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 28th November 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.

You can see the proposed agenda on our website.  Please click here to go to the relevant page.

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.

You will have an opportunity to speak at the meeting and to ask questions.  You don’t have to notify the committee in advance but it may help to do so if there is anything we need to research before the meeting in order to answer your question.  Please feel free to contact us if you wish. 

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.

Best wishes. 

HGHF-RA Committee

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In this report we explain how persistence has finally paid off for one resident on Herdwick Gate.

Sophie Dryburgh-Bockhart and her husband Andrew live with their young family on Herdwick Gate in a quiet spot overlooking the large communal space on the south side of the development.  They moved here from the Cotswolds four years ago taking advantage of a shared ownership scheme.

Less than a month after moving in they noticed problems with surface water running off the hill towards their property.  It was not the moving in present they wanted.  Flooding in her front garden was bad enough - coming up to the house and engulfing their gas meter, but on one occasion water came through the front door, damaging the carpet.

Sophie approached Platform Housing who (when they finally answered the phone) said they would look in to it, but ultimately they did nothing to help.

She called Customer Services at Taylor Wimpey Midlands who took details and then failed to act.  Sophie followed this up on a number of occasions with no success.  Finally in desperation in 2021 she found the contact details of a senior manager at Taylor Wimpey and appealed for help.

“They were quite shocked when they heard about our situation”, Sophie told us.  “Shortly afterwards they came and installed a French drain that should have taken the water away but as it turned out, it made no real difference”.

The flooding problem continued and was causing Sophie and her neighbours considerable anxiety; not knowing whether the next severe storm would trigger run-off that would enter their property.

Sophie told us, “And what is also laughable is that I was advised by Taylor Wimpey at seven months pregnant, in the torrential rain to empty my full recycling bin, drag it to the front of the property, find a saw, saw the down pipe in half, put the bin under the down pipe in the hope that it will catch the amount of water coming from the roof.  My husband nearly choked when I told him”. 

In 2023 Sophie raised the problem with local Town Councillors who offered advice and support.  They helped in practical ways, like sourcing sandbags, and also wrote to Taylor Wimpey on her behalf to put pressure on them to respond.  They considered writing to the local press.

Over recent months there seems to have been a change in attitude at Taylor Wimpey.  Following further representation from the Town Mayor and our Stratford District Councillor and with the Residents Association also involved we have finally seen progress. 

Contractors turned up on 14th October and have been digging out a channel for a new drain.  (See main image above).  It was discovered that one of the old drains was not even connected so water had nowhere to go.  It’s a story we have heard from other parts of the development and it makes you wonder how such poor work was signed off in the first place.

The scale of this work is significant - it’s a bit more than the previous 6 inch French drain, but as this is very much “Work in Progress” the jury is still out on whether this fix is going to do the job.  We sincerely hope it does because apart from anything else Sophie and her husband will soon be having another baby and the last thing they need is further anxiety from flooding.

Sophie tells us that they love Shipston; it’s a wonderful place to live but they have been less than impressed by Platform Housing and Taylor Wimpey.  “It should not have been this hard to get them to do the right thing but I’m happy they finally acted”.  

Sophie continued, “I hope my story might show others who have had similar problems that there is light at the end of the tunnel.  Persistence is the key.  And when dealing with Customer Services always get a reference number and a name”.

We wish Sophie, Andrew and their family all the very best for the future.  May this Christmas and New Year be a happy and dry one for them.

Have you been affected by poor surface water drainage?  Get in touch and tell us your story.  Contact the Residents Association.

HGHF-RA Committee

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The Residents Association (RA) Committee met with the Taylor Wimpey Midlands Technical team (TW) last week to discuss the things you told us were your priorities.  Also present were Dave Passingham our Stratford District Councillor, Town Mayor John Dinnie and Town Councillor Jerry Corless.

In this report we summarise what was discussed and explain what we can expect over the coming weeks and months.

Our approach

We may share a number of frustrations about the way in which TW has handled things in the past, but our approach is to develop a good working relationship with them.  We will engage with TW in a professional and respectful way, whilst at the same time being very clear about we expect them to deliver.  

The good news is that TW approached this meeting in a constructive way and they listened to what we had to say.

