Is Shropshire a good place to live in 2022? We went out to ask residents

The positives of stunning natural beauty and the community spirit of this large, landlocked landmass far outweigh the negatives of pothole perils and crime fears of living in Shropshire, according to people we met in and around Market Square.

Stanton Stephens, aged 59, went to school at Ludlow College, which is but a book's throw across the square from where he now lives. He lives above Castle Bookshop, which he worked in from 1989 and became the owner-proprietor of in 1998.

"Ludlow is a hidden gem," said Mr Stephens, who is single and loves the community spirit of the town. "Part of it is because it is isolated, with no direct trains from London or Birmingham and is an hour from the motorway.

"People have to live and work and shop in the area, and everything we need is on our doorstep."

Mr Stephens, who does not drive, says a lack of parking is an issue in the town especially for the tourists who flock to the area. "Maybe they could subsidise public transport a bit more, transport could be better."

As a business owner he is keen to help encourage community spirit and has invested in the creation of a 'memory garden' at the rear of Castle Bookshop. It is set to host events during the year.

For Charlotte Walters, aged 44, of Emstrey, in Shrewsbury, the countryside, the food, cafes and restaurants of Shropshire are something that keeps her in the area.

She's lived in Pattingham, just over the Staffordshire border, as well as in Albrighton, and worked as a senior recruitment manager for a business based in Birmingham before working for herself.

"Shropshire is a beautiful rural county," said Mrs Walters, who is a dog owner. "I have a lovely commute from Shrewsbury to Ludlow. This is quite a foodie county too and great for eating out with its cafes and restaurants and the local producers who are celebrated through farm shops and food festivals."

Mrs Walters, who had a business which involved importing items from Germany, found that it wasn't possible during the lockdown and following Britain's exit from the European Union. So she pivoted her entrepreneurial spirit in another direction.

She now creates Shropshire Kombucha – a fermented and flavoured tea – and sells it to shops and at Ludlow Market, where she runs a stall.

"I love Kombucha and had some good feedback from family and friends," she said. And at the height of the first lockdown in 2020 she launched the new enterprise and is now doing a roaring trade, with the lifestyle she wants and in such a beautiful county too.

Asked about her gripes and moans about living in Shropshire, she wanted to remain entirely positive about life.

For married artists Andrew and Gill Farmer their experiences of the county are also weighted on the positive side. They are semi-retired, with no children, and run their own business at self-catering cottages sited between Clun and Bishop's Castle.

They say that even after moving from London and living for 29 years in the county, local neighbours still jokingly refer to them as "newcomers." Mr Farmer used to come to Offa's Dyke aged in his 20s for walking holidays and fell in love with the area.

"It is such a beautiful part of Britain," said Mr Farmer.

Mr Farmer, aged 73, and Mrs Farmer, 63, were checking out the food at Bill's Kitchen, which sits next door to Ludlow Assembly Rooms and were both agreed on their biggest bugbear... the state of the roads.

"We've had four blow-outs in a year and had a buckled wheel," said Mr Farmer. "The Clun to Craven Arms road is really dreadful." They said on each occasion they were lucky not to suffer more than tyre and wheel damage.

The couple don't like temporary fixes on the highway, where potholes are filled in and topped off with chippings.

They would much rather have complete road resurfacing and, perhaps in a sign that a council investment programme might be achieving success they added: "The roads are getting better, we would like them to be better faster."

Shrewsbury-born Charlotte Martindale, 50, a trained nurse and swimming teacher was in Ludlow to meet up with her niece Matty, aged six and a half, and three-year-old nephew Iven.

They had just been swimming and after buying a couple of cuddly toys from the Oxfam shop they bumped into the Shropshire Star outside Costa Coffee.

For Ms Martindale, a mother of three, the county has a 'nice balance' of activities to keep the young ones happy. Matty is home educated and is getting to see lots of places. For little Iven, the fact there are so many castles is the best thing about Shropshire. Whittington Castle is his favourite.

Ms Martindale, a campaigner with climate action champions Extinction Rebellion, wants to see far more investment in public transport.

She had travelled from Greenfields, in Shrewsbury, to Ludlow with a £10 return bus ticket and is an opponent of Shropshire Council's plan to spend £80 million on a relief road for her home town.

"It's not good for Shropshire as a whole," she said. "All it is going to do is infill an area with more housing that we do not have the infrastructure for. How is that going to help Ludlow or anywhere else in the county?"

For Susie Dolphin, 60, who lives with husband Peter near Cleobury Mortimer, the strength of the local community is one of the things that has kept them in Shropshire for 32 years.

"We have lovely countryside and friendly people," said Mrs Dolphin, who runs Dolphin Asset Finance with her husband. "We help each other – there is a community group on WhatsApp where we stay in touch."

Mrs Dolphin, a mother of four, said one of her biggest issues is rural crime. They have been victims of it, having suffered a garage break-in where they had tools stolen.

"There is also an issue with youths congregating and drug-taking in Cleobury Mortimer," she said.

She is also concerned about the state of Shropshire's roads and casts an envious eye over the county's southern border.

"Worcestershire's roads are better," she said.

But when all is considered in the balance, in common with our other random non-scientific survey subjects, she thinks the positives of Shropshire outweigh the negatives.