Shaping Stratford

Firstly, thank you for taking the time to visit this site. This is a very exciting and challenging period in the history of the Council, and we are thrilled that we have the opportunity of recruiting a new member of the Council’s Management Team following the retirement of a respected officer.

The Council has a new Council Plan and we are implementing a number of exciting changes that will help our communities. During the last year the Council had a Corporate Peer Challenge and the review team found:

“Stratford-on-Avon District Council (SDC) is well-run, recognises its challenges and is ambitious for the future of the District. There is much to be proud of in how the Council is delivering for the communities of this large and diverse area.”

This role will be at the heart of the Council’s Management Team, working with the political leadership to deliver our ambitious plans. Similar to other councils, we face a challenging time, with much uncertainty surrounding the future of issues including devolution and the level of government support. However, the Council is currently in a strong financial position. The Council balances ambition with realism and has a willingness to look strategically as well as operationally and take calculated risks. There is a good and robust working relationship between all members of the Cabinet and Officers which has worked well.

In addition to the Council Plan objectives our Head of Housing, Revenues and Customer Services is responsible for the delivery of our Growing Opportunities Plan and the continued implementation of the “Cost of Living fund”, of £300,000. Programmes in this area include support for heating costs, as well as working with local community and voluntary groups to support residents in their homes. Whilst the Council does not have its own housing stock, the role works closely with the registered partners in the district and has been very successful on schemes including the Local Authority Decarbonising Scheme and the Local Authority Housing Fund. We are also looking forward to the Warm Homes Grant Scheme.

The role is integral to the delivery of customer services and we are extremely proud of our contact centre, services delivered directly from Elizabeth House and the roll out of the Customer Access Terminals. As mentioned above the Council is currently in a strong financial position and this role is responsible for collecting all Council Tax and Business Rates to keep us in that position. However, in order to address further expected reductions in government support, the Council is actively reviewing a number of initiatives, which are designed to either reduce costs or generate income to support our core services.

The Council has always been extremely conscious of its impact upon the environment and has made significant reductions in our own emissions. As with the majority of local authorities, the Council has declared a Climate Change Emergency. We have acted swiftly in identifying a number of actions that will help with the aspiration of being recognised as a Carbon Neutral District by 2030. Recent initiatives in this area include the opening of a new nature reserve, installing solar panels on leisure centre roofs and the forthcoming adoption of a new Climate Change Strategy. In the last year the Council ran a Community Climate Change programme and distributed £50,000 of grants to schemes across our area.

We are a thriving district and have seen significant growth in our local economy and the delivery of new housing. We have a focused, busy and forward-thinking workforce, committed to providing the best services we can to both our residents and visitors. Our success is largely due to having flexible, committed and enthusiastic staff, who are prepared to go the extra mile and have a ‘can-do’ work ethic.

We are conscious of the recent publication of the Devolution White Paper and wanted to reassure prospective applicants that we are welcoming the opportunities devolution may bring to Stratford-on-Avon. We are committed to providing training and support to our employees to maximise opportunities for the future.

We will be required to develop proposals for devolution and local government review in our area, and you will have a key role in determining these proposals in order to provide the best services to our residents, communities, businesses, and employees.

Following announcements on 5 February 2025 we are now aware that Stratford on Avon District Council will not be included in the first wave of local government reorganisation, the earliest we are now expecting any changes would be 2028.

We thank you for taking the time to consider a career at Stratford-on-Avon District Council. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the Council to modernise and deliver the ambition of the Council Plan. It is a given that this will be a period of significant change for the Council and if this excites you then we encourage you to apply.