A year on from commemorating 25 years of Eastington Community News (ECN), thoughts are turning to what lies ahead, and how ECN can best fit the future needs of this community.

To understand why ECN was born it’s necessary to look at events back then. It was a time when some in authority said no one in the general community was interested in local matters, pointing to empty councillor seats to make their point. Gradually, it was accepted that for residents to engage and take part, then first they needed to know what was going on. The prime function of ECN was to keep all residents informed and aware of critical local events and proposals, which could affect their lives. It gave village organisations and residents a chance to say what they were doing, in a way that included all parts of Eastington, and all ages, and for them to see the many things going on and to join in if they wished.

Much has changed since then, with social media now adding more ways to communicate. So what should be the role of ECN over the next 25 years? Maybe to get started we could think about the next 5 years? The clues to what this publication is about are in its name, ‘community news’ and the footnote of every page, ‘by the community – for the community’.  ECN is about you, so it seems only right to invite you to say how ECN should accommodate the most important community issues. Maybe you have ideas about how ECN might help those unfamiliar with ‘social media’ to read about it in print. Please contact me (details below,) if you are interested to help shape the future of ECN or to assist us in compiling future editions.

It’s the income from our advertisers that ensures that ECN is free to every household in the parish,and also ensures independence of this publication. This is the time of year when adverts are renewed for another year, and I would like to thank Tom and Jan Low for the very considerable effort they make in encouraging advertisers to continue to help keep us running. I would especially like to thank all of our advertisers for supporting us again this year. Nearly all of them are local people, so please do take some time to browse through the advertising pages, and if you decide to contact one of them, please be sure to tell them you saw their details in the pages of ECN.

I would like to draw your attention to two important, time-­sensitive pieces of information, which you may not be aware of.

1. Stroud District Council is required to publicise details of the Eastington Neighbourhood Development Plan (NDP) 2015-­2031 and invite comment ahead of the submission to independent examination. The following hard copies of the NDP documents and accompanying information are available at:

  a) Stroud District Council offices, Ebley Mill          (Monday to Thursday 09:00 -­17:00,

          and Friday 9:00 -­16:30).

  b) Eastington Community Centre (OHMG) –       Alkerton Green,

         (Monday to Thursday 9:00 to 15:00).

  c) The King’s Head House Hotel – Alkerton,           (Open 8:00 to 23:00 daily).

  d) The Old Badger Inn – Alkerton Road,  

          (Open 12:00 to 23:00 daily).

  e) St Michael’s & All Angels Church –       Churchend, Eastington,  

         (Open dawn to dusk).

-Or on line search for ‘Regulation 15 –    Submission of Neighbourhood Plan to Local    Planning Authority’

   on SDC’s website under ‘    planning’.

The period for making representations (i.e. your comments) runs from 20th January to 2nd March 2016. If you would like to contribute, please send your comments to ndp.consultation@stroud.gov.uk

or in writing to: Ricardo Rios, Neighbourhood Planning Officer at Stroud District Council offices.

2. This year, elections for Eastington Parish Council will be held on 5th  May.

Having read about the busy times and hard work by the Parish Council, maybe you would like to put your name forward for election this time? It’s always helpful to have fresh ideas and new talent to help with the many challenges facing our community.  But by the time the next ECN is delivered there will be no more than 4 days before the deadline to apply to become a Parish Councillor. So you may wish to note that nomination papers will be available from Ebley Mill from 1st March.

To request a nomination pack please contact the Elections Team on 01453 754887

or email elections@stroud.gov.uk.

You must submit your completed nomination form to Electoral Services between

Tuesday 22 March and

                4pm on Thursday 7 April 2016.

Andrew Niblett -­ Editor