Your committee has had meetings and numerous email exchanges with Taylor Wimpy Midlands (TW) over recent months regarding a number of issues that are important to residents.  We have been dealing with the Technical Director, the Adoptions Manager and other senior professionals at TW.

In this report we update you on where we are with roads and pavements, landscaping and surface water drainage issues.

Roads & Pavements - Herdwick Gate

On Herdwick Gate the roads and pavements were surfaced some time ago and residents want to know when they will be adopted by Warwickshire County Council (WCC). 

There has been some recent work to the gulleys on Webb Road to improve drainage and this needs to be checked and signed off.  We will then be at a stage where the 12 month transition period starts for the adoption by WCC.  Following this period providing no issues emerge the council will finally assume responsibility for maintaining the roads and pavements. 

It’s feasible that the clock could start ticking on the transition period this summer, meaning adoption could happen in 2026.  We continue to monitor the situation.

Roads & Pavements - Herdwick Fold

On Herdwick Fold progress is painfully slow on getting our roads and pavements done.  We are nowhere near adoption. 

There are three main parties involved in this ongoing saga:

• WCC Planning;
• Taylor Wimpey, and
• United Living (the neighbouring Orbit/Shepherd’s Gate development)

The RA Committee has been working hard to discover what is holding up progress: it’s complicated.  Something went wrong with the construction of the junction where Hands Place joins Nason Way (see image above) and this needs to be fixed by United Living. 

Before this remedial work can begin revised technical drawings and plans are required and these have to be approved by WCC.  This paperwork is in hand but no work can begin until it’s finalised.  Only after this junction has been fixed can Taylor Wimpey then get to work on finishing off all our roads and pavements. 

We are frustrated at the glacial pace at which progress is being made.  It is impossible to pin anyone down to a timescale.  Given the dangerous state of our roads and pavements we have asked our Stratford District Councillor, Dave Passingham if he will raise our health and safety concerns with the authorities.

The Committee continues to press all parties to move with more urgency and we are in regular contact with them to monitor progress.

Landscaping

It is acknowledged by Taylor Wimpey that the planting of trees and shrubs on both sites is not up to standard, so they have organised remedial works.  On Herdwick Gate a company called Benchmark has recently planted 34 new trees and on Herdwick Fold it’s Shines Environment that are doing the work.  See image below.

The Committee plans to conduct an audit of both sites in the Spring, so if you would like to join us as we walk round our Public Open Spaces to check the standard of the work, please get in touch. 

We hope that everything will be fine but if not we will submit a report to Taylor Wimpey setting out any problems identified.  We will press for any shortcomings to be promptly addressed.

Surface Water Drainage

We have serious concerns about the way in which both developments are adversely affected by surface water drainage. 

Whilst we are aware that Taylor Wimpey have addressed some specific issues in a few locations on Herdwick Gate, we believe significantly more work is required to mitigate flooding risks on both developments.

We have highlighted the terrible state of the Breedon gravel footpaths on both sites, caused by surface water erosion.  See image above from Herdwick Gate. We have asked Taylor Wimpey to come up with a solution that is more resilient.

In the north-west corner of the Herdwick Fold development, adjacent to the Cala Homes development, (see image above), and along the western boundary drainage is very poor leading to standing pools of water on footpaths and grassed areas.  

Above: The Herdwick Fold Lido.  (Now filled in).

We have asked for an on-site meeting with Taylor Wimpey so that we can go through our concerns in detail.

If you are personally affected by any of the issues mentioned here and you have not already been in touch with us, please tell us your story so that we can make sure Taylor Wimpey are aware.  Contact Us

Coming up tomorrow, we report on our recent meeting with Trinity where we discussed how they will take over maintenance of our two developments.  We also cover the question of the Section 106 Agreement and the clause that obliges Taylor Wimpey to pay Trinity for the first seven years maintenance costs. 

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Here is our report on the Residents Association General Meeting held at The Hub on 20th February 2025.

It was our third such meeting since we formed the Association back in the summer of 2024.  It was well attended despite the inclement weather and various winter bugs going round.

The minutes of the meeting can be found on this website. See the 'Information' tab at the top of the page.

There is a lot to digest so we will be breaking it down in to a couple of updates on this website.  Please check the news section over the coming days.  The first report, (click here), will focus on our recent discussions with Taylor Wimpey about roads, landscaping and surface water drainage issues.

A note for your diary: the next General Meeting will be held on Thursday 3rd July 2025 starting at 18.30.

