Here is an update on what your committee has been doing over recent months.

Before we get in to the detail may we remind you that we have a General Meeting scheduled for Wednesday 18th March, starting at 18.30, at The Hub off Pittway Avenue.  All residents welcome.  It’s a chance to meet with the committee and your neighbours, and an opportunity to ask questions.  Please make a note in your diary and come along.  It would be good to see you.

In our previous news report we outlined your priorities for 2026, as expressed in the annual survey of residents.  So what have we been doing?

We have been dealing with a number of key stakeholders as we strive to get the best possible outcomes for residents.  Specifically we have been in touch with Taylor Wimpey, Stratford District Council (SDC) and our local MP Manuela Perteghella.  We have also been talking to other new build developments in Shipston as well as across the wider Stratford district, so that we can learn from each other and provide mutual support.

Let’s look at some specifics.

Public Open Spaces (POS) Landscaping and Footpaths

We are in the middle of quite a wet spell and some of our green spaces are not looking their best.  Planting on both developments has been checked by SDC Planning, and Taylor Wimpey have been instructed to put things right where the reality doesn’t accord with the plans.  We are monitoring.

On Herdwick Gate the Breedon gravel footpaths are in a dreadful state due to the action of flowing water which is destroying the surface.  In places, notably the steps coming down to Bland Grove, the paths are dangerous.  There has also been vandalism to the playground facilities.  All of these things have been drawn to the attention of Taylor Wimpey who are responsible for maintenance. 

We have also raised concerns with both Taylor Wimpey and SDC Planning about the inappropriate use of Breedon gravel on both Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold.  This material should not be used on sloping land due to the increased likelihood of surface water erosion - as is abundantly clear on both sites.  Apparently there’s this thing called ‘gravity’ which makes water run downhill, and the steeper the slope the faster water flows, and the more destructive it becomes.  Who knew?

Both Taylor Wimpey and SDC Planning say that Breedon gravel was a requirement of the original planning consent.  It is preferred for its aesthetic qualities in such a rural setting, despite that fact that it will have to be repaired and reinstated on a frequent basis, at great expense.  This is just not sensible.

It is worth pointing out that although Taylor Wimpey are legally responsible for maintenance right now, and they pay the cost, once the developments are signed off as complete, the responsibility for ongoing maintenance will transfer across to a private management company (Trinity), and we, the residents will eventually foot the bill for repairs.  We don’t think that’s fair and we are challenging the requirement to have this “pretty” but “useless” surface material.

Just to cover off the anti-social behaviour, this vandalism has been reported to the local Police who are sympathetic but tell us that without witnesses there is little they can do.  We need to remain vigilant.  If you witness any anti-social behaviour please report it.  Vandalism should be reported to the Police.  Irresponsible dog owners who don’t clean up after their pets should be reported to SDC.  Also please let us know.

Surface Water Drainage

Inadequate drainage is an issue on both developments.  It’s the reason why our footpaths are in such an awful state, however it’s more than just a footpath problem.  We have seen significant pooling of water in some areas because the drainage solutions were either poorly planned or badly executed, or both.  The committee has an ongoing dialogue with Taylor Wimpey about this and whilst there is cause for optimism, we still have some way to go before this problem is resolved.

You may have noticed on Herdiwck Fold there has been a lot of activity at the back of the development and along the western boundary towards Campden Road.  Contractors have been working on an improved sub-soil drainage solution that will remove water from the north-west corner of the site (where the footpath leads to Foxgloves, the Cala development).

It remains to be seen how effective this will be, but we live in hope.  For those who have seen this work going on you cannot have failed to notice how the contractors have churned up the landscape with their machinery.  We are monitoring - this needs to be made good.

We have also highlighted other areas where poor drainage is resulting in surface water run-off, which is discolouring roads and even affecting private driveways.  We are assured there will be remedial works.  Again, we are monitoring.

POS Maintenance payments

For background on maintenance payments please see our earlier report: Maintenance costs on the Herdwicks

We also set out our position on where we should be going with this in our recent Priorities for 2026 article.

