Defence Online

A 250-berth marina is set to be built in Stratford-upon-Avon next year, more than 40 years after planning permission for the project was first granted.Plans for the marina off Seven Meadows Road were approved by Stratford District Council in 1975, but for years there has been no movement on it.In 2012 an updated plan was also granted planning permission, but aside from metal fencing being placed around the field last year, there has been no development.However, a new developer called Surrey-based Land and Water Estates, who took over the lease on the land in March, have now committed to starting construction of what it is calling the Shakespeare Marina next spring.The company is planning to make use of the existing planning permission for the site and expects to have it open for business in November 2017.Facilities there will include car parking, electricity and water supplies, wifi, toilets and showers, a laundry room, coffee lounge and waste disposal facilities.Land and Water Estates have been involved in a number of major projects over recent years including the wetland and habitat creation schemes for the London Olympics and the emergency dredging works in Somerset after flooding in 2014.They have designed and built over 30 canal and estuarial marinas and have developed, and operate four sites of their own.Land and Water Estates has produced a glossy brochure detailing their plans. Copies are available from the Avon Navigation Trust barge in the Stratford canal basin at Bancroft Gardens, or can be viewed at the Herald’s office in Rother Street, Stratford.