Cam is a large village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, situated on the edge of the Cotswolds and contiguous to the town of Dursley, north of Bristol and south of Gloucester. The Cotswold Way runs less than a mile from the village. Cam had 8,160 residents, with 3,575 households in the 2011 census. Its population is actually larger than neighbouring Dursley, which is a town.
Governance
There are 2 electoral wards in Cam. Their area and total population equate to that of the parish. The Parish Council has 16 members.
Facilities
The village has an identifiable centre, with several shops including a pharmacy, a good quality florist, a hardware store and funeral directors, three takeaways, a restaurant, a beauty salon, a combined Post Office and card shop, parish council offices, two pubs including the Berkeley Arms and The Railway Inn and a Tescosupermarket clustered loosely around St Bartholemew's Church. There are more businesses, including a national award winning butchers in Woodfields and small industrial estate to the west of the village centre close to Shell garage. There is a delightfully named Nikki's Doorstep Sandwich Bar and a printing shop. Cam supports three state sectorprimary schools located in the Woodfields, Hopton and Everlands districts of the village. The nearest mainstream secondary school is Rednock, just across the parish boundary in Dursley. A youth centre called GL11 is named after the post code.
Leisure
Cam Bulldogs FC is Cam's football team and plays in the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League Division One. The cricket team is called Cam Cricket Club. Both play at Cam Sports Field, Everlands which was established 200 years ago by the owner of Cam Mills. There are three public play areas; Woodfield, Cam Green and Jubilee Fields with well maintained play equipment, including swings, carousels, seesaw, spring rockers, skateboard park, gyro spiral, climbers, climbing wall, slides, fitness equipment, basketball courts and football fields. Some of the facilities are on all weather surfaces. Disabled access and some equipment for disabled use. There is a swimming pool, indoor gyms, running clubs, and cycle clubs in nearby Dursley.
Future development
The Council's development strategy for the period to 2031 is contained in the 2015 Stroud DistrictLocal Plan. This designates a 29.1 hectare site on the North-East edge of the village for a strategic development, to feature:
One of the main companies for employment in Cam is Cam Mills which has just under 100 employees. It is the only remaining woollen mill in an area that had many and has been manufacturing cloth, now mainly for tennis balls, for over 200 years.
