News

Wreaths were laid at the Church of St Matthew this morning in remembrance by Cllr George Sharpley, Chairman of Twigworth Parish Council and Mark Pavely, Vice Chair of the Gloucester Branch of Royal British Legion.

The ceremony was led by Rev Joe Knight of the Seven Towers Benfice and supported by Mark Paveley RBL and Cllr John Redfern, who read the names of those remembered here at Twigworth.

Tam Coleman, local resident and veteran of Royal Signal Corps, Pipe Major, played a lament “Flowers of The Forest” which made for a very moving ceremony.

We Shall Remember Them

Twigworth remembers tomorrow, all residents, service personnel and veterans welcome to attend.

The Twigworth Parish Council would like to re-introduce and welcome back, our new member of the Parish Council!

Cllr George Sharpley – Chairman

Some of you may recall George, as a previous Parish Councillor and Chairman, he brings extensive local government experience to the council and is familiar with local issues, especially on flooding, sewage and planning.

Cllr Sharpley was co-opted and elected as the Twigworth Parish Council Chair at last nights parish meeting.

Good news for some of the long suffering bus passengers of Twigworth!

Following an enquiry by Cllr Redfern earlier in the year to the Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) about the status of the S106 deliverables for the Twigworth Green development, GCC advised that the Bus Stop contribution had been approved for two new bus shelters near the Oakwood Hotel on the A38 and that they were keen to progress this project before the end of this financial year.

Twigworth Parish Council were then able to arrange an Extraordinary Meeting in August for the Council to agree adoption of the new shelters and advised GCC of this decision.

We are pleased to report that the groundworks for the installation of these two Bus Shelters has now started!

So at long last, bus passengers who have had to wait for their buses in all weathers and cope with the traffic spray right next to the A38, their ordeal will soon be coming to an end!

Cllr Redfern has also been following up on the Bus Shelter for Twigworth Green (which is to be provided by the Developer), this is by far the most used Bus Stop in Twigworth but the Bus Shelter is still some way off and the Parish Council have been pushing the Gloucestershire County Council on this for some time.

We have been informed by GCC, that the Developer, has advised they are out to tender for the Bus Shelter, we will continue to report progress on this.

Flood Alert in force: River Severn in Gloucestershire.

Flooding is possible for: River Severn from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.

Be prepared.

River levels are rising at the Haw Bridge river gauge as a result of heavy rainfall and high tides. Consequently, flooding is expected to continue. We expect flooding to affect low lying land and roads adjacent the River Severn from Tewkesbury to Gloucester.

Locations that may be affected include Apperley, Maisemore and Hempsted.

Severn Ham, Tewkesbury starts to fill. Predicted peaks:- Mythe 4.2m to 4.5m on 20/10, Haw Bridge 4.7m to 5m on Saturday morning 19/10, and Sandhurst 3.3m to 3.5m on 19/10.

We expect river levels to remain high between the high tides, for the next few days.

We are closely monitoring the situation. Our incident response staff are liaising with emergency services and or Local Authorities.

Please avoid using low lying footpaths near local watercourses and plan driving routes to avoid low lying roads near rivers, which may be flooded.

This message will be updated by 18:00 on 18/10/24, or if the situation changes.

We understand that both the communities we serve, and our own workforce, will be concerned and unsettled following the suspension of Chief Constable Rod Hansen.

We are continuing to provide the best service we can to our communities, and we would like to assure everyone that frontline policing will not stop, and we will continue to respond to calls from those who need us.

We have dedicated and hardworking officers, police staff and volunteers who will continue to keep people safe from harm, pursue offenders and investigate crime.

Chief Constable Rod Hansen was suspended by Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson on Monday (7 October), following the launch of an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct(IOPC).

The IOPC confirmed it is investigating conduct allegations against Chief Constable Hansen relating to his handling of an allegation against a member of staff, and whether relevant policies and procedures were subsequently followed.

Former Deputy Chief Constable Shaun West retired in June 2024, and he also remains subject to an IOPC investigation. He is under criminal investigation in relation to a number of serious allegations including assault and misconduct in public office. He was suspended by Chief Constable Hansen in January 2024 after the IOPC launched an investigation.

The Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) is working with His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and the College of Policing to identify a temporary Chief Constable who can lead the Constabulary and provide consistency during this period.

We are unable to comment further on the investigations as that is a matter for the IOPC. We want to reassure people the remaining members of the Chief Officer Group (COG) and the wider Executive Board will provide continuity of leadership until a temporary Chief Constable is in place, and senior leaders across the organisation met yesterday (Tuesday 8 October) to ensure our important work continues as normal.In Gloucestershire, we have three Assistant Chief Constables (ACCs), one of whom is temporary, and an Assistant Chief Officer (ACO), all of whom are highly experienced officers.While the situation is unusual, it isn’t unprecedented, and we’d like to reassure our communities, staff and partner organisations we continue to operate as normal.

As soon as there is any developments or changes to our leadership group we will provide a further update.