Council of the Week: Quedgeley Parish Council

This week Quedgeley Parish Council (QPC) are our 'Council of the Week' for their great community support work, helping drive and fund local projects.

QPC is a large council made up from three main areas, Quedgeley, Kingsway and Copeland Park with over 18,500 residents residing under the Quedgeley umbrella.

In October 2014, QPC achieved ownership of a new community centre and a new sports pavilion in Kingsway, Quedgeley. QPC have worked tirelessly with the local community to encourage sports clubs to hold events and for the pavilion to act as their home ground. Councillors and staff worked closely together to gauge what the local needs were and then utilising their rather large address book to provide open event to showcase the potential of the new pavilion. Cllr Debbie Llewellyn, Mayor of Gloucester attended the pavilion showcase, meeting and greeting, showing guests around the facility and lobbying for funding towards projects.

These networking opportunities have proved to be vital at building a rapport with community members and have led to partnerships being developed, with countless examples showing how successful they have been.

A particular highlight has been the cricket team, which started from the bottom with nothing. The team met with the council to discuss moving from their existing ground to the new ground in Kingsway. The chair of the cricket team supplied machinery whilst the parish council provided grant monies and additional assistance such as grounds man, markers, advertising as well as introducing the team to further funding opportunities. After months of nurturing the ground and discussions on future requirements, the council developed their ground maintenance contract. The council and the cricket team had a media day to promote the new initiative to the area and local youth have already signed up to be part of the team. This will bring an entirely new sport to the community, which is predominantly made up of new housing and is desperately in need for community-focussed event. This partnership has led to both parties working together to provide a first class cricket ground to the local community.

Other examples of successful partnerships:

• The rugby manager had a white liner who prepared to line out the pitches. The council provided a discount on rental fees to enable the rugby team to establish themselves within the community.

• A grant was awarded to Cotswold Rangers Football Team to allow them to purchase new kits. This enabled the team to appear more professional, whilst bringing recognition of support by the council.

• Recently, a grant was awarded to the Hardwicke and Quedgeley Cricket Team, which enabled them to buy a scoreboard.

Get in touch if you would like to nominate a future Council of the Week