Stratford Avon News is an independent news and information site for Stratford-upon-Avon and the district around it. We report from documents, we link to them, and we have no connection to the council or to anyone we write about.
The town and the district
One point worth clearing up first: the town is Stratford-upon-Avon and the council area is Stratford-on-Avon, with the spelling deliberately different. We cover both. The town itself, then Alcester, Studley, Henley-in-Arden, Bidford-on-Avon, Wellesbourne, Southam and Shipston-on-Stour, and the villages between them, Wootton Wawen, Long Itchington, Alveston, Tiddington and the rest. Nearly 149,000 people live across that area, and a great deal of what matters to them never appears in coverage aimed at visitors.
What we publish
Reporting drawn from the public record and reference pages for the practical questions. The record means Stratford-on-Avon District Council’s planning register and committee papers, licensing notices, police.uk crime data, HM Land Registry sold prices, Food Standards Agency hygiene ratings, Environment Agency flood warnings for the Avon, the Stour, the Arrow, the Alne and the Dene, and company filings in The Gazette. Roads and schools are run by Warwickshire County Council rather than the district, and we say which body a decision belongs to.
The council merger, now paused
In July 2026 the government decided that Stratford-on-Avon District Council and Warwick District Council would be replaced by a single South Warwickshire unitary authority in April 2028. On 7 September 2026 it put that decision under review and told councils to stop implementing it, so the date is no longer a plan you can rely on. We report it from the published papers as it happens, and we keep our practical pages pointing at whichever authority is responsible on the day you read them. The detail is in Stratford council abolition paused.
Updated 12 September 2026. This section previously stated that the district council was due to be abolished on 1 April 2028.
How we handle accuracy
Every fact is linked to its source. Where a record is ambiguous we say so rather than filling the gap. If we get something wrong, email hello@stratfordavonnews.co.uk and we will correct it and note the correction on the page. The same address is the one for tips and for events worth listing, and anything you send is treated in confidence.
Stratford Avon News is part of the GOB Media Group.