⏩ The Gloucester Start: Monday June 1st
ANPR cameras live in gate streets | City council's £15m sale | Disruption warning for separate roadworks
Good morning, welcome to Monday’s Start and thanks for bearing with me while I hit pause last week for the school half-term break. There’s a bit more disruption to the Start’s normal schedule later this week with no Thursday or Friday editions, but we’re back to normal before and after then. Here’s everything I’ve found for today’s issue.
🌧️ Today’s weather: Light rain through much of the day, heavier showers later tonight.
🚗 ANPR cameras have gone live across Gloucester’s gate streets to stop drivers using the city centre as an evening rat run. Warning letters will be issued in the first six months of the scheme, before penalty charges kick in. - BBC Gloucestershire
🏢 Work has begun at Gloucester City Council to sell off £15million of assets as part of its financial recovery. It owns 406 properties and areas of land worth about £50million, not including the Forum. - Punchline Gloucester
♻️ Missed bin collections have led to concerns that there’s ‘no clear communication’ between the city council and contractor Ubico. Some households in Barton and Tredworth have reported going three weeks without rubbish being picked up. - Gloucestershire Live, via the Local Democracy Reporting Service
🚧 Alvin Street in Kingsholm will become one-way from tomorrow until October as part of the cycle spine work taking place in London Road. From next week, the stretch of London Road between the Great Western Road junction and Black Dog Way will also shut westbound (towards the city centre) for a similar period. - Gloucestershire County Council
⚠️ Major disruption will also start to hit commuters next week as work starts to repair the Over Bridge, meaning lane closures and a contraflow on the A40. People using the route regularly to get between Gloucester and the Forest of Dean have been told to expect journey times to double. - Gloucester News Centre
🪩 The first in a series of silent discos comes to King’s Square later this month. The Rotary Club of Gloucester won £25,000 of Together Gloucester funding to put the events on, starting on June 19th. - Rotary Club of Gloucester
🎤 Natalie Imbruglia has been announced as a support act for Tom Jones at Kingsholm on June 28th. The Torn singer will also be joined by Nathan Evans and Saint Phnx on the second of two nights of live concerts at the rugby ground. - BBC Gloucestershire
🗳️ Public views have been sought on creating a single parish council for Coopers Edge. It’s currently split across three parish authorities and two district councils - Stroud and Tewkesbury - which critics say is ‘bonkers’. - Gloucestershire Live, via LDRS
🏠 Gloucester is the best place in the south west for first-time buyers, research has found. It has the highest concentration of two-bed properties within budget for someone starting out. - Gloucestershire Live
🏉 Coney Hill Rugby Club had a dream day at the home of English rugby, lifting the RFU Community Cup at Twickenham after beating Hucclecote in the Counties 3 Championship match. It was hailed as one of the club’s best ever performances in their first visit to the stadium. - The Local Answer
🏉 Gloucester-Hartpury lost in the Premiership Women’s Rugby for the first time this season to end hopes of going the entire campaign undefeated. They were beaten 41-39 at Ealing Trailfinders. - BBC Sport
🏉 Gloucester were seconds away from a morale-boosting win away at top-of-the-table Northampton but went down to a last-minute try 36-32. They still claimed two bonus points ahead of their final game of the season this weekend. - Gloucestershire Live
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📌 A special talk has been arranged to mark a little-known Gloucester connection to the US Declaration of Independence. 2026 is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration. One of the signatories to the document was Button Gwinnett, who was born at Down Hatherley, just outside the city. His father was vicar of Down Hatherley, but also curate at St Nicholas’ Church on Westgate Street. For a while the family lived in a house in College Green, near the Cathedral. The talk will be given by Colin Gwinnett Sharp – a descendant of Button, who has written a book about the founding father. The talk takes place on the eve of the anniversary (Friday July 3rd) at 7pm at St Mary de Crypt in Southgate Street. Tickets are £7 and are available from the St Mary de Crypt website or in person from the church. - Thanks to subscriber Paul for these details
📌 Twelve artists have responded to the theme of Street Life for this two week show in June. The artists have proposed work in any medium exploring the idea of street life. Perhaps a response to the street life outside the Gate window, but the artists are not constrained by this. Visitors can expect to encounter drawings, digital painting, a video, a sound work, ceramics and even a tour of the locality telling a story of medieval Gloucester.
📅 Things to do
I’d love to hear about any new events, clubs, group meetings or other interesting things to do for this section. Get in touch via the submission form or email thegloucesterstart@gmail.com
🎞️ Michael, The Christophers, The Sheep Detectives, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Finding Emily all showing at Sherborne Cinema | Various days/times | £6/£7 | Details
🏉 Walking Rugby at Gloucester Cathedral | Mondays, 9.30am | Free | Details
😂 Comedy Club at Gloucester Guildhall | Tuesday, 8pm | £10 | Details
🎤 Sarah McQuaid Live at The Folk | Wednesday, 7.30pm | From £10 | Details
🎶 Sunset Sessions at Gloucester Food Dock | Thursdays throughout summer, 7pm | Free | Details
🎨 Art by Sophie Exhibition at St Michael’s Tower | Friday, 10.30am-4pm | Free | Details
🦖 DinoROAR Weekend in King’s Square | Saturday-Sunday, 11am-3pm | Free | Details
🏉 Gloucester Rugby vs Newcastle Red Bulls at Kingsholm | Saturday, 3.15pm | Prices vary | Details
🏉 Gloucester-Hartpury vs Bristol Bears at Kingsholm | Sunday, 3.30pm | Prices vary | Details