Your committee has been quite active in this regard.  The Shipston New Build Forum, an informal alliance of six local new-builds which we helped to set up, has been meeting to discuss a way forward.  We have also reached out across the wider Stratford district to find others with similar issues.  Where those contacts have been made we have discussed how we can best pursue our goals and we have learned how others have fought and won.

For example we now know of two new-builds where residents were being charged prematurely for maintenance payments, but after challenging this they had the charges cancelled and obtained refunds.  These are important precedents and provide hope for us for the future.

Just to be clear nobody on Herdwick Gate or Herdwick Fold should be paying a penny for POS maintenance yet.  This is being done by Taylor Wimpey and they stand the cost.  Once responsibility transfers across to Trinity we then have seven years where Taylor Wimpey fund all maintenance costs - they must pay Trinity, not residents.  If they try to charge us before then, we will challenge this.

But there is a bigger picture here.  It’s our contention that SDC should adopt all POS and all we should be paying is council tax.  We have made this point to the SDC Task & Finish Group, which is looking at private companies managing POS.  We gave a presentation to them earlier this month. 

Soon we will have a meeting with our local MP, Manuela Perteghella where we intend to make the same argument.  The UK government has set up a couple of consultations on this subject.  We want to discuss them with our MP and find out how we can best contribute to this national debate.

If you wish to have your say here are the links to the two UK government consultations.  Both have deadlines of 12th March 2026.

Reducing the prevalence of private estate management arrangements

Enhanced protections for homeowners on freehold estates

The Herdwicks Residents Association & the Shipston New Build Forum

Some people have asked what’s the difference between the two.

The Herdwick Gate & Herdwick Fold, Shipston on Stour Residents Association is an unincorporated organisation, with a constitution, a committee and a website.  We also have a Facebook Group page.  It operates for the benefit of residents on those two developments.  We hold regular meetings which are minuted.

The Shipston New Build Forum is an informal alliance of six local new-build sites across town.  It’s simply a forum - a place where representatives from each site can sit down and discuss the bigger issues.  It’s not a Residents Association as such and doesn’t discuss the smaller (but still important) issues for individual sites.

We are currently looking to expand this forum across the wider Stratford district, in which case it will become the Stratford District New Build Forum.

Finally we would like to thank those residents who have donated to the Residents Association over recent months.  We don’t need much to keep going and every little helps.  If you would like to contribute here’s the link: Make a donation

We hope to see you at the General Meeting on 18th March.

Best wishes. 

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Following on from the recent survey of residents we wanted to update you on what’s happening with issues that are important to us all.

Roads and pavements

It’s great news that both developments now have roads and pavements.  On Herdwick Fold we are waiting for final checks and remedial works before everything is signed off and the clock starts ticking on the 12 month monitoring period prior to Warwickshire County Council adopting.

Herdwick Gate is further along this journey and we expect adoption to be confirmed in 2026 as long as there are no emerging issues.

Public Open Space (POS) Landscaping

Taylor Wimpey remain responsible for landscaping and employ contractors to maintain trees, bushes and grassed areas.  The Residents Association has previously provided them with feedback about planting failures and we know that Stratford District Council (SDC) Planning Department has also been out to check things for themselves. 

Taylor Wimpey has carried out some re-planting work but issues remain.  So this is still something we continue to monitor as a ‘Work in Progress’.

Surface Water Drainage and Footpaths

The poor condition of the footpaths is inextricably linked to the issues we have with inadequate surface water drainage on both developments.  This is a massive issue for residents, especially during the winter period.  If you use the footpaths you will know how waterlogged and uneven they are from erosion, making them difficult and dangerous to use. 

Even if you don’t use the footpaths it’s still a problem because if we are not careful we will all end up paying for the cost of putting this right.  Repairing the footpaths across our two developments will cost thousands of pounds.  We must ensure that we don’t end up footing the bill.

This is why we have been very clear in explaining our concerns to both Taylor Wimpey and to SDC Planning.  We are holding them to account to make sure the footpaths are made fit for purpose and we also wish to ensure that surface water can be properly drained so that erosion does not happen again.

You may have noticed work going on with new drainage chambers being installed on the Herdwick Fold site.  See below.

We believe that some of the ones along Campden Road are to do with a redundant drainage pipe that could be re-used to take away surface water.  This would be good news. 