Addressing Your Top Priorities

We started by going through the survey results, which clearly show what matters to you the residents.  Here is what they had to say about your top priorities.

The proposed Hanson Farm development

This is a matter of concern, particularly to residents of Herdwick Gate and the strength of feeling of those residents was conveyed.  A number of specific issues were outlined, including the dangers of having construction traffic on Webb Road.

TW was asked if they could object to the proposed development.  They are going to look in to this but there are no promises.

The condition of roads/pavements

This is predominantly an issue for Herdwick Fold.  There is good news and not so good news.

First of all we set out our concerns about the dangerous state of the roads and pavements, especially for the elderly, disabled, young children and wheelchair/pushchair users.  Many people have suffered damage to vehicles.  There are real health and safety issues.

The good news is that TW assure us that they have all legal permissions in place to get the roads and pavements on Herdwick Fold finished.  It will take them around two months to make the necessary preparations with contractors to do the surfacing work.  Then the work itself will be carried out relatively quickly, subject to weather conditions.

The not so good news is that they can’t start those preparations until Orbit/United Living - the Shepherd’s Gate development - fix a problem on Hands Place at the junction where it meets Nason Way.  (See image).  It’s to do with road levels from one development not being the same as the other.  Obviously they need to be the same.  

TW have discussed this with United Living and there is agreement that United Living will do this work at the earliest opportunity.  SDC Councillor Dave Passingham has already written to Orbit to ask them to expedite matters.

Once that work is done and the levels match, TW will begin the two month process of commissioning the surfacing work.  We think that realistically the roads and pavements could be finished by Spring 2025.

One last point here: the pavement with a steep gradient that connects Bradley Drive to Campden Road will be removed and landscaping work will take place such that you should not be able to detect that the pavement ever existed.

Landscaping issues in the Public Open Spaces (POS)

As part of our meeting we took Taylor Wimpey round both developments and it would be fair to say it was a bit of an eye-opener for them.  Following an earlier TW audit the existing contractor responsible for maintaining our POS (PGE) will be replaced by a new company in November 2024.*

When the new contractor comes in there will be a full site survey (both developments) to establish what needs to be done to bring the landscape in line with original plans.  Members of the RA Committee will accompany them as they conduct the survey.

* EDIT UPDATE: Following publication of this report we have subsequently learned that the contractor coming in to do the survey has been employed only to carry out remedial work.  The existing contractor will continue to maintain the POS.

It will be interesting to see what this survey finds.  The Residents Association conducted its own landscape survey in the summer and we found 40% of trees/shrubs/plants either missing or dead.  Plus there were missing environmental installations such as bat boxes and bird boxes.  There is much work to be done.

Importantly our POS can not be transferred over to Trinity (Estates) Property Management Ltd until everything is to the required standards.  Home owners should not pay anything towards maintenance costs until this transfer has taken place.  Please look out for a separate news article about “Maintenance Charges” - coming soon on the RA website.

Adoption of roads/pavements by Warwickshire County Council

You won’t be surprised to hear that Herdwick Gate is closer to adoption than Herdwick Fold because they have properly surfaced roads and pavements for a start.

With Herdwick Gate all the necessary checks have been completed and permissions are now in place for adoption to take place.  It is normal for Warwickshire County Council (WCC) to monitor things for a period of up to 12 months to make sure everything is OK.  We are now within that 12 month monitoring period so it is our understanding that by this time next year (Autumn 2025) Herdwick Gate roads and pavements will be adopted by WCC.

It’s important to mention that bricked roads are “private roads” and as such will not be adopted.  Adjacent houses own their own section of a private road and some neighbours may have a legal right (easement) to use the road to reach their own property.  Also our green spaces and footpaths (POS) are not going to be adopted by WCC.  We the residents have the privilege of paying for that on top of our council tax!

Other Important Issues

Surface Water Drainage on POS

Whilst this didn’t make your top three priorities in the survey it was pretty high up.  This may be a reflection of the fact that it is a transient issue: for the most part rain comes and goes.  But surface water drainage issues in our open spaces can sometimes become a very real problem for individual home owners.  We are on a hillside and water will find the easiest way to the River Stour and for some that has meant through their properties.  

But even if the drainage problems are in public spaces it can still have a detrimental effect on things like our footpaths and playground areas.  We told TW that we have some serious concerns about surface water drainage and we gave examples.  We believe this is an issue that will not go away unless properly addressed.

