Jobs
Stratford Claimant Count: Under-25s at Five-Year High
345 under-25s in Stratford district were claiming in August, the most in at least five years. The total rose 80 to 1,870, ending four months of falls.
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Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Remembrance Sunday: 8 November, Roads Shut 9.45
Stratford's parade and Garden of Remembrance service fall on Sunday 8 November. Eight streets shut 9.45am to noon, plus seven other district parades.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Santa's Grotto: 21 Nov to Christmas Eve, £24 Up
Magic Alley's Father Christmas runs 21 November to Christmas Eve at 38 Greenhill Street. Four sessions, group tickets from £24, and the day by day calendar.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Halloween: Half Term Is 26 to 30 October
Warwickshire's half term runs 26 to 30 October and the Runaway Mop lands the Friday before. What is confirmed in Stratford for Halloween week, and what is not.
Alcester
Three Tuns Alcester: Council Asked to Buy Burnt-Out Pub
Cabinet meets on 7 September to decide whether to bid for the fire-damaged Three Tuns, which Bond Wolfe auctions on 10 September with a £50,000 guide price.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Mop Fair: Sunday 11 and Monday 12 October
The council and the fair's operator both list the Mop for Sunday 11 and Monday 12 October, and the Runaway Mop for 23 and 24 October. Closure times say TBC.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Fireworks: Rugby Club Set for Sunday 1 November
Stratford Rugby Club's bonfire and fireworks night is in its own diary for Sunday 1 November, 5pm to 9pm. The blurb under that date still says 2025.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Christmas Lights: Switch-On Set for 14 November
Stratford BID has Saturday 14 November 2026. The operator has published 10am to 7pm, dropped Waterside from the footprint, and put the switch at 5pm not 5.30.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford-upon-Avon Christmas Market 2026: 28 Nov and 5 Dec
Stratford-upon-Avon's 2026 Christmas Markets are 28 and 29 November and 5 and 6 December, with 12 and 13 December held in reserve for bad weather.
Stratford-upon-Avon
Stratford Panto: Robin Hood, 22 Shows from 12 December
Tread the Boards plays Robin Hood at Rother Street Arts House from 12 December, £17.50, with an 18+ Jack and the Beanstalk at the Attic. Full performance list.
Planning
Stratford District Land Supply 2.21 Years: 4 Sites Backed
The district can show 2.21 years of housing land, not five. Officers back all four village sites at Wednesday's Planning Committee, over 73 objections.
Town centre
Empty Shops in Stratford, Alcester and Southam Face Auctions
Cabinet decides on Monday 7 September whether to consult on powers to auction the lease of any shop empty for a year. Kineton has the worst vacancy rate, 20%.
Bidford-on-Avon
Bidford Petrol Station Rebuild Approved, Shop Open to 11pm
The car showroom and MOT workshop at 95 High Street go, replaced by a bigger shop with a food counter, six EV bays and two jet washes. Closing times are fixed.
Stratford-upon-Avon is a small town with a very large district attached to it. The council area runs from Studley and Alcester in the north west, through Henley-in-Arden, Wootton Wawen, Bidford-on-Avon and Wellesbourne, across to Southam and Long Itchington in the east and down to Shipston-on-Stour near the Oxfordshire border. Most of it is villages.
Stratford Avon News covers the town and that whole district. The visitor economy is a real part of local life here, but so are parking charges, school places, planning rows about fields on the edge of a village, and what the crime figures for your own street actually say. We take those from the council’s registers and the rest of the public record, and we link to the source every time.
Where to find things
- Local Info: house prices, trains to London and roadworks and parking.
- News: what the record shows, including the Local Plan that sets this district 27,800 new homes by 2050.
- What’s On: things to do in Stratford and across the district.
Every fact carries a link to the document it came from.