, welcome to the latest edition of GRCC Newsbites

Dear ,

Welcome to the latest edition of Newsbites, bringing you news and updates from GRCC and our partner organisations. In this edition...

---- News From GRCC ----

Launch of Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026
Book for our free Community Buildings Network Information Fair, Workshops, and Networking Lunch, 16th March
Catching up with Highnam - triple prizewinners in Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2025
Help us tailor the support we give you - 5 minute survey
News roundup from GRCC's DAISI Digital Equity Project
GRCC Diary Dates - events in March & April
"Autism & Me" - a new six-week course from our CASA team
Moreton-in-Marsh Community Hub, Monday 2nd March

---- We're Recruiting ----

Rural Affordable Housing Enabler
Technology & Digital Inclusion Social Prescriber Link Worker

---- News From Our Partner Organisations ----

Consultation on proposals for Local Government Reorganisation
Healthwatch Gloucestershire survey for young people aged 11 - 18

---- And Finally ----

Hire our Central Gloucester meeting rooms
How are we doing?

Village of the Year sign, with Parish Clerk Babs Maloney, GRCC Community Development Officer Sabrina Dixon, and award-winning village volunteer Lucy Cameron-Davies.

Could your village be Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026? £15,000 and great kudos to be won!

The search is on for Gloucestershire’s most vibrant and inclusive community, as we launch GRCC's Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2026 competition.

We're proud to be working again with last years' sponsors Cotswold District Council, Stroud District Council, Tewkesbury Borough Council, Freeman Homes and the High Sheriff of Gloucestershire, and welcoming new sponsors Gloucestershire Employment and Skills Hub and the Royal Agricultural University.

This year's four competition categories, each with a £2000 first prize and £1000 runner-up prize are:

Community Led Health and Wellbeing (Including Mental Health)
Climate & Environment (Resilience)
Volunteering & Skills in the Community
Digital

There's also a £2000 prize for the overall winner, and £1000 for the overall runner-up, along with plaques and framed certificates for all winners and runners-up of course. This year’s competition also features a special award from the High Sheriff for a young person overcoming adversity.

"Last year’s awards were an inspiring celebration of the incredible work happening across Gloucestershire," said GRCC's CEO Barbara Piranty. "I wholeheartedly encourage villages to submit an entry. It doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming, simply tell us about the great things you’re already doing."

Villages have until 18th May to submit their entry forms, then the judges' visits to shortlisted villages will happen during June, and the awards ceremony will take place at Highnam Court in July.

Read full details and download your entry form

Book a free place at our annual Community Buildings Network Information Fair, Workshops, and Lunch, 16th March.

As part of Village Halls Week, the national event run each March by our umbrella organisation ACRE, we're hosting a Gloucestershire Community Buildings Network event on Monday 16th March, 10am - 2pm.

“This is a great way to find suppliers, learn new approaches to running community buildings, and meet other community building managers around the county,” said GRCC Community Development Officer Sabrina Dixon who is organising the event.

The event includes talks and workshops on Insurance, Income Diversification, Accessibility, Emergency Planning, Incorporation, and Creative Marketing, plus suppliers' stands to browse, and a free lunch for chatting and networking.

The event is free to attend, but prior booking is essential. You can download an A5 poster here, or use the button below to book your place.

Book your free ticket

Photo of GRCC's Sabrina Dixon and Highnam Parish Councillors and Clerk next to a colourful information board in their Community Orchard

Catching up with Highnam - triple prizewinners in Gloucestershire Village of the Year 2025

Highnam put in a great entry to our Gloucestershire Village of the Year competition last year, and came away with three prizes worth a total of £4000.

We've been to visit them to find out how they're using their prize money in their community orchard and elsewhere, and what advice they'd give to other villages thinking of entering the competition this year!

Please complete our five-minute survey to help us shape the support we give you over the next 12 months

With significant recent changes to the NHS in Gloucestershire, and imminent Local Government Reorganisation set to abolish Gloucestershire's county, district and borough councils, this is a challenging time for communities and Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations to understand where they fit, and how best to engage with the public and deliver their services.

To help us tailor the support we provide to your organisation at a time when the strategic direction for Gloucestershire is becoming clearer, we have developed a short survey. It should take no more than 5-10 minutes to complete, and it will give us valuable insights into how we can best support you over the coming months.

Parish or Town Councils, please use this survey link.

VCSE (Voluntary, Community, or Social Enterprise) organisations, please use this survey link.

