Sheila Davies – Friends of Church Stretton Library

Town Council Stretton’s Survey

The Town Council is running a consultation to inform the Town Council’s priorities, projects and funding decisions for the new financial year.

We would have liked to have seen a little more information to help people understand the implications of their answers when filling in their response.

Nevertheless, we encourage residents to take part, as the survey includes questions about the library, leisure centre and swimming pool.

We wondered why these questions appear, as there is a three year agreement in place between Church Stretton Town Council and Shropshire Council to help fund the library and the swimming pool.

We have been advised by the Town Council that

“Their purpose is to gauge whether residents view remains that they would, in principle, support the Town Council providing financial assistance towards these services. This provides an updated understanding of public opinion compared with previous surveys.”

Drop In sessions

We have also been advised that drop in sessions are being arranged at Mayfair, the Parish Centre and the Library, where staff and councillors will be on hand to help residents complete the survey online using laptops, while also making paper copies available at these locations.

If you want any help in completing the survey, please make use of these sessions. We will let you know the dates/times of these drop ins as soon as this information becomes available.

The Town Council survey can be found here Stretton’s Survey 2026

Poetry Event: Saturday 4th July

AGM 2026: Wed 24th June

Please come to our AGM to find out more about our charity and our plans for next year.

The meeting takes place in the United Reform Hall at 7.30pm .

This will be followed by a short presentation:

picture of library in the 1950 and in 2026

Our Annual report, accounts and agenda can be downloaded here

Wine, soft drinks and nibbles will be served afterwards in the URC garden.

My Car Plays Tapes

Storytelling show by writer, performer and Radio 4 regular: John Osborne.

‘A charmingly idiosyncratic mix of wistfulness and wonder’ – ★★★★ The Stage

John is a popular figure at theatres and arts centres across the country, having toured extensively since 2011. He has had written and performed storytelling shows for BBC Radio 4 and is a regular at music and literature festivals, including performing at fourteen Latitude festivals.

‘Told with colourful attention to detail, the end result is a subtle, moving look at getting older, connections, what being happy means, our place in the world and what we do with nostalgia and memory, that has a quiet profundity to it.’ Scottish Daily Mail.

Thursday 26 February 2026, 7.30pm, Church Stretton library

Tickets £10 on sale at www.artsalive.co.uk and at the library (cash only please)

The Upper Onny Farmers Group

Illustrated Talk, 9th February in Church Stretton Library at 2.30pm

Speakers:

Catherine Landles – Community & Landscape Officer, Shropshire Hills National Landscape. Cath set up the UOFG and facilitated the group until Sept 2025.

Katy Mellor – Upper Onny Farmers Community Interest Company (CIC) Facilitator

Matt Betton – Farmer and Chair of the Upper Onny Farmers Group (UOFG)

Matt Sankey – Farmer and Chair of the Upper Onny Farmers CIC

The Upper Onny Farmers Group is a group of farmers who manage land within the Upper Onny Valley, which lies between the Long Mynd and the Welsh border.

They first came together in 2018, when Upper Onny Valley farmers were invited to meet with representatives of Natural England, the National Trust and the Shropshire Hills National Landscape Partnership to discuss the needs of farming and the local environment and how these might be addressed by the Stepping Stones Project.

The group has grown from eight to thirty two farmers, mainly due to word of mouth amongst the local farming community.

Their aim is to:

‘Share views about the main issues affecting the future of farming and the environment in the Upper Onny Valley and to explore ways for improving the environment, the landscape and its wildlife in ways that are integral to profitable farm businesses’.

Come along to find out more about this successful project, what it has achieved and the groups plans for the future

Admission £5.00 on the door

Consultation

Budget Consultation

Shropshire Council have launched an online budget consultation asking residents to prioritise which services they think are least important.

They need to make huge savings next year, by reducing services and increasing how much they charge for services.

The survey includes questions about libraries and leisure centres.

Please let people know about this survey and if they do not use the internet, that printed copies are available in the library.

Please download our information sheet which you might find helpful when filling in the survey.

The closing date for the survey is 16^th January.

PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS CONSULTATION as the results will influence where services are cut.

National Prize winners

Friends of Church Stretton Library win National Prize!

We are pleased to announce that we have received two awards in a competition run by the Library Campaign, a national charity supporting Friends and users of libraries across the UK.

Fund-raising category: Calendar

We were awarded joint first prize in the ‘fundraising’ category for the calendar which we produce each year with scenic photographs of the area taken by local residents. The judges remarked that they were particularly impressed by how the wider community helps with this, in both producing and selling the calendar.

There are still a few 2026 calendars on sale in the library, Peppers and the Outdoor Depot.

Download our winning entry on fundraising here

Joint work category: Dementia Collection

We were also awarded a Special Mention for helping to provide a Dementia Collection in the library, working with ‘Stretton Dementia Friends’. The collection includes Information about Dementia, Information for Carers, books for children and young people, Picture to Share books, Relish jigsaws and specially adapted games. All of these have been added to the Shropshire Library catalogue and can be taken out on loan free of charge.

Download our winning entry about the Dementia Collection here

All the winning entries will be shared with other Friends groups across the UK. We hope this will lead to lots more libraries having Dementia Collections.

Stretton Bin Collection Dates

Shropshire Council are not providing bin collection calendars this year.

Bin collection dates are available on their website – but not in a format you can easily download and print.

We have produced a calendar for both Tuesday and Friday collection days which can be printed.

A copy is also on display in the library, and can be photocopied there.

Please let anyone you know without internet access how they can get a copy

Appleby Cheese, Talk & Tasting event

November Talk

Ageing Well in the Strettons

Picture of people holding hands looking at sunset

A talk by Graham Haynes – a Shropshire lad, a Church Stretton resident and a post-graduate researcher at Bangor University.

11^th November 2025, URC hall, 2.30pm

According to the 2021 census data, Church Stretton’s population is heavily skewed towards older residents, yet despite this, our health seems to be robust, with above average numbers of residents reporting to be in good or fair health. Is there something about our community that may be contributing to this scenario? Graham will present findings from his research about the role of community in facilitating older people to age well, in a rural context. These will include the views of older people who have taken part in a small-scale study based in The Strettons.

PLEASE BOOK YOUR PLACE – as we expect a large number of people wanting to attend this event.

You can book by email admin@strettonlibraryfriends.org.uk

or Telephone/ Text 0771 049 1951

ADMISSION: £5 on the door