TW said that there had been some extreme weather conditions and that they were addressing problems identified at specific locations where residents were badly affected.  However they cautioned against any expectation of wholesale changes to the drainage systems installed.

Whilst we are happy that specific residents are being helped, this answer didn’t go as far as we would have liked.  We may need to put in further work on this if we are to make progress.  If any resident wants to help in this regard please contact us.

Please look out for an upcoming news story about one flooded resident on Herdwick Gate who has finally had her appeals for help heard by TW.

Condition of footpaths on POS

This is related to the surface water drainage issue.

Many of you will have noticed that the footpaths in our POS have been badly eroded by running water.  Indeed one footpath on Herdwick Fold has a natural spring right in the middle of it which is carving out a crater that has to be avoided.

TW explained that the material used, Breedon Gravel, would not have been their first choice but conditions in the planning consent required them to use this material.  Another type of gravel would have been more suited.  They did say that they will explore all possibilities to renew and strengthen the footpaths, so we look forward to hearing their proposals.

And of course some sections of footpath have not yet been created, including the path at the back of Herdwick Gate which should go all the way down to the end of Webb Road.  Also awaited is the footpath that will connect Hands Place (Shepherd’s Gate) with Campden Road.

As an aside, the spontaneous footpath on the far side of the attenuation basin that connects Barrett Place (Shepherd’s Gate) to Campden Road is on land not owned by TW, so they don’t propose to do anything with that.  As a now established ‘desire line’ it’s hard to imagine how that can be stopped.

Conclusion

We think this meeting represents a good start but of course words need to be followed by actions.  

The Committee has a good line of communication with TW and we intend to monitor the situation.  If we don’t see promises being kept we will raise our concerns with Taylor Wimpey and seek answers.

We are realistic enough to understand that getting both developments over the finishing line is going to take time.  We don’t expect miracles, but we think it is fair to expect a plan with milestones so that we can see where things are going well and where things are not.

Where things may have previously “fallen down the cracks”, your Committee is going to be the Polyfilla that fills those cracks so that important issues don’t simply get lost and forgotten about.  We will publish updates in the News section of our website when we have more to report.

In the meantime please feel free to provide us with your feedback on what you see happening on our two developments - positive or negative.  Click here to Contact Us.

Let’s all work together to make The Herdwicks a better place to live.  If you can spare a small amount to help fund our work please visit our Fundraising & Donations page.  Every little helps.  Thank you!

HGHF-RA Committee

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At our inaugural General Meeting on 12th September you told us it would be a good idea to conduct a survey of residents to find out what matters most to those of us living on Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold.

On 24th September we did just that.  We asked you to spare a few minutes to tell us your views.  We had a response rate of 34% which we think is pretty good for a survey of this nature.  Thank you to everyone who took part.

In the spirit of openness we are sharing these survey findings on our website so that residents and other interested parties can see what we all think.  Your views and your priorities are going to guide the committee as we undertake our work.

The survey data can be sliced a few ways.  We can analyse Herdwick Gate & Herdwick Fold separately as well as combined.  In this article we set out your key priorities and we also give a baseline report of how you rate a number of things related to our two developments.

Your Priorities

Priorities for Herdwick Gate are as follows:

#1 The proposed Hanson Farm development

#2 Landscaping issues in the Public Open Spaces (POS)

#3 Adoption of roads/pavements by Warwickshire County Council

Following these top three priorities residents also raised concerns about anti-social behaviour, condition of roads/pavements and surface water drainage.

If you are registered with Stratford District Council online you can see details of the Hanson Farm planning application via the planning portal.  The reference number is 24/00303/OUT.  Click here for details.

Priorities for Herdwick Fold are as follows:

#1 The condition of roads/pavements

#2 Adoption of roads/pavements by Warwickshire County Council

#3 Landscaping issues in the Public Open Spaces (POS)

Following these top three priorities residents also raised concerns about the condition of footpaths in POS, anti-social behaviour and surface water drainage.

These findings will be useful for the committee as we sit down with Taylor Wimpey to discuss next steps for our two developments.  It shows very clearly what matters to you the residents.

