Good News! Stony Stratford might get a Waitrose

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

Artists Impression from Barton Willmore

The small town of Stony Stratford sits on the River Great Ouse just outside Milton Keynes*. It is a town with a long and quite interesting history; there has been a settlement here for a thousand years, it is the home of the Cock and the Bull (as in a load of cock and bull), it was the market town for the area and it had a second renaissance as part of the Wolverton Works in nearby Wolverton at the end of the 19th Century. At one stage it even had its own steam powered tram! More recently it has become famous for hosting the annual Folk on the Green music festival on Horsefair Green – a free local festival that I highly recommend you visiting when it comes round this June.

In recent years the town has seen a bit of a decline – the only proper bakers has closed, the green grocers went some time ago and the high street has become inundated with dodgy Asian Restaurants and the odd charity shop. Don’t get me wrong, there are some nice shops here and we still have a proper Iron Mongers, but if you want great food shopping, well, forget it.

Some years ago Milton Keynes approved and had built a ghastly red brick monstrosity sited at Cofferidge Close that runs behind the High Street. It has housed a very mediocre Budgens Store, some Open University bits and other companies.

Now, a planning application has been put in to pull most of it down and replace it with a Waitrose** (it is rumoured) and a larger car park. (If you wish to see the plans and comment, go to the official planning website HERE.

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