Stroud District

Stroud District is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. The district is named after its largest town of Stroud. The council is based at Ebley Mill in Cainscross. The district also includes the towns of Berkeley, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse and Wotton-under-Edge, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Over half of the district lies within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The neighbouring districts are Forest of Dean, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Cotswold and South Gloucestershire.

History
The area is rich in Iron Age and Roman remnants and is of particular interest to archaeologists for its Neolithic burial grounds, of which there are over a hundred. Much of its wealth was built on the cloth industry during the Victorian era, and its many mills, most of which are now listed buildings, survive as testament to this. Much of the landscape in this area is designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Cotswold Way walk leads through the area. There are gliding clubs at Aston Down and Nympsfield.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of four former districts and parts of another three, which were all abolished at the same time: The new district was named Stroud after its largest town.
 * Dursley Rural District
 * Gloucester Rural District (part, rest split between Forest of Dean and Tewkesbury)
 * Nailsworth Urban District
 * Sodbury Rural District (parish of Alderley only, rest went to Northavon)
 * Stroud Rural District
 * Stroud Urban District
 * Thornbury Rural District (parishes of Alkington, Berkeley, Ham and Stone, Hamfallow and Hinton only, rest went to Northavon)

Boundary reviews in 1991 saw the district gain the parish of Hillesley and Tresham from Northavon and cede the parish of Quedgeley to Gloucester.

Governance
Stroud District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Gloucestershire County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control
The council has been under no overall control since 2011. Following the 2024 election a Green minority administration formed to run the council.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:

Composition
Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2028.

Premises
The council is based at Ebley Mill in the parish of Cainscross, a suburban town adjoining the west side of the town of Stroud. The mill was built as a woollen mill in 1818 and is a grade II* listed building. It was converted to become the council's offices between 1987 and 1990.

Elections
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2016 the council has comprised 51 councillors representing 27 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Towns and parishes
The district is entirely covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Berkeley, Cainscross, Dursley, Nailsworth, Stonehouse, Stroud and Wotton-under-Edge take the style "town council". Some of the smaller parishes have a parish meeting rather than a parish council.

Notable Members of Stroud District Council (and predecessors)
Margaret Hills (née Robertson) was the first woman elected to Stroud Urban District Council in 1928. where she stood as a representative of the Stroud Women's Citizens Association (SWCA). She remained a member until 1936 when the council was expanded to cover Cainscross and Rodborough.

David Drew is also a former member of the council originally representing the Stonehouse Ward and more recently the Paganhill and Farmhill Ward. Tom Levitt is also a former member and served for a short time before moving to High Peak in the early 1990s.