Has anyone been through Bell court recently? Nearly ALL of the shops have closed down in there! Victims of extortionate rent? Parking meters? Poor planning?

Probably all three.

i run a shop in warwick, and every year for the last 4 years, the landlord has told us he is putting the rent up by 40% and we have had to pay for representation to appeal this. and its much the same with the business rates.
last month we were told that the bin men were going to charge us £5 per visit extra to take the rubbish away! as yet this year, the usual influx of visitors hasnt happened. possibly down to the councils attitude to people in cars?
and then every day some clown walks in and asks what the 'best price' on something is. actually the best price would be about 15 % higher, but we are trying to keep the prices sensible. good luck to all these new shop owners..

The only reason we have empty shops is because Stratford Council still haven't learnt the lesson that SHOPPING PRECINCTS JUST DON'T WORK IN STRATFORD. Does anyone remember how beautiful the bottom of bridge street used to look, then they built that hideous monstrosity of a shopping centre, which failed dismally.

The reason is the cost of owning a shops is extortionate, and I weep every time I see a new small business start up, because I know they will be wiped out within a few months. There is only room for all the big brands in Stratford, so we now have pretty much the exact same shops as every other medium sized town in the UK. I stand by what I say as well, it's rubbish for men's clothes.

Yes, we need affordable housing, but we may as well ask them to remove the Stratford Revenue collecting machines (parking meters).

Oh b*gger - that's where I park when I'm visiting my office there

Oh well - next visit'll be a short one!!

I have to agree, Stratford Badly needs some new shops, especially clothes shops for men. I currently have to go to Birmingham or Leamington to buy new clothes, the few shops that sell mens clothes in Strat. all pretty much sell the same stuff, which I don't like.

how bout they work on being a world class council, before they start building world class offices to hide in? (they have done the same in warwick)

I don't believe it, here we have a huge plot of prime real estate, some have suggested it become the central hub for rail and coach connections. Others have suggested putting some desperately needed retail buildings there.

So what have Stratford District Council decided it should be used for? Another Civic Hall!!! What's wrong with the one we've already got? They want to build it as part of their looney 'World Class Stratford' project. How about for once instead of building yet another pointless project to impress tourists, they do something for the locals? Hundreds, nay thousands of new homes are being built in the area, and have we seen one new small shopping district built to balance this out?

Why do we let Stratford Council waste out money on these rediculous projects?