Furthermore we understand that work is about to start on the west side of Herdwick Fold (pictured below) that will hopefully mitigate the flooding on that side and towards the back of the development.  We continue to monitor the situation.

Maintenance Payments

We are doing a lot behind the scenes on this to make sure we don’t get stung by premature or excessive demands for maintenance payments.

For some time the Residents Association committee has been talking to Taylor Wimpey, SDC and Trinity (the designated maintenance company).  More recently we have helped to establish the Shipston New Build Forum, where representatives from six Shipston new build sites have come together to share experiences and provide mutual support, as we seek to get a fair outcome for residents.

You may be asking why is this even an issue?  After all, most of us are not paying anything for maintenance yet.  The answer is that we have seen residents on other new build sites in the area treated unfairly therefore we want to be on the front foot, so we don’t get caught out.  We have three aims which we could call the Gold, Silver and Bronze medal solutions.

Gold Medal

The best solution would be for the council to fully adopt our POS, whereby all we would pay is our normal council tax, with no additional maintenance payments.  This is an aspiration that is worth fighting for but it may be a hard battle to win.

Notwithstanding the fact that all of us signed a contract to pay maintenance it is in our view an unfair contract term.  Why should a small number of residents have to pay to maintain space that can be accessed by the general public?  This should be maintained by the council and covered by council tax. 

Our local District councillor Dave Passingham agrees with us on this.  He is on the recently established SDC ‘Task & Finish Group’ looking in to the maintenance of public spaces by private companies.  We are feeding our views in to this review.  It’s also something that our MP Manuela Perteghella is trying to get traction on in Parliament, as this is a national issue.

Silver Medal

In the short term we are focused on ensuring Taylor Wimpey honour their legal obligation to fund maintenance costs for the first seven years following SDC issuing a certificate to sign off the development as complete.  This is a clause in our Section 106 agreement - a legal document between the builders and the council.  See image below which shows an extract from the S106 agreement for Herdwick Fold. 

We want Taylor Wimpey to do the right thing and if necessary we want SDC to enforce this agreement.  Clearly if they pay for the first seven years that means residents don’t have to.  This could result in savings totalling thousands of pounds for each home.  That's why this is a big deal.

The issue here is that a number of nearby new builds have seen developers ignore this seven year clause and residents have been asked to pay.  This is wrong.  We know of one development in Wellesbourne where they managed to get these payments refunded, but we know of others who are still paying.  We have repeatedly asked Taylor Wimpey to confirm they will do the right thing and they have refused to answer.  We have told SDC we expect them to enforce the Section 106 agreements but their response has been less than satisfactory.  So the fight goes on.

Bronze Medal

Whilst we are working to achieve Gold or Silver, the very minimum we expect is some say in how our maintenance is delivered.  In this regard we have already engaged with Trinity and we have been promised a seat at the table of the management teams who will deliver our maintenance services.  So at least we will have input when it comes to putting together a schedule of services and the ongoing monitoring of standards.  At the moment Taylor Wimpey do the bare minimum, with no visible maintenance schedule.

Community Spirit

With the festive season rapidly approaching it’s worth remembering that despite all these issues our recent survey of residents revealed that this is a great place to live. 

We are blessed to be part of a brilliant community in a delightful town on the edge of the Cotswolds. 

At this time of year let’s take time to think of our neighbours, especially those who may live alone.  Why not have a chat with a neighbour you haven’t seen for a while and spread a little Christmas cheer.

The Residents Association committee would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy new year.

HGHF-RA Committee

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P.S. A huge thank you to those who have made a voluntary donation to the Residents Association.  These have ranged from £5 to £25 - all gratefully received.  Our running costs are very modest but we do need a small amount to cover things like the website, stationery/leaflets and public liability insurance.  If you would like to contribute please click on the following link: Make a donation

Before we report the survey findings please note that the General Meeting scheduled for Thursday 11th December at The Hub has been cancelled.  Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 18th March 2026.

Following on from our first survey of residents in 2024 we recently asked again for your views to see how things have changed in the last year.

In 2024 around 34% of homes took part.  This time it was only 16% so our sample is not as rich as before but we can still draw some conclusions.

