ALUMINIUM & PLASTIC!?!?!?! Sounds like a job lot from a plastics company that has seen a drastic reduction in the sale of plastic bags for stores and so have melted down the plastic, created cheap and nasty signs for town that is traditional and historical.

It's nearly always 'those in charge' who create mayhem where on earth do these people come from---they do not have the towns in their hearts.
Look at the mess Coventry is in---piecemeal building and no overall plan.
The canal basin had all those millions spent on it and it looks good but soulless.
Also it's not easy to get to from town, even though it is so close.
Up a hill, over the bridge across the ringroad. They should have a free bus operating some part of the day,then the shops there would not keep on changing hands because not enough people go. A wasted opportunity.

Bedworth is not too bad --if you dont expect to shop there for anything.Cards- rubbish shoes -and charity shops.
All of the good things were built before it combined with Nuneaton--the Civic Hall, and Sports centre. the Alms houses are quite pretty and the park is very beautiful most of the year.

It's nearly always 'those in charge' who create mayhem --where on earth do these people come from---they do not have the towns in their hearts. it's just a job .Create something weird and daft and when they get stuck for what to do next because- whoops --what have I done ! move on and let someone else with even more weird ideas take over for a couple of years.
Remember the glass spire idea last year for Coventry?
Look at the mess Coventry is in---piecemeal building and no overall plan.
The canal basin had all those millions spent on it and it looks good but soulless.
Also it's not easy to get to from town, even though it is so close.
Up a hill, over the bridge across the ringroad. They should have a free bus operating some part of the day,then the shops there would not keep on changing hands because not enough people go. A wasted opportunity.

Bedworth is not too bad --if you dont expect to shop there for anything. Cards- rubbish shoes -and charity shops.
All of the good things were built before it combined with Nuneaton--the Civic Hall, and Sports centre. the Alms houses are quite pretty and the park is very beautiful most of the year.
I also hate all that imitation Victorian stuff but perhaps Ikea style is worse.

I'm worried I'm turning into a mealy mouthed Stratford Cynic, who can only complain about Stratford. I think in reality there's only one thing to blame for Stratford's woes though, and that's the people in charge.

I've only just noticed the new signposts which have sprung up all round the town, and one can't help thinking the design brief was 'make them as bland, formal, and souless as possible'. Would it be wrong of me to suggest that these signposts were possibly bought from Ikea?

It really is a frustrating time in Stratford, the harder the people in charge try to make it "World Class", the more it looks like and economny class town. Soon it will be nothing more then a tacky giant theme park, and I'm sick of it.

Rant over!