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New Sainsbury’s in Shipston-on-Stour: Sign Plans Ahead of Opening

Sainsbury's wants a 5-metre lit totem and rooftop letters at its new store on Tilemans Lane, which its agent says is due to open in November 2026. Comments close on 12 November.

By Alex Harrington 2 min read Source: Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Darlingscote Road in Shipston-on-Stour, with a zebra crossing and trees on both sides
Darlingscote Road, Shipston-on-Stour, in 2010. Photo: David P Howard, CC BY-SA 2.0

The new Sainsbury’s in Shipston-on-Stour has applied for its store signs, the latest step for a supermarket the town was refused in 2024 and won on appeal in 2025. Its planning agent told Stratford-on-Avon District Council in September that the store, on the corner of Tilemans Lane and Darlingscote Road, is scheduled to open in November 2026. Comments on the Shipston Sainsbury’s sign plans can be made until 12 November.

On this page
  1. What the signs would be
  2. How the store got here
  3. Walking and cycling to the store
  4. How to comment

What the signs would be

The advertisement application (26/02427/ADV), made by Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Ltd through Alder King Planning Consultants, lists:

  • an internally lit store totem by the entrance, 5 metres tall and just over 2 metres wide, in orange, red and green
  • orange “Sainsbury’s” letters along the top of the building, a sign about 5.3 metres long and 1 metre high, lit from inside
  • a lit welcome wall sign, 2.4 metres square
  • two pedestrian signs pointing the way to the town centre, plus accessible and parent-and-child parking totems and other car park signs, none of them lit

The lit signs would be static, not flashing. One public comment had been made by 26 October, objecting to the totem and the rooftop sign as out of scale for a market town’s edge, a source of light spill towards homes and a distraction for drivers at a busy junction. County highways and Shipston-on-Stour Town Council have been consulted; their replies aren’t on file yet. The council aims to decide by 23 November.

How the store got here

  • November 2024: the district council refused the store (24/00528/FUL), which replaces two industrial units.
  • 21 August 2025: a planning inspector allowed Sainsbury’s appeal after a hearing, after weighing its effect on the look of the area and noise for neighbours on Brickhill Close. The plans at appeal had 53 customer parking spaces, with EV charging.
  • 2026: the old buildings were demolished and building started. Changes to the design were approved in July, and on 23 October the council agreed a change to some of the facing materials.
  • 12 October 2026: the council agreed that the cycle improvements on Darlingscote Road can follow within four months of opening.

Walking and cycling to the store

Before the store opens, the junction into Tilemans Lane must be finished, the Darlingscote Road pavement widened and short footpaths built into the site. Within four months of opening, the zebra crossing on Darlingscote Road is due to become a parallel crossing for people walking and cycling, and the wider pavement a shared footway and cycleway. Sainsbury’s agent said the change was needed because the cycle route needs a traffic order with a 12-week publicity period, and Warwickshire County Council’s highways officers raised no objection.

How to comment

Search for 26/02427/ADV on the council’s planning website. An advert application can only be judged on how the signs look and on public safety, not on whether the store should open. For other plans around the town, see our Shipston-on-Stour page and Planning near me.

Alex Harrington

Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.

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