The Green councillors on Gloucestershire County Council have this week won extra money for flood management schemes, free bus passes for veterans and community libraries.
The funding comes as the result of amendments proposed by the council’s Green group when the council met to set the annual budget for the financial year starting in April.
Natural Flood Management projects, which use natural processes to address flooding risk on roads and residential areas, create additional habitat for nature, along with attractive green surroundings for communities, will now receive £300,000 of funding.
A further £100,000 originating via a motion put forward by Green group leader Cllr Cate Cody (Tewkesbury) will fund free bus passes for veterans seeking to return to work. And community libraries across the county will receive £2,000 each (a total of £16,000) to bridge the gap until their funding – which has remained static since they were established over a decade ago – is reviewed later this year.
Cllr Chloe Turner (Green, Minchinhampton) said: “The flood management projects around the county are hugely positive and popular projects, and recent heavy rainfall has shown how vital such schemes are to protect Gloucestershire’s residents from the effects of flooding.
“We were especially pleased that the Conservative administration chose to partner with us on the bus passes and libraries amendments – and that they have themselves added £2million to the budget to start installing solar panels on the council’s schools. This is something I have been urging them to do for some time – as it’s an opportunity to cut costs and reduce emissions across the county’s schools.”
Other political groups gained funding for extra items including youth services, Public Rights of Way and rain gardens.
The extra funding for the flood projects, bus passes and libraries brings to nearly £1million the amount of money won by the Green group for vital help for communities since the 2021 election. “This shows what councils can accomplish when there are Greens in the room to press for funding to help communities and the environment,” said Cllr Cody.
Pictured: The Green group of councillors, left to right: Cate Cody (Tewkesbury), Chloe Turner (Minchinhampton), Beki Hoyland (Forest of Dean: Blakeney and Bream) and Chris McFarling (Forest of Dean: Sedbury).