The first thing to say is that a lower response rate could indicate that residents are generally less concerned about issues.  Perhaps completion of the roads and pavements on Herdwick Fold has reassured people that we are heading in the right direction.

In this report we give an overview of your latest responses and compare them with last year’s survey findings.

Ratings

We asked you to rate how happy you were with a number of things on the development. 

Colour key: Dark green - Excellent; Light green - Good; Amber - Fair; Pink - Poor & Red - Very Poor.

Roads

Last year 70% said our roads were either Poor or Very Poor.  This year 74% say Excellent or Good.  A clear reflection of getting the Herdwick Fold roads surfaced at long last.

Pavements

Similarly, last year 62% said our pavements were either Poor or Very Poor.  This year 70% say Excellent or Good.

Maintenance of Public Open Spaces (POS)

The year on year change is only moderate.  Last year it was 9% positive, 25% in the middle and 65% negative.  In 2025 it’s 13% positive, 49% in the middle and 38% negative.

This would suggest you’re slightly happier but not exactly over the moon.  This could reflect the fact that we did see some remedial planting take place this year, but there is still work to be done to get us to where the original landscaping plans show we should be.

Play Areas

There has been a slight improvement in your ratings here, moving from 12% to 26% positive, but most of those who had an opinion on this are in the middle.

Rubbish bins

Last year one third of responses rated this as Poor or Very Poor.  This year it’s almost a half of responses.  So that’s a fall in satisfaction levels.  This question may be complicated by the fact that bins are not always used as intended - they are not supposed to be for dog poo bags.  It has also been pointed out that it’s odd for three bins to be located so close together rather than being spread out.

Surface Water Drainage in gardens

When it comes to your own gardens you seem happier this year than last.  Anecdotally this may reflect the fact that many of us have taken it upon ourselves to take action to improve drainage within our own property boundaries.

Surface Water Drainage in POS

Last year around 60% of responses were unhappy with this, but now it’s just over 40%.  The change is due to people moving more to the middle ground (‘fair’ rating) rather than feeling positive about POS drainage.

Why the slight shift in opinion?  We have reported how the Residents Association has been pushing Taylor Wimpey to take our concerns on this seriously and to be fair they have responded.  We have seen activity over recent months which suggests they are trying to deal with known problems.  However it remains to be seen whether the solutions they are delivering will be effective.  We will be monitoring this closely as it’s important for all of us that they get this right.

Quality of Life on The Herdwicks

You’re telling us that this has improved over the last year.  In 2024 around half of responses said that quality of life on The Herdwicks was Excellent or Good - now that’s gone up to 77%.  Only 3% are unhappy.

Quality of Life in Shipston on Stour

When it comes to the wider view of living in Shipston you love this place more than ever with nine out of ten people rating the quality of life here as Excellent or Good.

Your Concerns and Priorities

As outlined above you have rated various aspects of life here on The Herdwicks, but what about your remaining concerns and priorities?

In 2024 your top five priorities were:

1. Quality of roads and pavements

2. Landscaping

3. Road adoption

4. Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

5. The Hanson Farm development (behind Herdwick Gate)

This year, in 2025 your top five priorities are as follows:

1. Landscaping

2. Fair maintenance payments

3. Footpaths on POS

4. Anti-social behaviour (ASB)

5. The Hanson Farm development (behind Herdwick Gate)

The Residents Association committee uses your answers to prioritise our work.  Our efforts can now shift away from roads and focus on matters to do with our POS (landscaping, footpaths and surface water drainage) and also ensuring we don’t get stung on maintenance payments.

With anti-social behaviour it’s difficult for the committee to take specific actions.  We would encourage all residents to treat their neighbours as they themselves would wish to be treated - with respect and kindness.  Where problems arise we will support residents who wish to report anti-social or criminal behaviour, whether that is to the police or local authorities.

In terms of the Hanson Farm development this is just one of several new builds being proposed for Shipston.  There is a planning process to follow and all we can do is register our concerns through the official channels at Stratford District Council (SDC).  We encourage residents to engage with this process via the SDC Planning Portal (Planning Ref: 24/00303/OUT).

Other Survey Findings

We asked for your views on other matters.

