Sectors
Green Tech
Stroud District is the natural choice for businesses involved in low-carbon heat and energy, alternative fuels, energy efficient products, low carbon services and low emission vehicles and infrastructure.
Ambitious and driven with our own commitment to a carbon neutral future, we actively welcome green tech businesses to the district, nurture green entrepreneurs and innovators and train, attract and retain a talented workforce.
Home of businesses including Ecotricity, Western Power Distribution and McKerrow Engineering, Stroud District has a proud history of championing green tech. We have identified suitable areas for renewable energy generation, particularly wind and solar installations, in our local plan (link).
Gloucestershire Science and Technology Park in Berkeley is a unique campus co-locating science and technology businesses with hundreds of students and staff at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. The college also delivers green energy skills training from heat source pumps to solar installation. On site business activity includes cyber security, biofuels, kinetic energy, dosimetry, automotive, jet propulsion and building technologies.
Agri Tech
Our rural location makes Stroud District a natural home for agricultural focused businesses. There is a strong focus on Agri Tech here, with the sector prioritised in GFirst LEP’s Local Industrial Strategy. Stroud District is well placed for Agri Tech businesses, not least because of the neighbouring Royal Agricultural University.
As a county, we have double the national proportion of activity in Agri Tech, making it a prime location to launch or locate businesses. Hartpury University and College in neighbouring Gloucester, offers accelerator space for companies to trial Agri Tech products which utilise artificial intelligence, robotic test beds and data management and provides access to wider digital experts, driving collaboration between sectors.
Farm491 at neighbouring Cirencester, is the largest argi-tech incubator in the country and has developed rapidly over the last year to provide space for agricultural businesses to research, test, and grow from high-spec facilities including 491 hectares of farmland.
In line with our neighbours throughout the county, our aim is to achieve a healthy circular economy in food and farming. This feeds into our sustainable ethos and to our ambition to be carbon-neutral by 2030.
Advanced Manufacturing
As a county, Gloucestershire is home to an important cluster of product manufacturing businesses. Stroud District plays a key part in this with one of the district’s largest employers being global precision engineering powerhouse, Renishaw, which employs 3000 people in the area.
Stroud District’s manufacturing and advanced engineering sector continues to buck the national trend, seeing see year on year improvements, increasing its gross value added (GVA) and employment base. A key part of this success is a strong focus on research and development and an excellent supply chain network across the county.
Numerous advanced manufacturing businesses in Stroud District have been awarded Innovate UK grants and are part of national pilot schemes. Many also stepped up to manufacture essential medical equipment during the pandemic.
Manufacturing and advanced engineering are dispersed across the district, with clusters found around the key employment sites at Quedgeley, at Stonehouse, along the Stroud Valleys, at Berkeley and at Kingswood/Wotton Under Edge. There are a vast range of businesses, from medical tech and automotive engineering to aerospace engineering.
Distribution and Logistics
A strong and growing distribution and logistics sector exists in the county thanks to its excellent connectivity. Naturally, the M5 corridor is the key location for industrial and distribution occupiers in Gloucestershire. In Stroud District, key hotspots include J12 and J13. There is also demand for sites in the main existing employment centres and road networks, such as along the A417/A419 corridor.
Significant industrial development at J12 of the M5 and Quedgeley in north Stroud District / south Gloucester has opened up more opportunities for the sector. This area has seen a total of almost 60,000 sqm of new industrial floorspace delivered since 2011. For more information on live opportunities click here.
One of the largest independently owned and operated logistics companies in the UK, Howard Tenens is headquartered at Kingfisher Business Park, Stroud. It also has a logistics warehouse site located just off the M5, with approximately 637,000ft² of freehold warehousing. In addition, its Sharpness site has planning permission for an additional 3 warehouses.
Microbusinesses / SMEs
Small business powers our economy in Stroud District. Start-ups, micro businesses and SMEs are the bedrock of our business community, totalling 90% of businesses and providing a diverse and comprehensive network of supply chain business, support services and customers.
The support system for smaller businesses is strong in the district no matter what sector you are in.
The Chamber runs: InStroud to encourage footfall into the town; VisitStroud, a tourism and ‘to do’ platform for the district; and the Fiver Fest campaign, encouraging spend in the local economy.
Stroud Growth Hub is the go-to-place for business to work, meet and learn. It provides support for businesses to innovate and grow, helping them to access funding, make contacts and maximise their potential from its state-of-the-art premises.
For hot deskers, start-ups and people seeking a business community, Spacehoppers; Cat’s Pyjamas and Growth Hubs are top spots.
To quote our friends at Stroud District Chamber of Trade and Commerce; “At our heart, we know that making Stroud better for business will make Stroud better for everyone.”
Creative Industries
Artists, craftspeople, makers, creators and performers are woven into Stroud District’s past and present. The district is a hot spot for talented creatives, generating a thriving and vibrant cultural scene. Our towns and villages buzz with events, markets, theatre, festivals and shows.
The creative sector is a significant part of our economy, generating £58m in 2018, as well as playing a vital role in creating a sense of place, in supporting community, fostering civic pride and increasing wellbeing.
Thriving cultural communities converge at arts centres like Under the Edge Arts, The Sub Rooms and Stroud Valleys Artspace. Stroud District Council is signed up to Creative England’s Film Charter and aims to be as accommodating as possible for crews filming on location here.
The Council is an active partner in regeneration initiatives and is keen to work with public and private partners to deliver transformational change.