News roundup from GRCC's DAISI Digital Equity Project

Our new DAISI App is now available for iOS, in addition to the Android version which launched last month. The DAISI App gives you access to all of our digital support guides and resources, and locations, dates and times for all our DAISI digital support drop-ins across the county. Download it for free from the Google Play store, and the Apple App store - more details and QR code download links on this poster.
We've recently received a significant donation of used IT devices from the Fire Brigades Union (FBU), for refurbishment and redistribution to people in digital need across the county via our Device Bank. "It's great to now be working with the FBU, who are helping us to extinguish digital poverty in Gloucestershire," said Daniel Gale, GRCC's Digital Equity Manager. "We'd love to hear from other organisations who may have quantities of used IT equipment which they might be able to donate to us and our partners."
Creating Video Games Beginners' Workshop at Northway Community Hub: Ella-May Wallace, our Digital & Technology Navigator for Tewkesbury Borough, had a previous career as a computer games developer, and she is using those skills to run an innovative workshop on 12th March. The aim is to help men aged 18+ build their digital confidence and connect with others while creating interactive stories. You can download a poster here.
"Smartphones and Tablets Made Easy", our new course in Stow on the Wold, starts on 5th March, following on from several digital skills courses run by our lead volunteer Ken and his team in Bourton-on-the-Water. More details on this poster.
Fairford NHS App Support Workshop 11th March: we're running this session in collaboration with Working 4 Wellbeing, and the aim of the morning is to help people learn how to order repeat prescriptions through the NHS App. More details on this poster.

Find out more about DAISI

Events and Meetings Organised by GRCC

March

2 Mar AM Moreton-in-Marsh Community Hub, Jameson Court, GL56 0EW
5 Mar AM start of DAISI smartphones course, Stow on the Wold
11 Mar AM DAISI NHS App Support Workshop, Fairford
11 Mar AM Volunteer Managers' Network
12 Mar PM Cheltenham Know Your Patch Check In & Chat
12 Mar PM DAISI Make a Video Game Workshop, Northway
16 Mar Gloucestershire Community Buildings Network Annual Information Fair and Workshops
19 Mar PM Cotswold Know Your Patch Check In & Chat
24 Mar AM Gloucestershire Flood Wardens Information Fair
31 Mar AM Forest of Dean VCS Network

April

7 Apr AM Cotswold Know Your Patch Check In & Chat
13 April AM Moreton-in-Marsh Community Hub, Jameson Court, GL56 0EW
13 Apr PM Cheltenham VCS Forum
21 Apr PM Cotswold VCS Network
29 Apr AM Cheltenham Know Your Patch

For more details about any of the above events, please email cdt@grcc.org.uk or call 01452 528491.

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Our CASA (Community Autism Support and Advice) drop-ins for autistic adults run weekly or fortnightly at Cheltenham, Gloucester, Tewkesbury, Cinderford, and online - email infocasa@grcc.org.uk or call 01452 317460 for details.

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Weekly DAISI Digital Support Drop-ins

Mondays, 12.30-1.30pm Cheltenham, School House Cafe
Mondays, 5-7pm Young Persons' digital drop-in with Jigsaw, Gloucester, Parry Hall, GL1 4RZ
Tuesdays, 10.30am-12.30pm, Bourton-on-the-Water, George Moore Community Centre
Tuesdays, 10-11am, Fairford Community Centre
Tuesdays, 11am-12.30pm Gloucester Library at the City Campus
Wednesdays, 10.30am-noon, Fairford Community Centre
Wednesdays, 10am-noon, Tewkesbury Baptist Church
Thursdays, 10.30am-noon, Lechlade Baptist Church
Fridays, 10am-noon, Longlevens Community Centre

Plus fortnightly or monthly at: Berkeley, Bishop's Cleeve, Chipping Campden, Churchdown, Cinderford, Ebrington, Gotherington, Highnam, Kingsholm Gloucester, Matson, Newent, Northway, Ruspidge, Shurdington, St Oswald's Gloucester, Stow on the Wold, and Tewkesbury.

Locations and opening times for all the DAISI local digital support drop-ins are now available in the DAISI Drop-in Google Map and the DAISI Android and iOS App.

You can also email digital@grcc.org.uk or call 07454 066116 for dates/times and other digital support questions.

Photo of Pippa Baker-Walsh and Summer Vergara, each holding a copy of the course materials

"Autism & Me" - a new course from our CASA team

This new six-week course from our Community Autism Support & Advice (CASA) team is for people who have received an autism diagnosis and want to understand more about autism and how it can affect different aspects of their life.

