The attendees are a group of interested residents. We decided to proceed with sending a Letter Before Claim to GCC to lay out our position and ask for their response within 14 days.
Minutes and a recording are here.
Following correspondence with Gloucestershire County Council several GCC senior managers met with residents at Home Orchard on 15 July 2025.
"We gave them a tour of the estate to show them the parking issue - including cars in what is technically a passing place. They’ve seen photos too, as typically it wasn’t as jam packed as usual. We visited a house on the estate that has found a solution to installing a charger as they didn’t want to rely on the commercial rates of the public chargers- this was largely to demonstrate that for the majority of houses, even those with no driveway, there is a solution. They listened, explained their strategy, apologised for poor communication and have said they want to work with us to get to a resolution that works for all. On the whole, cordial and open." -- Mark Sharrock
Following that meeting GCC responded via their legal counsel, offering to ‘bag’ the chargers by 31 July with removal shortly thereafter. They will also be in touch to facilitate conversations with Stroud District Council about their nearby empty car park and how this could alleviate pressure on the estate, following the double yellows on Westward Road. We’ve accepted this proposal.
The EV charger group is agreed that the core issue is parking, not the chargers. If GCC can sort the parking so Home Orchard is not jam packed all the time, then non-enforced chargers could be acceptable.
Huge thanks to Sally Egna, Mark Sharrock, Jon Hall and Meg Willshire for leading on the EV issue
The previously installed EV chargers on the estate have now been removed. This follows ongoing issues around maintenance responsibility, charging access, and lack of formal agreement with the management company. At present no replacement charger solution is planned, but the residents’ group will review future options once we have a clearer governance structure in place and a better understanding of estate-wide needs and costs. Residents with EV requirements are encouraged to share their views so we can factor them into any future proposal.
We have made initial enquiries about enabling residents to use the nearby council car park as an overspill parking area, particularly during periods of high demand on the estate. No formal arrangement has been agreed yet, and progress is currently pending further discussion with the council. We will continue to pursue this as a potential way to ease parking pressures and will update residents as soon as there is a development.