeling is mutual. - Gloucestershire Live
📺 A new online TV channel claiming to deliver ‘bold, independent news’ for the county is launching. GLive TV says it will be ‘live, unfiltered and unbiased’ and will start reporting from March 3rd. - GLive TV
📅 A celebration of Gloucestershire’s heritage and creativity is coming to Gloucester Cathedral through February half-term. It includes family activity days, hidden library tours, a photography exhibition and more. - Gloucester News Centre
🗳️ Senior Gloucestershire County Councillor Philip Robinson, the cabinet member for education and bus transport, has stepped away from his role. His leave of absence is down to personal reasons. - Gloucester News Centre, via the Local Democracy Reporting Service
Five things to do this week
📽️ Maria, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, Nosferatu all showing at Sherborne Cinema, Kingsholm | All week, various times | Tickets £6\£7 | Details
🎨 Creative Welcome Space at City Works, Alfred Street | Wednesday, 10am-2pm | Free | Details
📖 An Evening of Storytelling with Maria Credali at The Folk, Westgate Street | Thursday, 7pm | Details
🕺 {Infinite} Unplugged - a show where dance meets meditation at Gloucester Guildhall | Thursday 7.30pm | Tickets £8 | Details
🧘♀️ Seasonal mini yoga retreat at Blackfriars Priory | Friday, 6.30pm-9pm | Tickets £30 | Details
The top posts from Friday’s Start:
😠 Uni of Gloucestershire ‘not being a good neighbour’ as fencing blocks field - Call Me Will
🗳️ Devolution options examined - Raikes Journal
🐄 PETA billboards weigh into dairy row - Punchline Gloucester