Wool Fair visitors help to shape Shipston’s future

Visitors to the Wool Fair flocked to the Neighbourhood Plan stall to have their say on the vision for Shipston.

The popular ‘graffiti wall’ canvases were packed with comments, ranging from people wanting a riverside walk to more parking in the town, plus practical suggestions such as using empty premises to house temporary ‘pop-up’ shops. [nbsp]People of all ages contributed to the canvases. There were some more unusual suggestions such as ‘Shipston needs a dinosaur’, but the most pressing issue on people’s minds was the subject of a local supermarket, where opinion was divided.

Most people (63%) who took part in the fun cotton wool ‘straw poll’ voting system thought option B should be the priority; Balancing the desire to protect what the town already has with a need to plan for future growth and prosperity. Option A (Preserving Shipston’s current environment and resisting all but essential development) attracted 25% of the vote while option C (Look to attract significant growth in terms of housing and employment for future generations) was selected by 13% of participants*.

Some Wool Fair visitors found out more about the Plan by completing the quiz and listing their own comments on what is good about Shipston and how it could be improved. All the feedback received will be fed into the plan-making process.

After the Wool Fair, representatives from the Neighbourhood Plan steering group, volunteers and stakeholders got together in a useful session to start to develop topic groups, which will be led by volunteers who are keen to help move the plan forward. Some topic group leads have been nominated but more volunteers are needed and[nbsp]there is still plenty of scope to get involved.

If you are keen to help shape the Neighbourhood Plan and can help sift through feedback, brainstorm ideas and/or get involved in other activities, please get in touch now.

The next meeting is on 11th June at 7:30pm at New Clark House – ALL WELCOME.

If you can’t make the meeting, you can still take part by contacting the steering group via np@shipstononline.org or calling the Town Clerk on 01608 662180.

*just over 70 people took part in the voting which was intended as a fun, indicative activity rather than a statistically reliable source of information

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