November 2006
The Store Wars saga was at last brought to an end when the District Council finally threw out an application from Tesco to open a second supermarket on the Old Smithfield site.
This left the way clear for Sainsbury’s to pursue their plans for expansion and the eventual provision of the Whitburn St. Relief Road.

December 2006
2006 ended with highly prophetic flood warnings as the Severn rose and low-lying land got a soaking. The district didn’t suffer unduly at this time, but the months to come would prove a different matter…Bad news for employees of one of Bridgnorth’s few manufacturing businesses when engineers John R. Oliver went into administration with the loss of over 20 jobs. In the town’s High Street, Choices, the video rental shop, also closed its doors. Bad news too for naughty motorists, as a new ‘zero tolerance’ team of traffic wardens took to the Bridgnorth streets. Pro-Unitary councillors took advantage of the absence of an ‘anti’ member to submit a motion to rescind an earlier decision opposing Unitary status.

January
The year opened on a sombre note as high winds caused extensive structural damage throughout the country. Locally, tragedy struck as Bridgnorth man Richard Heard was killed after a tree fell on his car as he drove to his work as managing director of Birmingham Airport. The Let’s Fly Cosford campaign crashed to earth after the Government announced that a proposed £14 billion engineering training academy would be placed with rival candidates St Athan in Wales instead of the Shropshire airbase. And the district council remained opposed to the proposed switch to Unitary status following a decisive ‘no’ vote from householders in a postal ballot.

February
Princess Anne opened the new Cold War exhibition at Cosford. In Bridgnorth, Councillor Ed Shirley was cleared by the Standards Board for England after pro-Unitary councillors complained that he had abused his power in deferring the vote seeking to overturn the Council’s original decision to oppose the Unitary option.

March
Planning matters were much to the fore this month. Proposals to site two 400-foot high wind turbines
at local beauty spot and wildlife haven Chelmarsh Reservoir were hitting the headlines. Alterations to historic Bishop Percy’s House were also under discussion, and plans to build four ultra-modern houses in the grounds met with a highly polarised reaction from local residents. The Severn Navigation Trust floated ideas for a series of weirs along the river, creating wetlands, a navigable waterway and a possible source of hydro-electric power.

April
The Punch Bowl Inn reported ghostly goings-on as unknown forces caused inexplicable happenings in the ancient pub. Throughout the district, candidates were gearing up for the forthcoming elections, and it was becoming obvious that the Unitary question was the burning issue. As the first pints of Bridgnorth’s own beer from The Old Brewhouse at the King’s Head were sampled, the town’s Licenced Victuallers Association was in danger of closing due to falling membership.

May
Huge upsets as the local election results, as predicted, gave many pro-Unitary councillors their marching orders. The Lib Dems took a hammering in both Bridgnorth and South Shropshire, where they lost overall control, with father and son Adrian and Paul Tacchi and husband and wife Linda and Ed Shirley making it a family affair on the Bridgnorth District Council. The Tacchis were also elected to the Town Council, where seven new councillors in all took their seats. The new Town Mayor, Councillor Connie Baines, in her inaugural speech, called for Bridgnorth to retain its identity and individuality as so many High Streets were becoming clones of each other. Former Lib Dem MP Matthew Green announced that he would not be standing at the next general election.

June
Once again the weather made all the headlines as the country was hit by freak rainstorms, a pattern to be constantly repeated throughout one of the wettest summers on record. Roads were washed away, notably at Hampton Loade, and Shifnal and Albrighton were among many communities to suffer flash floods that caused extensive damage. The Severn Valley Railway was closed after floodwater disrupted huge sections of the track and adjacent land. An appeal was launched to help meet the costs of repairs, estimated to run into millions of pounds. Other news centred on the granting of permission to Persimmon Homes to build 317 new homes at Tasley.

July
The unremitting rain forced the cancellation of Burwarton Show, the first time in over a hundred years that weather conditions had put a stop to one of the leading events in the district’s agricultural calendar. The Government announced that the move to Unitary status would go ahead, in spite of evidence that the move was opposed by the majority of Shrophire councils and the public at large. In Bridgnorth’s Low Town Post Office, proprietor Bob Beckett was threatened with a gun and assaulted when armed robbers raided the premises. And Faintree Garage owner Paul Wedgbury was calling for the pedestrian footbridge above his forecourt to be enclosed to prevent hooligans from throwing rocks on to vehicles parked below.

August
It was announced that Bridgnorth’s CCTV scheme was to be expanded in a bid to cut down on crime and anti-social behaviour in the town. Bylet Bowling Club were counting the costs after arsonists set fire to the clubhouse. The Bank Holiday was marked by a sudden spell of fine weather and record attendance at the second Bridgnorth Children’s Festival. The District Council staged a successful Green Show in the town, and the Music Festival also attracted the crowds. The former Bridgnorth Folk Festival, now transferred to Shrewsbury, reported record attendances.

September
Work was completed at the new ‘Health Village’ in Bridgnorth, incorporating the resited Medical Centre and the refurbished and extended Hospital on one purpose-designed site. The town won a host of awards in the Heart of England Britain in Bloom contest. Marks and Spencer announced plans to open a Simply Food store in the premises currently occupied by Handyman House in Mill St and Tesco acquired the former Hermitage Filling Station for conversion to an ‘Express’ outlet.

October
Specsavers opened and the Co-op closed in Bridgnorth. Whitney’s the bakers was taken over by Catherine’s of Broseley. Sainsbury’s announced that work on the Whitburn St Relief Road would commence in the spring. An application for a controversial telecoms mast at Bridgnorth Town Football Club was rejected. Police announced a blitz on underage drinkers, with the prospect of fines and bans for anyone illegally loaning identity cards to youngsters.