The course will be run as six two-hour-long online sessions, covering

Introduction to Autism & Communication
Communication and Relationships
Interests, Routines, Habits & Sensory Processing
Autism & Wellbeing
Reasonable Adjustments

"We're really looking forward to this opportunity to support more people to improve their wellbeing and their understanding and acceptance of their diagnosis," said GRCC's Autism Support Lead Pippa Baker-Walsh who is presenting the course with Summer Vergara.

CASA also provides one-to-one support, resources, and drop-ins for autistic adults across Gloucestershire. To find out more, email infocasa@grcc.org.uk or visit the CASA web page using the button below.

Visit the CASA web page

Moreton-in-Marsh Community Hub, Monday 2nd March - T'ai Chi taster session, talk and Q&A

Our monthly Moreton Community Hub, which we run as part of our North Cotswolds Connecting Communities Project, will be happening again on Monday 2nd March.

This month Clive Birch will lead a T'ai Chi taster session, followed by a short talk and Q&A.

Our Social Prescribing Link Workers and a range of staff and volunteers from local support organisations will also be there to chat to people and offer advice and help, plus there will be the usual time for socialising and free refreshments.

You can download an A5 flyer here.

Come along to Jameson Court, GL56 0EW, at 10.15am for a short wellbeing stroll, or 10.30am for the drop-in, refreshments and services. For further information, please contact info@grcc.org.uk or call us on 01452 528491.

Visit the Hub project webpage

We're Recruiting

Rural Affordable Housing Enabler

Are you passionate about affordable housing for all?

Do you want to play a major part in growing and driving the availability of affordable housing in rural Gloucestershire?

This is an exciting opportunity for someone with a passion for and experience of enabling the delivery of affordable housing. You will be working with two other Housing Enablers and the wider, friendly team here at GRCC, working with local authorities, Housing Associations, and communities enabling the delivery of affordable housing.

Full-time or four days per week, £30-£35K pro rata, two-year contract with possibility of extension.

More details

Technology & Digital Inclusion Social Prescriber Link Worker

Are you passionate about using technology to improve people's lives?

We are looking for a Technology & Digital Inclusion Social Prescriber Link Worker to join GRCC's award-winning DAISI Project team, working alongside GP practices across the North Cotswolds to support patients who face barriers linked to isolation, long-term conditions, disability, mental health, or digital exclusion. You will work to help them access practical human and technology-enabled solutions that improve their lives.

Salary: £26,884.20 (pro rata). Four days (30 hours) per week worked flexibly.

More details

News From Our Partner Organisations

Consultation on Proposals for Local Government Reorganisation in Gloucestershire - deadline 26th March

The government is considering three alternative proposals for what is being described as a "once-in-a-generation shake-up" of how local services are run in Gloucestershire.

Reorganisation will abolish Gloucestershire’s existing county council and six borough and district councils, replacing them with

one unitary authority, or
two unitary authorities dividing the county into east and west Gloucestershire, or
two unitary authorities dividing the county into Greater Gloucester and the rest of the county

Full details of the proposals can be found at Future Gloucestershire, and information on how to respond by email, letter, or via an online survey can be found using the button below.

The deadline for responses is 26th March, and a government decision on which proposal to adopt is expected in the summer.

Submit your response

Healthwatch Gloucestershire
survey for young people aged 11-18

Healthwatch Gloucestershire want to hear directly from young people aged 11–18 about their experiences of

mental health support
physical activity
vaping
the impact of social media on their wellbeing.

There is quick online survey for young people to complete at https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/82JH2M/ with a prize draw for a £20 voucher.

They would also like to gather information via youth groups. Please contact Harry Russell via 0800 652 5193 or info@healthwatchgloucestershire.co.uk

Take the survey

And Finally...

Hire our Central Gloucester meeting rooms

We have four meeting rooms available to book in Community House, close to the Cathedral in the heart of Gloucester. Pictured above is our second-floor Hadow Room which seats 12 and has an interactive screen, or if you need a fully accessible room, we recommend our ground floor Cripps meeting room which is similar but slightly larger. Hire rates are great value at £45 per hour / £70 half day / £140 full day for a large meeting room, or just £15 per hour for our small meeting room.

Call 01452 528491 or email info@grcc.org.uk to enquire or book.

See full details of all four meeting rooms

How are we doing?

If you've had contact with us, or support from us, or just visited our website to try to find information, we'd really love to know how we're doing! Were we brilliant, just OK, or not very good? All feedback, good and bad, helps us to shape our services to better fit your needs.

Give us some feedback

GRCC, Community House, 15 College Green, Gloucester, GL1 2LZ

info@grcc.org.uk 01452 528491

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