Ambitious plans to redevelop one of Stroud’s former canal-side ports have received a significant financial boost which will also benefit the town’s struggling Subscription Rooms.
Stroud District Council, which is behind plans for the 150-home Brimscombe Port redevelopment, has revealed it has won grants of almost £1 million.
The money is to help make old buildings fit for a carbon neutral future, and £776,000 of the money is a Land Release Funding grant for ‘infrastructure and flood alleviation measures to unlock the Brimscombe Port site’.
A further £200,000 from the Zero Carbon Public Estate fund will be used to explore how to repurpose and retrofit a host of sites, including town centre venue The Sub Rooms, currently raising funds to help it re-open post-pandemic.
‘As a council we have a strategy to make the whole district carbon neutral by 2030 and this will help in that effort,’ said district council leader Doina Cornell.
‘This is a massive vote of confidence, not only in the quality and ambition of the bids but also in our ability to deliver.’
Other sites earmarked to benefit include the council’s Ebley Mill headquarters, the Old Town Hall in Stroud, Thanet House (Stroud Town Council’s headquarters), Lansdown Hall, Stroud Job Centre, Stroud Ambulance Station and Stroud Fire Station.
Stroud District Council secured the funding from The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government.
Some £2 million of funding was also secured from Homes England in 2015 to help make the complex brownfield site a more attractive commercial prospect.
Outline planning permission for the Brimscombe Port site was granted on 24 March 2021 and the district council is now seeking a developer.
That is expected to be achieved by spring next year. A detailed application for the redevelopment of the site will then be prepared followed by further public consultation.
With the plans pending the issues for businesses on the site are far from trivial. SoGlos has also reported on the plight of Rush Skatepark, battling against the clock to find a new home as a result.
By Andrew Merrell
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