Stratford This Week: Car Park Demolition, Planning Changes and More

This is our first Stratford this week: the week’s local news in one place, plus what’s on this weekend and what’s coming up next week. The big stories: the Windsor Street car park is to be demolished, more planning applications will soon be decided by council officers rather than the committee, and the town centre roads that will close for the Christmas lights switch-on are now known.

Council and parking

• Windsor Street car park will be demolished for the Stratford Gateway scheme, with about 90 spaces in the new layout instead of 243. The full story, and where to park instead.
• Most planning applications will be decided by officers from 31 October, after Full Council voted 34–2 to change the rules. What changes, and everything else the council decided on 12 October.
• Town centre wardens get £17,145 to cover more hours and the car parks. Read more.
• Big information requests will cost £38.62 an hour after the first three and a half hours. Read more.
• Long Marston Airfield: a new board will steer the plan for 10,300 homes. Read more. Other Cabinet decisions are in brief here.
• Grants: warm hub and climate grants are open to community groups, while the Warm Homes grant waiting list has closed.
• Great Alne: the former primary school could reopen as specialist provision for up to 40 children with special educational needs. Read more.

Buildings and planning

• The former Salmon Tail pub could become a shop and flats. Read more.
• The Encore on Bridge Street has plans for a refit of the listed riverside pub. Read more.
• The former vet’s at 14 Guild Street is set to be restored. Read more.
• Six Grove Road homes could become holiday lets. Read more.
• Greenway bike hire wants a permanent base at the picnic area. Read more.
• Every new application is in Planning this week, and you can search near your home with Planning near me.

Business, culture and community

• The Broken Binding has opened its first bookshop, in Red Lion Court. Read more. More openings are in New in Stratford.
• Top for new businesses: research by Development Economics for American Express ranks Stratford-on-Avon district first of 317 UK council areas for starting a business and keeping it going, Retail Times and the Stratford Herald report: 81.4% of new businesses are still trading after two years, against a UK average of 68.9%.
• Adrian Lester won a UK Theatre Award for the RSC’s Cyrano. Read more.
• Si King of the Hairy Bikers is coming to the Literary Festival on 26 November. Read more.
• Esmé Booth, the Olympic silver medallist who started rowing at Stratford Boat Club, has had the club’s new eight named after her, the Herald reports.
• Myton Hospices is raising £327,000 to open three more beds; it has 36 but can afford to staff 25. The appeal had raised about £30,000 by Friday.
• Community transport: Stratford’s MP Manuela Perteghella hosted a Westminster roundtable led by the charity VASA, whose volunteers made 5,565 hospital journeys last year, the Herald reports.
• The Stags Head in Wellesbourne: the family who ran it for 28 years served their last day on Thursday, and the pub’s future isn’t yet known, the Herald reports.
• Litter: who cleans Stratford’s streets and how to report it. And the August crime figures: 336 crimes, up 25% on last year.

This weekend

Sweeney Todd at the Attic Theatre, the Sandy Denny Project on Saturday 17 October, a concert at Holy Trinity on Sunday 18 October and the Waterside Upmarket on Sunday are all on our what’s on this weekend page. For Halloween ideas, start with our Halloween guide.

Next week and beyond

• Tuesday 20 to Thursday 22 October: Tavern Lane is closed. See all Stratford road closures.
• Wednesday 21 October, 6pm: the Planning Committee decides up to 75 homes at Stockton and more. Our preview.
• Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October: the Runaway Mop, with road closures in the town centre. Times and closures.
• Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October: Sheep Street closes for gas works.
• Monday 26 to Friday 30 October: half-term. Our half-term guide has the family events, and the Literary Festival runs from 29 October to 1 November.
• Saturday 14 November: the Christmas lights switch-on closes town centre roads all day.

All our stories are on the Stratford-upon-Avon news page, and buses, trains and roads right now are on Stratford Live.

Alex Harrington

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