New residents

We are aware of a few people who have recently moved in and we extend a warm welcome to them.

If you have a new neighbour and they don’t already know about the Residents Association please point them in our direction.  If they wish to receive email updates from us they can submit a request via our website.

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Stratford District Council and Warwick District Council are holding a joint public consultation on where new homes should be built.  They are inviting residents to have their say.  If you want to respond please read on to find out how.

Here is a link to the consultation website: Click here 

To be clear this is not at the stage of an actual planning application; it’s about identifying potential sites in the area where planning applications could be submitted in future.

No matter where you stand on the building of new homes - and let’s face it we all live in new homes - the numbers being suggested here are mind-boggling and some of the locations appear ill-suited to development.

A local group has been established to oppose over-development in the area and they are asking local people to send in their objections.  The group is called Save Our Shipston. 

If you think they have got a point please read their guidance below on how residents might want to frame a response to this consultation.  It's not the most user friendly consultation website so you might find their step by step guide useful.

The deadline for submissions is 7th March 2025.

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The Committee of the Residents Association would like to give notice of our next General Meeting.

This will be held in the The Hub off Pittway Avenue.  The date is Thursday 20th February starting at 18.30.  We expect the meeting to take around one hour.

The meeting is on the first floor which is normally accessed by stairs.  If you have mobility issues please let us know in advance so we can arrange alternative access.

This is an opportunity for you to find out what your Committee has been doing on your behalf over recent months and to ask any questions you may have.  We also have a guest speaker from the Stour Health & Wellbeing Partnership who will explain how they support the local community.

To see the proposed agenda visit this page: Meeting Minutes  

If there is something specific you wish to raise please contact us as soon as possible so that we can consider if it is already covered or whether we need to add it to the agenda.

We hope you will take the opportunity to be a part of The Herdwick community and come along to the meeting.  We do need a quorum for the meeting to take place.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Residents Association Treasurer

We are looking for a new Committee member.  Our current Treasurer Steve Collard is on the move as he takes up an exciting new role in another part of the country, so he won’t be able to continue on the Committee.

We are sad to see Steve go - not just because he was a great neighbour but he also made a valuable contribution to the work of the Committee.  We thank Steve for all he’s done and wish him all the very best for the future.

Can you spare a little time to join the Committee and be our new Treasurer?  We need someone who can look after our money but in a sense that’s the easy part, as we don’t really have a big budget!  We are looking for a person who can work in a small, friendly group that is focused on making our development a great place to live.

If you think this could be something for you please get in touch and let’s have a chat.

Best wishes.

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Here is our report on the Residents Association General Meeting held at The Hub on 28th November 2024.

It was our second such meeting of 2024.  The next one will be on 20th February 2025.

The minutes of the meeting can be found on this website. See the 'Information' tab at the top of the page.

Your Committee

You will see from the minutes that the Committee has been working on your priorities, as identified in the survey we conducted back in September.  I want to thank the Committee officers for dedicating their time and energy to the Association. 

We recently filled the ‘Events & Fundraising’ officer role but the role of ‘PR & Social Media’ is still vacant.  If you’re interested and want to know more please get in touch.

Donations

At our first General Meeting there was support for the idea of asking residents for a small voluntary donation so that we can fund the work of the Association.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.  If you have not yet donated but would like to do so you can find out how by clicking here.

All that remains is for me to wish all residents a merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year.  Here's hoping we get some glad tidings in 2025.

Best wishes. 

John Fedorowycz

Chairman

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The Hub off Pittway Avenue, also known as the Shipston Enterprise Centre, is the place where we normally hold Residents Association General Meetings - including the one scheduled for this Thursday 28th November starting at 6.30pm.

The people who run the facilities there have submitted an application to convert the existing bowling green in to a Multi Use Games Area (MUGA).  If approved they will take out the bowling green turf and replace it with a 3rd Generation synthetic surface that mimics the look and feel of grass.  This MUGA can then be used for a number of sports.

As well as installing a new surface they are seeking permission to erect a new 3 metre high boundary fence together with 8 floodlights.

According to the owners this will cater for many people in the community, including Shipston Rugby Club seniors and juniors, Shipston Ladies Hockey, Shipston Netball Club, Shipston Excelsior Football Club, and Shipston High and Primary School.

You can find all the details on the Stratford District Council planning portal, where you can also submit a comment if you wish.  The planning application reference is 24/02463/FUL

For those wondering about the bowlers, there is another bowling green in Shipston at the Sports Club off London Road, so they are still catered for.

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