Kevin Cranston, Stroud Town Mayor, reveals his memorable moments from 2021 and hopes for 2022.
What was most memorable about 2021?
On a personal level the birth of my second grandchild, my first granddaughter. Not only is she lovely, but I would say that, she is also very bright and perky. She had a difficult start to life and that just makes me realise how incredibly lucky we are to have the NHS in this country.
As mayor, highlights were seeing the Sub Rooms reopen after lockdown and its partial makeover and seeing it start to thrive with its more varied offering with an ever-widening programme to appeal to all tastes.
The development of the Five Valleys Centre and how that brings more people into town, which helps the rest of the high street stay in business.
The ending of lockdown and being able to get back to visiting all the wonderful people and organisations who do so much for Stroud voluntarily.
What are your hopes and plans for 2022?
Most of all, I really hope to see Covid reduce its impact on society and return to being able to act normally. Personally, I will celebrate my 70th birthday and by the end of the year will have completely retired from work. I hope that this gives me more time to watch my grandchildren grow up.
For the Town, I hope that: the Levelling Fund Bid is successful, it has the potential to unlock more funding for a lot of other exciting projects, all of which will benefit people from across the district.
The canal restoration from the Ocean to Saul gets underway in earnest.
The town centre getting back to its former vibrant self and the cafe culture is re-establishing itself. And the Subs continuing to go from strength to strength.
