STROUD District Council leader Geoff Wheeler keeps you up to date with what is happening at the council

Thursday, January 29 – Budget meeting, Ebley Mill, 7pm In last week’s column, I mentioned this meeting will see councillors voting on freezing SDC’s portion of your council tax bill for 2015/16.

The majority of the evening will focus on financial matters.

There’s also an item to enter into a partnership with Gloucester City Council for our building control services.

This is the area of the council’s work which ensures that buildings are built according to proper standards and regulations.

Creating efficiencies by sharing services with other councils is one of the areas councils are increasingly focussed on as we have to tighten our financial belts.

You can view this meeting online at stroud.gov.uk/webcast Saturday, January 31 – leisure centre pool Last Monday, we had to close the swimming pool at Stratford Park Leisure Centre after a section of the suspended ceiling fell on to the poolside.

Checks and repairs to the entire ceiling are being made to ensure that it is completely safe.

We’re aiming to reopen the pool on Saturday but will open it a day earlier if the work can be completed more quickly.

The latest information is available on the centre’s website or by calling 01453 766771.

We’re grateful to swimmers for their patience and apologise for the inconvenience.

Next week Having mentioned council tax bills above, the annual bills will land on doormats in March.

Next week we’ll be publicising the option to receive them by email.

At the moment 4,000 households have signed up and we’re certain that many more households will want to receive their bills electronically.

Keep an eye out next week.

Saturday, February 14 – Valentine’s Day In just over two weeks’ time it will be Valentine’s Day.

It’s a busy one for restaurants and other eateries and I’m pleased to see that new venues opened up over the past year and are proving popular.

To have confidence in the standards of cleanliness in places you intend to eat at, visit food.gov.uk/ratings before you book.