⏩ The Gloucester Start: Monday March 17th
Three-peat for Gloucester-Hartpury | Police officer assaulted two | Night Angels making streets safer
Good morning, welcome to Monday’s Start. If you’ve got community news, events, announcements, new openings or anything else you’d like to share to Gloucester, you can submit it for inclusion on the Start’s regular Community Noticeboard - it’s free, via this form. Onto today’s bulletin.
🏉 Gloucester-Hartpury are the Premiership Women’s Rugby champions for the third year in a row. ‘The Circus’ defeated Saracens in the season’s final to bring the trophy back to KingsQueensholm in head coach Sean Lynn’s final game in charge. - BBC Sport
↪️ At a grassroots level though, rugby in Gloucester needs help. That’s the view of at least one local coach worried about a lack of players showing an interest in joining clubs. - Call Me Will
☁️ Today’s weather: Overcast for the most part with temperatures set to peak at 10C.
🕹️ The former Mecca Bingo in Eastgate Street is set to become an adult arcade gaming venue. Permission for a licence is due to be decided today by the city council after an application by Intervision to turn the site into a centre called The Razz. - Punchline Gloucester
🚌 A new bus operator will start running routes from Gloucester next month. Flixbus will operate out of the Transport Hub with onward connections to Heathrow, Hammersmith and Victoria from April 17th. - Punchline Gloucester
❌ Gloucester’s YMCA charity shop has closed, costing the city centre a ‘safe space’. The building’s landlord has decided to sell up, as one volunteer there spoke of the benefits working at the shop has brought. - BBC Gloucestershire
💰 Every county councillor in Gloucestershire will be handed a £20,000 pot to help fund community initiatives in their area over the next two years. The money was identified as part of a budget surplus. - Gloucester News Centre, via the Local Democracy Reporting Service
🌊 As covered previously in the Start (March 12th), the remains of an historic water mill off Abbeymead Avenue will get restoration work after a funding injection. The Sheriff’s Mill closed in the 1920s. - BBC Gloucestershire, via LDRS
🚗 Uncertainty still lingers around the future of Gloucester’s car boot site at Hempsted Meadows. The process for issuing a new operator’s lease has been ‘allowed to drag on and on’ and a car boot event hasn’t happened there since November last year as a result. - Gloucestershire Live, via LDRS
🫶 A team of women hitting Gloucester’s nighttime streets are making the city safer and potentially saving lives, it’s claimed. The Night Angels have helped hundreds of revellers since forming in 2023 and are looking for new recruits to join. - Gloucestershire Live
🥾 An epic 1,000-mile trek is being undertaken by a 69-year-old Gloucester man for a county charity helping children with complex medical needs. Tom Kelsey is carrying 14kg of equipment with him and wild camping to raise money for WellChild. - BBC Gloucestershire
↪️ You can donate to his fundraiser here.
🚨 Crime and police news
These are the latest stories involving crime or police incidents. Scroll past if it’s not for you!
⚖️ A serving police officer from Gloucester assaulted two people on a night out in Cheltenham, a court heard. Mark Bale was on trial at Worcester Magistrates Court over the incident during a Christmas outing. He was found guilty on three counts and acquitted on another. - BBC Gloucestershire
👮 Burglar Ethan Jenkins admitted committing almost 20 break-ins across Gloucester. He was sentenced for burgling the former Hungry Bean Cafe in Kingsholm and Gloucester Cobblers in St Aldate Street and owned up to 17 more during the case. - Gloucester News Centre
🚨 Masked robbers forced their way into the Morrisons Daily shop in Saintbridge as it was being opened up by a lone employee. Police are appealing for anyone who saw anything to come forward. - Gloucestershire Live
The latest police bulletins from Your Community Alerts:
An abandoned caravan has been left in Spa Road and is attracting antisocial behaviour
A spate of thefts from cars across Gloucester has prompted police to issue advice about keeping vehicles secure
Similarly, multiple bike thefts have been reported and these steps can help protect yours
Dangerous parking by parents outside Finlay Community School has prompted a police warning and patrols
Things to do this week
Bridget Jones, The Substance, Anora, Conclave, A Complete Unknown, A Real Pain, The Last Showgirl all showing at Sherborne Cinema | All week, various times | £6/£7 | Details
Hill Talks: Wild Boar in the Forest of Dean at Robinswood Hill | Wednesday, 7pm-9pm | £5 for non-members | Details
Half-price admission to National Waterways Museum | Friday and Saturday | Prices vary | Details
Raver Tots at Trilogy Nightclub | Saturday, 2pm | £12-£14 | Details