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It is 80 years snce D-Day, a key turning point in WW2. Shipston is marking it with two events.

There will be a D-Day 80 service of commemoration on Thursday 6th June 2024, 1pm at the gyratory.

A beacon to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day will be lit on the evening of Thursday 6th June at Whaddon Farm, Darlingscote Road.

Gates open 7.30pm. The beacon will be lit at 9.15pm. Come along for 1940s music and Royal British Legion merchandise stall. There will be a collection for the First Responders. Please
bring some cash – and a torch!

All welcome.

On 13th May Shipston-onStour saw a regime change!

The traditional mayor-making ceremony saw Gerry Kelly complete his year as Mayor. John Dinnie has now put on the Mayor’s chain, having been voted in unanimously by members of the Town Council. Tony Booth has accepted the nomination to be deputy mayor.

The council gave a vote of thanks to Gerry Kelly for his year of service as Mayor. During his time, he has dealt with many issues and handled them all calmly.

The Council’s proactive working groups have been busy, putting the council in a stronger position as a result of his leadership. ‘It’s been an interesting year,’ mused Gerry, ‘But having worked in the fire service, I have always been resilient.’

Gerry will remain as town councillor.

Dates for the town’s new Bookfest have been confirmed as 21st-29th September. The community programme is currently being finalised, but will feature local and national authors, with events for all ages and interests. There will also be schools’ programmes at both Shipston Primary and the High School.

The committee is currently looking for local businesses as sponsors and say that this is an opportunity to help launch a fun and engaging community initiative in return for valuable promotion and marketing throughout the events. There are options for all businesses and budgets.

The Bookfest also has a JustGiving page for supporters:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/shipstonbookfest

More information from info@shipstonbookfest.org, or sign up to the mailing list to be first to hear about the events here: http://bit.ly/44a8Tg2

When the River Stour rose to its highest ever recorded level on 20th July 2007, it flooded more than 80 homes and businesses in Shipston, including the house that Phil Wragg and his wife Liz had moved into only two months earlier. From that day onwards, Phil campaigned tirelessly to find ways of reducing the risk of flooding in the town.

Initially, this meant ensuring that all planning applications for new housing contained measures to prevent run-off flooding as concrete replaced fields. In many cases, he was able to get the developers to commit to ‘betterment’ with designs which improved on the status quo.

When the Shipston Area Flood Action Group (SAFAG) was formed in 2014 to address the ongoing risk of flooding caused by the river level rising, Phil became its Chairman. As little progress had been made since 2007, he immediately set about challenging the various agencies and authorities to come up with the solutions and funding needed. He and the SAFAG team also embraced the concept of Natural Flood Management (NFM), which relies on water being held back in the headwaters of the Stour through a range of measures such as ponds, bunds and leaky wooden dams to slow the flow and reduce the peak river level.

When the funding eventually started arriving in 2017, Phil systematically went about gaining the support of more than 60 landowners and farmers across the 180sqkm Stour catchment, enabling the SAFAG team to install over 860 NFM interventions between 2017 and 2022 - more than 20% of the total UK figure. This was a remarkable achievement for the only community led catchment-scale project in the country, and in 2021 SAFAG received the Environment Agency’s Community Group of the Year award.

Phil leaves a lasting legacy, and his great efforts have undoubtedly helped reduce the risk of flooding in Shipston and some nearby communities. He was an inspirational leader who will be greatly missed.

Geoff Smith and Mike McCarthy, SAFAG

Shipston made the news when local media covered the launch of Love Shipston, an initiative by local businesses to promote the town. A marketing campaign and new website is encouraging visitors and families to spend more time exploring our small businesses and restaurants.

The project is supported by the Town Council and ties in with a wider Warwickshire County Council campaign encouraging people to Buy and Eat Local. Retail expert Kim Hulse told the Banbury Guardian: “It’s been brilliant to see so many people pulling in the same direction to shout about Shipston. Most businesses are run by local people with products curated by them which means the shopping experience feels incredibly personalised. The strong community spirit between business owners is helping to build on a recent influx of visitors who are realising what a great array of places to visit there are here.”

Town Councillor Ian Cooper said: “Shipston offers a warm community spirit and thriving centre to those who live here and those that move here, and with the arrival of new businesses, we look forward to seeing the town supported by residents and visitors.”

The Love Shipston website brings together a directory of the town’s shops and places to eat, drink and spend some time.

www.loveshipston.co.uk