Further to your correspondence dated 17 April, 2026
Dear –
I have made the point before that it is ironic that local residents standing peacefully on their own pavements can be categorised as disruptive. These residents are not erecting barricades or interrupting traffic on the highway in any manner at all. They are standing still on the pavement expressing their opinions and concerns.
I note that you support our right to peaceful protest, and doubtless you also agree that in the current era, when autocratic tyrants seek to silence any dissenting voices, it is a crucial element of the education of our young people that they understand the meaning of democracy, and the vital importance of free speech and free exercise of our rights of movement and use of public areas for their intended purpose. It would be unfortunate if our young people, or those responsible for their development, gained the impression that free speech and the right to peaceful protest is only to be respected if it does not cause any inconvenience.
The point of our protest is to demonstrate that a fleet of 20 large buses can only negotiate our narrow lanes by forcing oncoming traffic onto the pavement. When a physical presence on the pavement makes that impossible, gridlock and chaos ensues. However it is not us causing the chaos – it is those responsible who refuse to do anything about the issues we are highlighting.
When I instigated the residents association two years ago, I did so because I was advised that unless a properly constituted association representing local residents was formed, the local authorities responsible for our roads would not engage in any dialogue with us. When I convened the first public meeting I anticipated that I might be the only person attending, as other local residents might be unconcerned. Instead I walked into a crowded hall with around 100 angry local residents, many of whom had lived in Shottery their whole lives. This was a room full of gas waiting for a spark. They simply needed organisation to have their voice heard. Many of them had been complaining about these traffic issues for years, but no one was prepared to listen.
We then spent two years lobbying the local authorities, the school, and all other parties with an interest in these issues. After all of that activity, the situation remains the same. We identified our peaceful protests as the only way to try to influence those responsible.
We have suggested numerous measures which could be taken to alleviate this situation, but none have been pursued. For example, we have pointed out that a significant proportion of SGGS students travel to and from school by train. They walk from and to the station, across Shottery Fields, and so far as we can ascertain this does not cause SGGS any safeguarding concerns. There are bus bays at the station where those travelling by bus could disembark to join their fellow students on the short walk to school.
So far as we can ascertain, SGGS is the only local school where buses drive directly to the school. All others recognise that this is not feasible, and their students disembark at a safe location and walk the remainder of the way.
Ridleys, who have the biggest contract for SGGS school transport, tell me that they have themselves petitioned the council for years to find alternatives, as the company and its drivers find the current situation extremely stressful, and do not wish to continue to deliver students to the school via Shottery Road.
Anne Hathaway‘s Cottage has a coach park, and we are told by our councillors that the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust is prepared to accommodate School drop off and pick up . This would entail only one crossing at Church Lane. You state that you have only recently learned about the willingness of SBT to consider this option. That is surprising as we were told by our councillors sometime ago that this was an ongoing discussion involving the School. There seems to be a lack of urgency to address these issues, seemingly in the hope that we will give up and go away, and the status quo simply continue.
You state that even if SBT agree to this, the SGGS governors may not agree on safeguarding grounds. This is surprising, as the School and the governors have been vehement that they have no control over this situation as the contracts are between the parents and the bus company, and neither the School nor the governors are party to those contracts. The governors have stated that they can only seek to influence, but decline to do so. This intransigence on the part of the governors is the subject of a pending complaint with the Department for Education, as governors owe a legal duty to address the interests of local residents as well as the school population, and our concerns are being ignored.
We deliberately timed our current protest to avoid exam season, as we have no wish to prejudice the interests of the students, who are not responsible for this situation. We are surprised to learn that the exam season starts as early as April.
Nonetheless, contrary to some misguided opinion, we are reasonable people simply seeking to use local pavements safely, and for their intended purpose. We did not advise the School in advance regarding the most recent protests, as when we did so in January it became apparent that counter-measures were being taken to lessen traffic at protest times, effectively preventing us from gathering evidence to support our campaign, and to suggest that the problems were not as we have described. Fortunately, the camera does not lie, and the videos and photographs we have collected show that we are not exaggerating.
Residents from outside Shottery have expressed support for our campaign, even when it inconveniences them. On the morning of Tuesday 21 April, one driver stopped to tell me that she had been forced off the road by a school bus driver, and when she contacted the bus company to complain, the response was dismissive and rude. Another resident from outside Shottery emailed me the same day to thank us for our protest, which he said had inspired others in his local area and elsewhere to organise similar protests to combat traffic issues which afflict several areas of this mediaeval town with its narrow roads.
I am pleased to say that the current highways portfolio holder at the County Council has now agreed to meet us as soon as a convenient date can be identified. In light of this and your appeal on behalf of the students, and because we are reasonable people, we have decided to suspend protests for the time being, and continue our efforts which have been ongoing for two years to see if the authorities will now implement a solution.
Regards.
| Richard Morgan North Shottery Residents’ Association Chairman |