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The review of the Randwick Conservation Area is nearing completion with June the 12th as the target date for adoption by SDC (the planning authority) of the Randwick Conservation Area Appraisal and Management Proposals as supplementary planning advice. 

More than twenty members of the public attended the consultation meeting held at Randwick Village Hall on Thursday January 18th 2024.

The chairman briefly explained the purpose of the appraisal. The parish council had asked consultants to review the Conservation Area designated in 1990. He introduced Natalie Whalley, Stroud District Council’s Senior Planning Strategy Officer and Kate Russell, SDC’s Specialist Conservation Officer. Natalie Whalley spoke about the public consultation procedure that was being carried out prior to producing a final draft of the review which would be sent to the SDC Development Committee to consider adopting it as Supplementary Planning Advice.

Members of the public were invited to ask questions. Matters raised included questions about the boundaries of the Conservation Area, ‘local listing’ and Article 4 Directions.

During the discussions and in response to questions, the SDC officers explained that the 1990 designation had had a bearing on development in the conservation area since 1990 and that the recent appraisal identified what was valued and would provide a sound reference for the planning authority (SDC) in applying its planning policies to development in the area. The appraisal identified what was valued but was not about ‘preserving the area in aspic’. The aim of the conservation area was to maintain the character of the village.

The officers explained that ‘local listing’ was different to listing buildings of special architectural or historic interest, considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting and added to the National Heritage List for England. ‘Local listing ‘ was described as a statement of significance: the planning authority could identify non-designated heritage assets which merited consideration in planning decisions. No extra planning constraints were applied to locally listed assets. Any proposed development to the building or nearby would be considered in the light of its impact on the building: no extra planning controls would be imposed.

‘Article 4 Directions’ could only apply to proposed works on elevations of a property that fronted a highway or public open space. SDC would review the buildings which the appraisal had proposed for Article 4 designation. Article 4 designation would affect development by removing permitted development rights and require an application for planning permission for work to a Designated building. SDC would review the properties proposed for Article 4 designation.

Some parishioners raised questions about the proposed changes to the boundaries of the conservation area. Some houses had been included in the area but not the properties’ gardens. A map did not show a building within the boundary and a parishioner questioned the inclusion of his property in the area.

SDC would consider the boundary.

The planning authority would produce a report after the consultation finished in February which would go to the parish council and the final draft would go to SDC’s Development Committee in the summer for it to consider adopting the Conservation Area Statement as Supplementary Planning Advice to help inform planning decisions and steer the application of Local Plan Policies within the conservation area.

The chairman urged parishioners to respond to the consultation by contacting SDC. The documents can be seen at https://www.stroud.gov.uk/randwickca

The consultation runs until Wednesday February 21st. The online survey can be found at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/I08BQS

The planning officers were thanked and the council also thanked all the members of the public who had attended the meeting.

The draft review is available here Randwick Conservation Area Appraisal

Part of Randwick and Westrip Parish is in the Rodborough County Council Division and part is in the new Harefield and Upton St Leonards Division.

There are three wards in Randwick and Westrip Parish

Randwick South West Ward and Randwick South East Ward are in the Rodborough Division

Randwick Ward is in the Haresfield and Upton St Leonards Division

Please see the statements of persons nominated for the County Council Elections.

Rodborough Division 

Haresfield and Upton St Leonards Division

Please will you help the community by serving as a councillor? Local issues need local people to speak up for them

You could help keep Randwick and Westrip a vibrant, good place to live by becoming a parish councillor and getting action on local issues.

To qualify you must:

• be at least 18 years old
• be a British citizen, an eligible Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights
• be registered on the current electoral register
• have lived in or within three miles of the parish during the whole of the last twelve months – or your only place of work during the whole of the last twelve months was in the parish.

If you would like to be considered for co-option please email clerk@randwickandwestrip-pc.gov.uk with a brief personal statement explaining what experience and skills you would bring to the council and you will be invited to speak at the next council meeting.

The parish council normally meets once a month. The new councillor will hold office until the next local elections in May 2028.

If you’d like more information about what is involved please contact one of the parish councillors or the clerk – clerk@randwickandwestrip-pc.gov.uk

Painting of Randwick Wap

At the last Wap many visitors saw a distinctive and eye catching painting by local artist Yvonne Tester.

Yvonne has kindly donated it to the parish and it hangs in Randwick Village Hall. To see a larger photograph of the painting click here.

Wapenshaw Randwick Wap

Yvonne also painted these life-size figures.

