01/01/12 - Read Paul's article for Cotswold Style January issue

2011 was a tough year for a lot of people and many won’t be unhappy to have seen it pass.  For me, I’d say it was a mixed year, with life made more challenging by the economic climate, but good progress nonetheless.

I gave up making New Year’s resolutions years ago – but I still set a series of goals to achieve during the year.

I’m optimistic about 2012.  There’s no doubt it’s going to be quite a year.  There are the obvious highlights, such as the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.  For the latter, we are preparing to continue the city’s historic tradition of sending the Monarch a Lamprey Pie to mark such an auspicious occasion.  We’ll also find out whether our bid for a Lord Mayor for Gloucester as part of the Jubilee celebrations has been successful.

I suspect both of these events will provide inspiration for entrants to the city’s Carnival Procession.  This year, as a great example of the Big Society, we’ve set up a Carnival Committee of volunteers to help encourage participation and get the event back to the scale it used to be.

On the event front, it is also the 50^th anniversary of Jamaican independence, which will tie in with the end of Carnival Fortnight.  2012 will also see the second Gloucester Quays Food Festival and the third Victorian Christmas Market as well as our first major History Festival.

As far as regeneration is concerned, I’m expecting a busy year.  Just as work finishes on the new Language Immersion Centre at Blackfriars, so work will start on a number of other projects.  The Eastgate Chamber, an awful concrete and glass structure which houses some of Gloucester’s most important Roman remains, will soon be replaced by something which showcases our history rather better.

On the former Gloscat campus site at Greyfriars, Linden Homes’ application has completed its passage through the planning process so they can press ahead with their residential-led development, which will help to repopulate the city centre.  Another important brownfield site, the Railway Triangle, now has planning consent for a new Morrisons supermarket, with business units alongside – bringing to end a 20-year fallow period where it had fallen into increasing dereliction.

So too, a new Tesco Extra store will spring up, behind the existing one, on the hugely successful St Oswalds Park retail and leisure destination.  This scheme has been controversial, but the supermarket chain’s £25 million investment is a huge vote of confidence in the city.

In the city centre, Marks and Spencer will open their new store in the former Woolworth’s building and shoppers will enjoy Debenhams after its multi-million pound refurbishment.  We will also move forward with our plans for the Kings Quarter scheme, with our development partner Stanhope.  2012 should see a planning application following a round of public consultation.

Work will continue on the historic Fleece Hotel, which is now in City Council ownership following a decade of being left to decay in the Regional Development Agency’s hands.  We hope to sign up a developer partner in the early part of the year.

At Gloucester Quays, new retailers will continue to be brought in, taking the centre ever closer to full occupation.  Subject to planning consent, work will start to give the city a new modern, digital, state of the art cinema.

So, there’s plenty to be optimistic about in Gloucester.  We know the months ahead won’t be easy, but I’m confident we can keep moving the city forward.

I wish all Cotswold Style readers a very happy, peaceful and successful 2012.