Hello Everyone,

I an doing some research into Shrewsbury and wether the fact that we dont have local councils representing the different areas (like Parish Councils in rural areas) affects our sense of community?

Are there any regular events, good neighbours, coffee mornings in Shrewsbury that proves we have got a sense of community? or on the other hand are we happy keeping ourselves to ourselves and dont want to know everyone elses business?

Id be really interested to find out what everyone thinks.

Shrewsbury is too large a town for such a community spirit to exist I'm afraid. In fact, even in Shropshire (which is still quite a traditional county) only the villages and small towns (Clun!) have any real community spirit. Places like Whitchurch, Oswestry and Market Drayton don't to my knowledge. And parish councils for different areas in Shrewsbury wouldn't really help IMO. Soon a parish will be established to cover the whole town (at the moment we're unparished) and a Town Council will be set up. It may help in dealing with more local issues and the running of the town centre. But I don't think it's up to a Town Council to get people together.

There are however loads of events, including coffee mornings as you suggest, held by various organisations in the town, such as charities, WIs and churches. It's not like there is NO community spirit, but rather no one community spirit, if you get my gist. As I said, Shrewsbury is rather too large a town for a single community spirit, in this day and age. You never know though - perhaps in 50 years time things will have changed.

(As for areas within town - some perhaps do have a greater sense of identity, such as Coleham, Meole Village, Mountfields and Coton Hill. Other parts of town barely have any and are just endless boring suburbs!)

Proud Salopian, Whitchurch has loads of community spirit. Its just paid for a brand new extension to its 'excellent' hospital fundraising through community events, it has its own community radio and is and always has been community spirited. The English/Welsh divide in Shrewsbury has never done anything IMO for community spirit. I am reminded at the flower show each year where the english national anthem, then Welsh are often booed by pro or anti welsh people. I think also some people in Shrewsbury can be a bit snobby. None the less Shrewsbury do good things through the volutary sector meals on wheels, dial-a-ride, victim support and there is loads more. :D

There's plenty of community spirit in Shrewsbury. There are good-neighbour schemes, community initiatives like Soul Purpose (based around the Church of the Holy Spirit in Harlescott) and the work of the Barnabas Centre in Longden Coleham, innumerable groups raising money for local charities in all sorts of ways (everything from coffee mornings to riding a zipline across the River Severn), thousands of people giving of their time every week in the volunteer sector, organisations like Isaiah 58 and the group that runs the new Shrewsbury Ark day centre for homeless people ... the list goes on and on.

If you want to experience and understand the community spirit of Shrewsbury, though. you need to get out in the town and talk to people. You won't find it on the internet.

Thanks very much everyone for replying its been really helpful.

Actually Honey, the community spirit in Shrewsbury is akin to something like three films I could mention:

Chocolat
Hot Fuzz
The Wickerman

Someone has applied to build a house in Belle Vue and the neighbours have set up a committee to oppose it and specially printed posters to put in windows. People in other roads have been asked to object by giving them a ready written letter plus sae to the planning office. Two people I know who sent it in, did not read it properly, and now feel like they have been tricked. Finally a huge banner has been stretched right across the road fom one house to another.

People have a right to make valid planning objections but surely this is going too far.
What do you think?

Having worked at the planning departments in both Wem and Shrewsbury I can reveal that some of the objections to planning applications are absurd and extreme! I mean the things people starting writing to the planners about - totally non-planning related stuff. And all the planning officers can do is "...and what can I do about that?!" We're talking about things like "such and such had an argument with my daughter as she walked her dog over his land and this led to blah blah blah..."

Working at the local planning office - it's very revealing! Reveals a lot about the nature of some members of the public (and some very dodgy building companies..)!

What, you mean like Willmott Dixon? :o

in short: no

everyone here knows everyone, but not well enough to really care about each other

Do I know you Yellow?

Dunno about community spirit more like is there a forum spirit in Shrewsbury, perhaps everyone is on Holiday B)