Baseline Ratings - How you Feel About Things

We asked you to rate a number of things from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Very Poor’.  The charts are colour coded so the more green you see the better the score and the more red you see the worse it is.

This is what you told us.

Ratings from Herdwick Gate are as follows:

Condition of roads

Condition of pavements

Maintenance of Public Open Spaces (POS)

Play area

Emptying bins on POS

Surface water drainage - your garden

Surface water drainage - POS

Quality of life on The Herdwicks

Quality of life in Shipston

Taylor Wimpey Customer Service

Ratings from Herdwick Fold are as follows:

Condition of roads

Condition of pavements

Maintenance of Public Open Spaces (POS)

Play area

Emptying bins on POS

Surface water drainage - your garden

Surface water drainage - POS

Quality of life on The Herdwicks

Quality of life in Shipston

Taylor Wimpey Customer Service

If we combine both developments it looks like this:

Condition of roads

Condition of pavements

Maintenance of Public Open Spaces (POS)

Play areas

Emptying bins on POS

Surface water drainage - your garden

Surface water drainage - POS

Quality of life on The Herdwicks

Quality of life in Shipston

Taylor Wimpey Customer Service

Overall Conclusions

You, the residents of Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold have provided a good steer on what your priorities are.  As your committee we will ensure that Taylor Wimpey sees this information and we will do our very best to encourage them to deliver timely solutions.

When we look at your baseline ratings there are some differences between Herdwick Gate and Herdwick Fold, but also many similarities.  

For example residents on HG are happier with roads and pavements than residents of HF.  And the HG ‘Quality of Life on the Herdwicks’ score is slightly higher - maybe that’s a reflection of the fact that with decent roads and pavements they are closer to getting the development finished and adopted by the council.

In the comments some of you mentioned that the surface water drainage in your gardens is only as good as it is because of remedial action taken by you after you bought your property.  Surface water drainage in our Public Open Spaces may not have made it in to your top three priorities however it's still up there as an issue.  We believe there is potential for significant water damage both in POS and within property boundaries at times of heavy rainfall.

Unsurprisingly many of these ratings are reflected in your priorities for action.  We hope that over time the amount of red on these charts will move to green as progress is made on resolving issues.

But in terms of the ‘Quality of Life in Shipston’, despite all the issues that need addressing both developments appear to confirm it’s a pretty good place to live.  And that is a positive note to end on.  

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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At the Residents Association General Meeting held on 12th September we asked if it was a good idea to conduct a survey of residents to find out what your priorities are for the new Committee.

Attendees said it was a good idea so that’s what we are doing.

Today we have emailed all residents who have shared their email address with us to invite them to take part in this survey.  It’s entirely voluntary but we hope that people will spare 5 minutes to take part.  

If you have shared your email address with us but have not received a survey invitation by email please contact us and we will try to sort things out.

If you have not already shared your email with us please contact us to share your details.

As we are only seeking the views of Herdwick Gate & Herdwick Fold residents we are not posting the survey link online.

HGHF-RA Committee

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Hello and Welcome to the Herdwick Gate & Herdwick Fold, Shipston-on-Stour Residents' Association website - or HGHF-RA for short.  We hope you like it.

The News tab in the top menu is where you will find the latest news concerning the Herdwick developments.  Plus we may bring you the occasional news story from Shipston and surrounding areas, where we think it's relevant. 

Here is where you can read about updates on things like roads, pavements, landscaping and other similar Public Open Space maintenance subjects.  Plus we will tell you about any on-site community events that are being organised.

If you have discovered something newsworthy please feel free to drop us a line and we can consider sharing it on this website.  Similarly, if you have any ideas for on-site community events please share your ideas with us.  Send your message here.

The image above is of a September 2024 sunrise near Brailes, with a floating veil of mist over the Stour valley, as seen from Herdwick Fold.  Thanks to photographer Chris Reed for the photo.

As we start our Association it seems appropriate to begin with a sunrise.  A new day always brings new hope.  And a new Residents  Association brings hope that we can come together as a community and make a positive difference.

Shipston-on-Stour is a wonderful place to live but as with any new development there are things that need sorting out.  Let's hope that just like the early morning mist over the Stour valley melts away with the rising sun, the issues that need to be resolved on our developments will begin to melt away as we work together to resolve them.

John Fedorowycz

Charman HGHF-RA

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