About Us

Welcome to GL Communities, your number one source for community development, advice and resources. We're dedicated to giving you the very best in help and information, with a focus on community development, well-being and a money advice service.

Founded in 2008 and receiving its charity status in 2010, GL Communities has come a long way from its humble beginnings. GLC was a merger of three of the most successful of the neighbourhood projects in Gloucester but is now able to offer services all over Gloucestershire. We are thrilled to be able to turn our passion into work on the ground that creates change with local people.

We hope you use our services as much as we enjoy offering them to you. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Sue Cunningham
CEO

We are delighted that The National Lottery Community Fund has recognised our work in this way.  Now, thanks to National Lottery players we will be able to broaden the range of opportunities available to vulnerable adults, parents and families.  This is important to us as ‘everybody deserves a chance’.
Sue CunninghamSue Cunningham
CEO

Round the Houses

Matson
Matson’s name comes from the old English Matesknolle, Mattesdune and Matesden – the village on the side of Robinswood Hill. The council estate, which forms a large part of the area, was built after the Second World War and its other major feature is the artificial ski slope, opened in 1973. Matson south-west boundary takes in the Gloucester motorway services station, which opened in 2014. The service area supports the Gloucestershire Gateway Trust in helping provide jobs for Gloucester, and to support local social regeneration schemes. The 2019 Motorway Services User Survey found that Gloucester's southbound side was in the top five motorway services in the UK for customer satisfaction.
Robinswood
Dominated by the 650ft (198m) Robinswood Hill, the area sits on the south side of the city. The hill’s springs were once Gloucester’s main source of water. The head of the spring, Well Cross and Well House, are now listed buildings. They built by the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of St Peter (later the cathedral) in the 12th century. Reservoirs were built in 1873 and supplied city water until 1924. They were used for water storage until 1946 before being filled in and becoming the car park for the hill. It has been home to a country park since 1972, and a teeming wildlife habitat. It now forms the Matson and Robinswood ward on Gloucester City Council. The ward is home to nearly 9,500 people.
White City
White City is a great example of a community creating its own identity. People in White City successfully campaigned for their neighbourhood to be recognised officially as a district of the City, and to appear on maps and road signs. After the First World War there was a movement to build better housing for people living in Gloucester’s slums. In 1927, Gloucester Corporation compulsorily purchased Starveall Farm to build the new homes that became White City. In the 1990s, the estate was substantially rebuilt. Many of the old homes were demolished by the City Council, and new homes built by Oxbode Housing Association and Beazer Homes.
Podsmead
Podsmead has largely grown in the 20th century. Expansion started after 1945 when temporary homes and social housing were built. Crypt Grammar School moved there in 1943. Just over three thousand people live in Podsmead now. Neighbouring Quedgeley developed from the 1950s and Kingsway was built from the early 2000s, both ‘squeezing’ Podsmead. In 2019 a 25-year urban regeneration plan was launched for the Podsmead Estate. Gloucester City Homes’ aim is to make better use of available land, improving housing and local services.
Tuffley
Tuffley has variously been recorded as Tuffley, Tufley, Tufly, Tuffel, Tuffill. It was once a village mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as 'Tuffelege' – which could mean ‘Tuffa's farm’, with Tuffa being an Anglo-Saxon personal name. To this was added the suffix 'leah,' meaning a fenced enclosure or farm. Home to around six thousand people, Tuffley has a low deprivation rate and a low crime rate, compared to other Gloucester wards, according to government studies.
Tredworth
Tredworth forms part of the Barton and Tredworth ward on Gloucester City Council. Together they make up the city’s most populous ward and its most ethnically diverse. The combined population is pushing towards 12,000, with up to 45 different communities and 50 different languages spoken. Tredworth was once a village outside Gloucester. Originally it was the area covering the High Street and east to the municipal boundary that ran alongside the railway track and the cemetery. In the mid-19th century it was called Newtown, in preparation for planned development. In the latter 19th century increased industrial development led to the growth of the city’s population and the expansion of Tredworth. There is currently a project to record the memories of the people living in the area both past and present. That diversity is reflected in the numbers for Barton and Tredworth; 51% of the people living there are either Muslim, Hindu, Sikh, Jewish or Buddhist (2011)
