Stroud

Local Authority District in England

Gloucestershire, South West

§ This page gives an overview of the Stroud local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ Stroud lies in the Cotswolds, surrounded by steep valleys, woodland, and farmland. Known for its artistic community, the town centre has markets, galleries, and cafes. The Five Valleys converge here, offering scenic walking routes and canal paths, while nearby villages such as Painswick and Minchinhampton add charm with stone cottages and historic churches. The district’s rolling hills, commons, and canals reflect both natural beauty and industrial heritage.

The administrative boundary of Stroud can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Stroud.

Map of Stroud — Administrative Boundary of Stroud (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about Stroud

What region is Stroud in? Stroud is in the South West of England, a region within the UK.

What county is Stroud in? Stroud is located in the county of Gloucestershire.

Is Stroud a city? No, Stroud is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs Stroud? The local authority for this district is: Stroud District Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Gloucestershire is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Gloucestershire County Council.

▶ Official website of Stroud District Council 🔗 stroud.gov.uk

Which police force covers Stroud? Policing in Stroud is provided by Gloucestershire Constabulary 🔗 gloucestershire.police.uk, which serves 6 local authority districts: Cheltenham ⁞ Cotswold ⁞ Forest of Dean ⁞ Gloucester ⁞ Stroud ⁞ Tewkesbury.

This district page, Stroud, is a sub-page of this county page: Gloucestershire and this region page: South West. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in Stroud

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in Stroud

Stroud is divided into 27 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

Amberley and Woodchester
Berkeley Vale
Bisley
Cainscross
Cam East
Cam West
Chalford
Coaley and Uley
Dursley
Hardwicke
Kingswood
Minchinhampton
Nailsworth
Painswick and Upton
Randwick, Whiteshill and Ruscombe
Rodborough
Severn
Stonehouse
Stroud Central
Stroud Farmhill and Paganhill
Stroud Slade
Stroud Trinity
Stroud Uplands
Stroud Valley
The Stanleys
Thrupp
Wotton-under-Edge

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Parishes in Stroud

Stroud is fully parished: 54 civil parishes, listed A-Z below.

Alderley
Alkington
Arlingham
Berkeley
Bisley-with-Lypiatt
Brimscombe and Thrupp
Brookthorpe-with-Whaddon
Cainscross
Cam
Chalford
Coaley
Cranham
Dursley
Eastington
Elmore
Frampton on Severn
Fretherne with Saul
Frocester
Great Oldbury
Ham and Stone
Hamfallow
Hardwicke
Harescombe
Haresfield
Hillesley and Tresham
Hinton
Horsley
Hunts Grove
King's Stanley
Kingswood
Leonard Stanley
Longney and Epney
Minchinhampton
Miserden
Moreton Valence
Nailsworth
North Nibley
Nympsfield
Owlpen
Painswick
Pitchcombe
Randwick and Westrip
Rodborough
Slimbridge
Standish
Stinchcombe
Stonehouse
Stroud
Uley
Upton St. Leonards
Whiteshill and Ruscombe
Whitminster
Woodchester
Wotton-under-Edge

A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.

Built-up Areas in Stroud

Stroud covers 49 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

Amberley (Stroud)
Bagpath
Berkeley
Bisley (Stroud)
Box (Stroud)
Brimscombe and Thrupp
Brockworth *
Cam
Cambridge (Stroud)
Chalford *
Charfield *
Clapton
Dursley
Eastington
Edge
Frampton on Severn
Gloucester *
Hardwicke
Haresfield
Hillesley
Horsley (Stroud)
Kingswood (Stroud)
Leonard Stanley and King's Stanley
Middleyard
Minchinhampton
Nailsworth
North Nibley
Nympsfield
Oakridge Lynch
Painswick
Quedgeley and Hardwicke *
Ryeford
Saul
Sharpness
Sheepscombe
Slimbridge
Stone (Stroud)
Stonehouse (Stroud)
Stroud
Uley
Upthorpe (Stroud)
Upton St Leonards
Whaddon (Stroud) *
Whiteshill and Randwick
Whiteway
Whitminster
Wickwar *
Woodchester
Wotton-under-Edge

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Stroud.)

Stroud compared with other districts in the UK

This section shows how Stroud compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.

Stroud has 27 electoral wards.

Stroud compared with other districts — ▮ Smaller: 264 ▮ Similar: 28 ▮ Larger: 69 (compared with 361 districts)

Stroud has a population of 125,680 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)

Population of Stroud compared with other districts — Population of Stroud, compared with other districts in England and Wales

More local statistics and data for Stroud can be found on the ONS statistics for Stroud.