Yvonne wrote, ” I went to a local exhibition a couple of years ago which comprised local artists’ portrayals of Stroud. Though the cottages and views were beautiful, she felt that Stroud was not only picturesque but vibrant, eclectic and exciting.

My endeavour to represent Stroud in the way I see it culminated in images from Randwick Wap. The costumes, ceremonies and traditions captured the essence I was looking for, land and custom, movement and magic, a deeper understanding of the world encircled by tales and memories.”

September 2024

Yvonne can be contacted at yvonne.tester@hotmail.co.uk

The Local Government Boundary Commission has carried out a review of the Gloucestershire County Council Divisions and created a new area ‘Haresfield and Upton St Leonards’ shown below.

Currently the Westrip area of the parish is represented on the county council by the councillor for Rodborough, and the rest of the parish is part of the Bisley and Painswick Division – this part of the parish will become part of ‘Haresfield and Upton St Leonards’.

The new arrangements will come into force in 2025.

Randwick and Westrip Parish Council objected to the change, believing that Randwick has more in common with parishes in the Stroud area like Painswick than it has with areas on the edge of Gloucester like Hunts Grove and would be better represented on the county council by a councillor for a rural division. The parish council emphasised the difference in geography between the new division’s key settlements, which are on the western side of the Cotswold scarp and Randwick village, which is on the eastern side overlooking Stroud. Other councils including Whiteshill and Ruscombe objected as well. (There were many objections from parishes in the Stroud area about the proposals for their parishes.)

The LGBC proposed the change to create an extra county council division in order to reflect projected electorate growth in the north of the Stroud District, following application of its rules restricting the size of each division in order that there is a sufficient degree of ‘electoral equality’ across Gloucestershire.

The Commission dismissed the parishes’ views, It ‘noted the concerns raised by the two parish councils who consider themselves less clearly aligned with the Haresfield & Upton St Leonards division than with the existing arrangement. However, there are a limited number of suitable communities to be included in the new division, and we consider these areas are more appropriate than others (notably any communities east of Painswick or west of the M5) to be included. As the division is expected to have a forecast variance of -10% in 2029, there is little flexibility to transfer additional parishes out of it.’

From May 2025 there will also be a change to the number of parish councillors elected in the parish. Randwick Ward will elect 3 councillors rather than the current 4, Randwick South East Ward will elect 3 councillors an increase from 2. Randwick SE Ward will be unchanged in electing 3 councillors.

The full report is at https://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/gloucestershire

There has been a report about a false email using the randwickandwestrip-pc.gov address with a message asking people to click on an attachment.

Randwick and Westrip Parish Council will never ask you to click on an attachment.

The email has ‘spoofed’ the council’s address and contains a false sender address.

(‘Spoofing’ is sending an email that pretends to come from a known, trusted source but is from a disguised, malicious source.)

If you receive a phishing email please forward it to report@phishing.gov.uk. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) will investigate it.

Randwick and Westrip Parish Council will never ask you to click on an attachment in an email.

GCC Public Rights of Way team has notified parish councils of a change in legislation which means that certain unrecorded rights of way might shortly be lost.

“You might be aware of historic tracks and ways within your parish which are perhaps no longer used on a daily basis but are considered to be part of your parish’s history. You should know that if these ways are not currently shown on the official records of rights of way, they could be permanently closed off in 2026 by the owner of the land over which they cross. It is important therefore that these routes are protected now.

For more information and to check recorded rights of way follow the link.

Update: In 2022 the government announced that the 2026 deadline for registering historic paths is to be abolished in England, the Government has confirmed.

The news was welcomed by the Ramblers, who said the move would give more time to save the most important and useful paths. A statement from DEFRA said: ‘We will repeal the 2026 cut-off date for recording historic rights of way, as set out in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, to allow more time for paths to be identified and added to the public rights of way network.’

May 2023:

More recently DEFRA has announced that a deadline date has been reinstated with the 2026 date for adding routes to the map extended to January 2031. This is reported in this link.

https://www.nfuonline.com/updates-and-information/cut-off-date-for-historical-paths-reintroduced/

Unrecorded rights of way

The Village Design Statement, which covers the whole parish, has been adopted by Stroud District Council as Supplementary Planning Advice.

If you would like a copy follow this link.

Randwick Village Design Statement – Advice for planning applicants

Randwick Parish Council, working with Stroud District Council, has adopted this protocol to help developers to consult with the local community.

The aim of this Protocol is to enable open, agreed and well-­structured working between communities, applicants/developers, local authorities and elected members in advance of planning applications, helping to deliver better quality development for all.

PDF SDC pre-application community involvement protocol

PDF Addendum for Randwick Parish