Stroud
Stroud was at the heart of the Industrial Revolution as a cloth town with its mills powered by the small rivers which run through the Five Valleys. The town’s MP between 1837 and 1841 was Lord John Russell who went on to become Prime Minister and the pioneer of the first health and safety laws and the 1867 Reform Act which extended voting rights. The designer, Jasper Conran, called Stroud the ‘Covent Garden of the Cotswolds’ with its vibrant artistic community. The London Evening Standard has called it ‘Notting Hill with wellies.’ The town has a history of protest going back to the Stroudwater Riots of 1825. Over the years its residents have successfully blocked the building of roads, the demolition of old buildings, the felling of trees, cuts to health services and the closure of post offices. Stroud’s sense of independence was characterised by its refusal to adopt Greenwich Mean Time; for years local time was set by a sundial at the top of Gloucester Street which was nine minutes behind the rest of the country.
Cam
A total of 8,500 people live in the two wards of Cam East and Cam West. It is officially a village, but has more people than neighbouring Dursley, which is a town. Cam is home to the last working woollen mill in the Stroud area – Cam Mills. The tennis balls used at Wimbledon and the green baize used on snooker tables were all made by Cam Mills. The company also made it to the top of Everest; Sir Edmund Hillary’s socks were made in the town. There is currently a Development Strategy in place for Cam which outlines plans up until 2031. They include building 450 new homes (135 of which should be affordable), the development of 11.4 hectares (28 acres) of land for employment, the creation of 1,500 new jobs, a cycle and footpath linking Cam to the railway station and a new park alongside the river.
Dursley
7,500 people live in Dursley. Between 1856 and 1968 the town was served by the ‘Dursley Donkey’, a short branch line linking both it and Cam to the Gloucester to Bristol main line. The station was re-opened in 1994, reflecting the area’s place in the commuter belt. Markets are held at the Market Place and a farmers' market is held there on the second Saturday of every month, with a craft market on the fourth Saturday of each month. Cam and Dursley are ‘Transition Towns’. Transition towns are grassroot community projects to increase self-sufficiency, reduce reliance on oil, fight climate destruction and promote economic sustainability. One of these projects protects the town’s Secret Garden. Dursley’s other claim to fame is that JK Rowling named Harry Potter’s adoptive parents after the town.
Stonehouse
Stonehouse appears in William the Conqueror's Domesday Book of 1086 under its Old English name “Stanhus.” It is believed it was because the manor house was built of stone rather than the usual wattle and daub. Stonehouse railway station survived a threat of closure in 1972. The opening of the M5, in 1971, made the town attractive to industry. Housing development grew in the 1950s with the Park Estate, Little Australia and Boakes Drive. The 2000s saw small developments at Arrowsmith Drive and Court View, opposite Stonehouse Court and built partially on the old Stroud and Nailsworth branch line in 2002. A small development adjacent to Arrowsmith Drive was added in 2017, although technically this is in the parish of Standish.
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GL Communities – Building Futures with local people

Our key project areas:

Community – At the heart of cohesive, inclusive and aspirational communities
People – Valuing and believing in our residents, staff and volunteers; building on their strengths to develop empowered people
Partners – Respecting and working with a range of partners to achieve the best possible outcomes for our neighbourhoods
Sustainability – Learning from our collective experiences to create a sustainable organisation and resilient communities
Achieving – Realising added value through our investment in communities

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We facilitate the connecting of residents, local business, and local services in becoming thriving and aspiring communities. We support local community development, advice, education and training activities to increase residents’ confidence, skills levels and reliance.

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