On-site defibrillators

In the survey there were 87% in favour of having these life saving devices with 69% prepared to make a small contribution to the cost.  We have at least one resident who is willing to have a unit installed at their property.  The committee is looking in to this.

On-site events

Three quarters of respondents said they would welcome the committee organising an on-site event.  Our plans to do something at the end of summer were scuppered by the weather, so we need to try again in the new year.

Streetlights After Midnight

Three quarters of respondents agreed with the suggestion of streetlights being turned off after midnight, in accordance with Warwickshire County Council’s ‘Dark Skies’ Policy.  Once our roads are adopted this is something we can put to WCC.

20 mph Speed Limit

Three out of four people were in favour of having 20 mph speed signs on our developments, just as they have on the Cala Homes, Foxgloves site.  Once our roads are adopted this is something we can put to WCC.

If you have any questions or observations on these survey findings please feel free to send us a message.

HGHF-RA Committee

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Stratford District Council (SDC) is conducting a survey and you are invited to have your say.

It concerns the use of private management companies to maintain Public Open Spaces (POS), something that is common on new developments such as ours.

We encourage residents to respond to this survey as it feeds in to a wider review by the council.  Please let them know what you think before the deadline of Wednesday 26th November 2025.

Some of the questions don’t quite fit our situation because most of our residents don’t actually pay for maintenance as Taylor Wimpey has not yet signed over responsibility to the maintenance company, Trinity.  Our POS continues to be maintained by Taylor Wimpey until this handover takes place.  The only exception here could be those in Assisted Housing who may be paying something towards maintenance.

But there are some survey questions that you can answer.  For example they ask how you would rate the standard of maintenance.

The survey asks if you are aware of a Residents Association liaising with the management company and we can confirm that we are fully engaged with Taylor Wimpey, Trinity and SDC on these matters.

In fact this is such an important subject that the Residents Association has been meeting with residents from five other new build sites in Shipston so that we can share our experiences and provide support to each other.  It is clear from looking at other new builds in South Warwickshire that if we are not organised there is a serious risk that we will end up paying too much money, too soon for inadequate maintenance.  We must ensure this does not happen.

Please see below the link to this SDC survey.

Stratford District Council Survey - Private Management Companies

One final comment from our local MP Manuela Perteghella on this.  She says, “Your responses are incredibly valuable. They will help build a full picture of the scale and nature of the problems faced by households across the district. This evidence will be used to push for local and national changes to ensure that estate management becomes fairer, more transparent, and properly regulated.”

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Last year we conducted an online survey of residents to help the committee understand what your priorities were.  The survey findings guided our work over the past twelve months.

At our recent AGM attendees agreed it would be useful to repeat the survey so that we can compare it with last year’s baseline and see how your priorities might have changed.

So we are now inviting all residents of Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold to take part.  If you have registered your email with us you will shortly be receiving an email for the survey.  Please click on the link in the email.  It should only take a few minutes.

If you’re not already registered with us please contact us to share your details and we will add you to our mailing database.

We prefer the survey to be done online, however as an exception if you know of a neighbour who is not online we can arrange for a paper copy of the survey to be delivered to them.  Please contact us with relevant details.

Please can you submit the survey response by 10pm on Sunday 2nd November 2025.

Thank you.

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We held our first Annual General Meeting on Thursday 18th September.  Thanks to all those residents who turned up.  The meeting minutes show what was discussed and they can be found here:  AGM 2025 Minutes

We believe that the Residents Association committee has had some success in pushing things along this year and as we explained at the AGM there is more work to be done.  If you value the Association and would like us continue with our work we would ask you to please help by making a small donation towards our running costs. 

How to make a donation

Last year we invited residents to donate and we received enough to cover costs plus a bit to spare.  So we are asking you once again for your support please.  

If residents can chip in £5 or £10 per home once a year, or a bit more if you can afford it, that’s enough to keep us going.  If we have a surplus it gives us scope to do some nice community things.  Nobody on the committee gets paid.  Thank you!

It's easy to donate.  To find out how please click on this link: Details of how to donate

Next General Meeting

Please make a note in your diary for our next general meeting which will be held on Thursday 11th December starting at 6.30pm.

If you have any questions about this article please drop us line.  You can contact us here.

HGHF-RA Committee

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