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Stratford-upon-Avon’s town centre street wardens will get £17,145 from the district council to put in more hours, including in the council’s own car parks, until the end of March 2027. Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s Cabinet approved the money on Monday 5 October, and the decision has now been published.
Who the wardens are
Stratford BID, the business improvement district, has paid for two full-time street wardens since July 2025. They work five days a week (40 hours) across the town centre and the Maybird Shopping Centre, in high-visibility uniforms, with body-worn cameras and access to the retailers’ radio and the council’s CCTV team. They’re employed by the security firm My Local Bobby and hold security industry accreditation.
The council’s report says they deal with shoplifting, anti-social behaviour, begging, rough sleeping and people who are vulnerable, and that they have recovered £21,856 of stolen goods since starting.
Why the council is paying for more
The wardens only have permanent funding for five days a week, which, the report says, leaves gaps in the evenings and at weekends “when incidents continue to occur”. A government anti-social behaviour grant that paid for extra hours in 2025 has ended. The BID wants the service to run seven days a week with more evening hours.
The report also points to the council’s own car parks. CCTV recorded 256 incidents at Bridgeway car park in 2025, including anti-social behaviour, drug use, begging and criminal damage, and more people sleeping rough in car parks. Across the town, CCTV logged 315 thefts and 331 incidents of anti-social behaviour between April 2025 and March 2026. The report stresses that Stratford remains a relatively low-crime town.
What happens next
Council officers will agree the terms with the BID, including patrols of council car parks and measures to show what the extra hours achieve. The money comes from a business rates reserve. The decision wasn’t a key decision, so it can’t be called in, and it applies until 31 March 2027. After that, the report says, the service will go back to five days a week unless more funding is found.
See the latest crime figures for Stratford, and the other decisions from the same meeting in our Cabinet round-up.
Alex Harrington
Alex Harrington grew up in Stratford-upon-Avon and runs What's up, Stratford? as an independent guide to the town.
