Stroud District

Coordinates: 51°44′53″N 2°12′58″W / 51.748°N 2.216°W / 51.748; -2.216

Stroud District
Non-metropolitan district

Stroud shown within Gloucestershire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region South West England
Non-metropolitan county Gloucestershire
Status Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ Stroud
Incorporated 1 April 1974
Government
  Type Non-metropolitan district council
  Body Stroud District Council
  Leadership Leader & Cabinet (TBA (council NOC))
  MPs Neil Carmichael
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
Area
  Total 177.9 sq mi (460.7 km2)
Area rank 97th (of 326)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
  Total 115,093
  Rank 198th (of 326)
  Density 650/sq mi (250/km2)
  Ethnicity 98.7% White
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
  Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
ONS code 23UF (ONS)
E07000082 (GSS)
OS grid reference SO8508905550
Website www.stroud.gov.uk

Stroud is a local government district in Gloucestershire, England. It is named after its largest town, Stroud, and has its administrative headquarters in Ebley Mill, in the Ebley area on the western outskirts of the town.

The district is mixed and consists of part of the Cotswolds and the Vale of Berkeley, an area of the flat, fertile valley of the River Severn. The town of Stroud is by some way the largest in the area. The southern portion of the district is served mostly by its own market towns, chief among which are Dursley and Wotton-under-Edge.

History

Stroud District Council was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, on 1 April 1974, by a merger of Nailsworth and Stroud urban districts, Dursley Rural District, Stroud Rural District, and parts of Gloucester Rural District, Sodbury Rural District and Thornbury Rural District.

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 100. 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 esteemed Cotswold Way walk leads through the area. There are gliding clubs at Aston Down and Nympsfield.

Politics

Elections to the district council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats on the council being elected at each election. At the 2016 election, the coalition of Labour, Greens and the Liberal Democrats retained its majority on Stroud District Council.

References

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