Local news, what's on and the information you need for Stafford, Stone and the surrounding villages.
The Stafford Times

Stafford & district · Local news you can trust

Buses Stone to Rugeley Bus 151: Nine a Day, Kept Only if Used Events What's On in Stafford: Come From Away, Then Fireworks Night House prices Stafford House Prices Fall Again to £258,024 in July

Coming up

All The events
  1. Wed 7 Oct The Psychology of Serial Killers with Jennifer Rees 7.30pm · Stafford Gatehouse Theatre · From £28
  2. Thu 8 Oct The Carpenters Songbook 7.30pm · Stafford Gatehouse Theatre · From £30
  3. Fri 9 Oct The Cavern Beatles 7.30pm · Stafford Gatehouse Theatre · From £27.50
  4. 10 to 31 Oct Pick Your Own Pumpkins at Lower Drayton Farm Lower Drayton Farm · From £6
  5. 10 to 11 Oct The Classic Motorcycle Mechanics Show Staffordshire County Showground

Latest news

Remembrance Stafford Remembrance Sunday 2026: Parade 10.40am, 8 Nov Stafford's Remembrance service is on Sunday 8 November 2026 in Victoria Square, procession from 10.40am. Stone's parade starts 10.30am on the High Street. · 2 min read Christmas Shugborough Opening Times: Mansion Shut 2 to 27 Nov Shugborough's mansion closes 2 to 27 November, reopens for Christmas 28 Nov to 23 Dec, then shuts again. Gardens open daily except Christmas Day. Prices inside. · 4 min read Christmas Santa in Stafford 2026: Grottos, Santa Trains and Shows Amerton Farm's Santa visit is £27.49 a child on 11 December dates, Amerton Railway's Santa trains are booking now, and the Gatehouse runs two Santa shows. · 4 min read Gatehouse Theatre PMDD Play at Stafford Gatehouse: Wed 23 Sep, 7.30pm, £15 An award-winning play about PMDD reaches the Gatehouse MET Studio on Wednesday 23 September at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15, one night only, ages 14 and over. · 5 min read Stafford station Stafford Station Gets Bee Murals and a Scouts' Garden Murals, a tin-can artwork and a Scout-run pollinator garden have opened at Stafford station, which joins the Victoria Park bee trail. Spare pots wanted. · 5 min read Health PMDD Support Groups: Nearest to Stafford Is Birmingham The charity behind Wednesday's Gatehouse play says 1,500 people joined its PMDD groups since January. None is in Staffordshire, and Birmingham is the nearest. · 6 min read Council Freedom of Stafford Borough for Sir Ian and Lady Dudson Stafford's highest honour went to Sir Ian and Lady Jane Dudson on 8 September, in what the council believes is its first joint award. Churchill got it in 1946. · 5 min read Housing Stafford Council to Buy 3 Homes for £675,000 to Cut B&B Use Stafford Borough Council plans to buy three homes for £675,000, about half from a government grant, as around 20 households a month end up in bed and breakfast. · 4 min read Jobs Stafford Unemployment: 2,185 Claiming, Up 150 in a Year Stafford borough's claimant count rose to 2,185 in August, up 150 on a year and the largest increase of any Staffordshire district, led by under-25s and over-50s. · 4 min read Council Stafford Town Council Approved: £38.44 a Year From 2027 Stafford gets its own town council from April 2027, at £38.44 a year on a Band D home. Nineteen councillors, 11 wards, first elections next May. · 8 min read Planning Stafford Planning Committee Loses Powers on 31 October From 31 October most Stafford planning applications must be decided by officers, not councillors. The council called it a serious loss of democracy. · 6 min read Council Stafford Council Merger Paused: May 2027 Election Back On Stafford Borough Council's abolition is on hold. The May 2027 borough election now goes ahead on existing wards, three days after joint committees were set up. · 7 min read
See all Stafford news

Stafford is the county town of Staffordshire, on the Sow with the castle mound above it and the West Coast Main Line running through. Stone is the borough’s other town, up the road on the Trent and the canal, and beyond them are Eccleshall, Gnosall, Barlaston and the villages towards the Shropshire border.

The Stafford Times reports from the borough’s own record. Stafford Borough Council publishes its planning register, licensing notices, committee papers and budgets; Staffordshire County Council handles roads, schools and social care. We say which of the two a decision belongs to, every time, and we link to the document behind every fact we print.

Open one of these

  • House prices: the borough average is £263,000, and there is £140,000 between the dearest and cheapest postcode areas.
  • Trains to London: 1 hour 16 minutes on the fastest service, and an annual season ticket that costs £8,360 or £15,644 depending on which trains you may board.
  • Roadworks and parking: five live schemes, two of them running into 2027, plus what the car parks charge.
  • Things to do: the castle, the Ancient High House and Izaak Walton’s Cottage are all free, and all shut on Mondays.
  • Planning: the borough can show 1.95 years of housing land against a requirement of five, and a new Local Plan has just begun.

Or browse News, Local Info and What’s On.

Nothing here is guesswork. Every figure links to its source.