Dear Editor,
In response to Chris W’s letter about the future of Stratford Park Lido, the issue also raises a wider question about how we think about facilities for young people in Stroud.
While the financial challenges around maintaining the lido are clearly significant, the debate highlights something bigger in our town: youth facilities are not considered strategically or with a long-term plan. Housing development and retail regeneration quite rightly receive careful planning and investment, but places for young people to be active and social: swimming pools, skateparks and other activity spaces, often appear to be treated as optional rather than essential community infrastructure.
The loss of Rush Skatepark and Inside Football in recent years are further examples that have reduced the opportunities available to young people locally. While on the face of it the Brimscombe Port development has been beset by bad luck, the impact on the community is undeniable: thriving businesses closed, community resources lost, incoming investment and tourism reduced. Our council and community leaders must take responsibility for these events, own them and act quickly to mitigate them.
If Stroud is to thrive as an active, sustainable and attractive place to live, we need to think more seriously about the role these spaces play in the life of the town. Facilities that support young people’s health, activity and sense of belonging should be seen as vital civic infrastructure, just as important to the long-term wellbeing of the community as housing, transport or retail.
Stroud is a town that prides itself on creativity, community and quality of life. Investing in youth facilities, and planning for them strategically over the long term, should be part of ensuring that future generations feel the same sense of pride and opportunity in the place they grow up.
What is Stroud District Council’s long-term plan for youth recreation facilities across the district, and how are those needs being assessed and funded over the next ten years?
Yours faithfully,
Jo Bottrill
