Twenty-two Christmas trees and not a bauble in sight! Such was the ingenuity and originality of the tree decorators. The trees twinkled and you could feel the Christmas magic in the air. Several visitors commented that the trees were some of the best they’d seen.

From time to time odours can be detected from the land fill site or the sewage treatment works. It is important that these problems are reported to the Environment Agency by calling 0800 807060.

There is a Healthwatch event is being held at the Holiday Inn in Cheltenham on 11th November. Click here for details.

For many years now cities and town across England have opened the doors of their historic buildings, once a year, for the benefit of the public. As part of this initiative Cheltenham Civic Society are organising a series of visits to important local sites of interest.

The Parish Council's Annual Return has been successfully audited by Grant Thornton, our external auditor.

Local organisations and individuals have been participating in the independent review of the JCS. So far we get the impression that the inspector is acting very fairly and has made a lot of criticism of the JCS. Decisions are not expected until end of the year or in Spring 2016.

Another key ingredient in this is the Cheltenham Local Plan. The Parish Council developed a local green space application to be considered as part of our town’s local plan. The Parish Council is trying to protect the green fields around the village because they are so important for the identity of the village and provide a beautiful place for walking, running and observing nature.

The level crossing will be closed at the level crossing from 11pm on Saturday 22nd August until 9:00am Sunday 23rd August 2015 to allow for track maintenance works.

The travellers have set up camp in the park in Swindon Village again. It requires combined action by Cheltenham Borough Council (as landowner) and the police to move them on.