Given the nature of the recent economic times, is the closure of our police station a step too far (read the news item here)?  Can difficult economic times be to fully justify the loss of services or is the closure a good thing that should have happened anyway?  Those of you who have seen the front cover of the August Forum might argue that Shipston still requires a presence and indeed the area.  What do you think?...

So now that the Shipston Proms have passed and the mid-summer festival is over, what are your thoughts on the events and how much did you enjoy them?...

A special planning meeting of Shipston Town Council was held on 24th May to discuss the application submitted by Orbit Housing for the re-development of the Shipston House site in Tileman‘s Lane and the creation of an estate of affordable homes, including seven flats within Shipston House, itself.

Cllr Mrs Dot Courtney, leader of the planning working group, together with the Mayor, Cllr Simon Welch, had previously reviewed the planning application received from the District Council. They advised members that in strict terms of planning regulations, there were no grounds on which the Council could object to the application.

Speaking at the Shipston Annual Town Meeting, Cllr Simon Welch, Leader of the General Purposes Working Group, updated residents on the situation regarding the totally unsatisfactory progress made with Warwickshire County Council to try to alleviate the traffic chaos in the centre of Shipston.

Cllr Welch described a plan, discussed with the County Highways Department which would create a one-way traffic flow through the centre of the town. Traffic would enter Market Pace (which would become a one-way route) from Church Street and turn into the High Street (also a one way route) by Lloyds Bank.The parking along the right side of the High Street would become echeloned to make parking and reversing back into the traffic flow, easier. Traffic would then leave the town centre into West Street.

They have offered to install, on a temporary basis, a CCTV camera ay the junction of Market Place and High Street for two days and then provide the recorded images to the Town Council.  This suggestion has been deemed to be impractical in the sense that it would require someone to watch 48 hours of recorded data in order to produce a report on a problem that is already known to exist.  What are your thoughts on this matter...

Shipston Town Management Partnership, with the support of a number of elected members of Shipston Town Council, are pressing Orbit Housing to think again about their plans to convert the historic Shipston House into seven apartments, a planning application for which is to go before Stratford District Council, shortly.

The house was built in 1830 under the Poor Law Union Act to serve as a Work House. In the past almost two hundred years it has served as a hospital, a home for the elderly, an annexe to Shipston High School and, most recently as office facilities for Renault Agriculture who were acquired by Claas. Claas have sold the whole site to Orbit Housing for a development of affordable homes, including the apartments in the house, itself.  Do You Think Shipston House Should be Saved?  Read on and add your comments...

Stratford District Council have come up with the plan to put a superstore on the Norgren site, Campden Road.  At 2500 sq. metres, the superstore would be 25% larger than the Tesco at Stow.  It is believed that a store this size will threaten our butchers, bakers, greengrocer, the Delhi, Co-op, Somerfield and more!  What are your thoughts on the matter?  Read on and add your comments...