Community action/Stroud

The Stroud pound is a local currency in use in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England. Unveiled on 12 September 2009, the scheme is the third local currency scheme introduced in England in recent years after the Totnes pound and the Lewes pound.

Launched on 12 September 2009, the scheme is an initiative of the local Transition Towns group. Unlike the Totnes pound and the Lewes pound, the Stroud pound is based on the Chiemgauer, a community demurrage currency circulating in the Chiemgau region of Bavaria, Germany since 2003. The Stroud pound has a demurrage rate of 3% every six months. As of April 2010, 30 businesses in Gloucestershire are enrolled in the programme.

On the day of the launch, local currency with a face value of over 1,000 Stroud pounds was sold.

However, in 2011 only £4,000 worth of Stroud pounds were issued. Some local businesses complained about the hassle and said customers still supported them but preferred to use sterling.

In 2015 a discussion on a possible re-launch was held.

One of the founders, Molly Scott Cato said in 2016 that the currency was "never viable", since there was not enough currency in circulation, compared to the Bristol pound.

As of November 2019 the website had not been updated since 2012, but Stroud Pound Co-op Ltd still exists.

The Cotswold Canals Trust is a British registered charity that aims to protect and restore the Stroudwater Navigation and the Thames and Severn Canal. Formed in 1972, the organisation has a goal to restore navigability on the two waterways between Saul Junction and the River Thames. Since then, it has overseen restoration of the waterways, with many bridges, locks, and cuttings being rebuilt and reinstated.

Stroud is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It is the main town in Stroud District. The town's population was 13,500 in 2021.

Sited below the western escarpment of the Cotswold Hills, at the meeting point of the Five Valleys, the town is noted for its steep streets. The Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty surrounds the town, and the Cotswold Way path passes by it to the west. It lies 10 miles (16 km) south of the city of Gloucester, 14 miles (23 km) south-southwest of Cheltenham, 13 miles (21 km) west-northwest of Cirencester and 26 miles (42 km) north-east of the city of Bristol. London is 91 miles (146 km) east-southeast of Stroud and the Welsh border at Whitebrook, Monmouthshire, is 19 miles (31 km) to the west. Though officially not part of the town itself, the contiguous civil parishes of Rodborough and Cainscross form part of Stroud's urban area and are generally recognised as suburbs.

Stroud acts as a commercial centre for surrounding villages and market towns including Amberley, Bisley, Bussage, Chalford, Dursley, Eastcombe, Eastington, King's Stanley, Leonard Stanley, Minchinhampton, Nailsworth, Oakridge, Painswick, Randwick, Selsley, Sheepscombe, Slad, Stonehouse, Brimscombe & Thrupp, Whiteshill and Woodchester.

In March 2021 The Sunday Times named Stroud the best place to live in the UK, citing the town's abundance of green spaces, independent spirit, and high quality of schools.