Bishop's Cleeve
| Bishop's Cleeve | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname(s): Cleeve | |
| County | Gloucestershire |
| Population | |
| • Total | 10,612 |
| Area code(s) | GL |
Bishop's Cleeve is an urbanised village in the Borough of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, near Cheltenham. The village lies at the foot of Cleeve Hill, the highest point in the Cotswolds. Bishop's Cleeve has a population of 10,612[1] and is surrounded by many hamlets and villages. There are 3 Bishop's Cleeve parish wards within the village.
Railway past
Bishop's Cleeve was once served by a railway line, a relative latecomer in British railway history, opened on 1 June 1906 by the Great Western Railway and running from Stratford-upon-Avon to Cheltenham, part of a main line from Birmingham to the South West and South Wales. Bishop's Cleeve railway station along with almost all others on this section closed on 7 March 1960 and was subsequently demolished, but the nearby Cheltenham Racecourse railway station remained in operation for royal visits to the racecourse until 1965; through passenger services continued until 25 March 1968, and goods until 1976 when a derailment (railway accident) at Broadway damaged the line.
With the damage done, It was decided not to bring the section back into use and by 1980 the entire line had been dismantled. However the 12-mile (19 km) stretch of track between Laverton and Cheltenham Racecourse had since been reconstructed, reopened and preserved as the Heritage Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway.
Bishop's Cleeve was also served, though less well, by a station, called Cleeve railway station, on the present Birmingham to Bristol main line (ex-Midland Railway, later LMS), about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to the west, but this station closed on 20 February 1950.
Bishop's Cleeve is bordered by the village of Woodmancote to the east, the former Great Western railway line dividing the two parishes. In November 2012, the population of Bishop's Cleeve was approximately 15,000[2]
Education
Bishop's Cleeve has two primary schools: Grangefield Primary School and Bishop's Cleeve Primary Academy, which was built in 1965.
Cleeve Secondary School is in the south-east of the village, and has over 1,650 pupils .
Geography
Bishop's Cleeve Parish Wards
- Cleeve St Michael's Ward
- Cleeve Grange Ward
- Cleeve West Ward
Bishop's Cleeve is situated in a rural environment, 3-4 miles north of Cheltenham. Around Bishop's Cleeve there are clusters of villages and hamlets. Most are situated in the green-belt and are 'places of outstanding natural beauty'. Although Bishop's Cleeve is a large urbanised village, it is set amid superb Cotswold countryside.
Development
In 2010, the development of 450 houses began at Homelands Farm, with the developers, Comparo, wanting to build an extra 550 houses on top of this. This was rejected by Tewkesbury Borough Council in 2007, but the developers appealed to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government about the decision, which triggered a full planning inquiry. The main concerns stated were the strain on the local infrastructure it would create, and that the site is prone to flooding. Tewkesbury Borough Council persevered to stop the developments from being built. But in 2013 the Secretary of State upheld the appeal, so 550 dwellings are to be built in the north-west of Bishop's Cleeve and a further 500 dwellings between Gotherington and Cleeve. Within the accepted developments there are many more shops, sports facilities such as a gym, swimming pool or other entertainment sports and plans for a 'mega surgery'. Once the development goes ahead Bishop's Cleeve will soon become overwhelmingly bigger than Tewkesbury, which is the Borough Town.
There are future plans for Gloucestershire Police to build a new 'Police HQ' in Bishop's Cleeve near GE Aviation. This would benefit the village after the closure of the police station in 2012 to make way for a small housing development on Cheltenham Road. Recently old garages on the Smith's Estate in Bishop's Cleeve are being demolished to make way for more houses and make the surrounding area more appealing.
Local shops and businesses
There are over 50 shops in the village, with two large superstores and many large local businesses.
There are retail shops in Church Road, Tobyfield Road and The Green. Shops include Cleeve Clothes a ladies clothes shop, George Lewis Footware, Post Office, Printer, Hairdressers, Estate Agents, Gift Shop, Butchers, Green Grocer, Video Rental including national chains.
US Retailer Walmart have announced plans to build a new store in Bishops's Cleeve but according to current plans will result in the purchase and demolishment of many houses in the area. This is part of their wider plan to rebrand Asda as Walmart in the UK. Demolition work is scheduled to begin in Spring 2016.
There is a large industrial estate with many employers as well as a gym and other facilities. There is also a large business HQ shared by Capita and Zurich behind Grangefield School. GE Aviation also own a large collection of industrial buildings to the west of the A-road through the village. As well as GE there are many hangars used by companies for helicopter construction and flying; these are especially used during the races in Cheltenham.
Sport & leisure
Bishop's Cleeve has a Non-League football team, Bishop's Cleeve F.C., who play at Kayte Lane. Bishop's Cleeve Colts FC youth football is the grassroots football club that partners BCC FC and has teams from U5s to U16s for both boys and girls, Bishops's Cleeve Colts F.C. There is also a local sports and arts centre on Two Hedges Road, which provides tarmac netball pitches, hockey pitches, astro-turf pitch, tennis courts, squash courts, and a very large sports hall. There are also plans to build a swimming pool for community use.
There are also two local gyms and large sports fields such as Kayte Lane used by the secondary school, Newlands Park, and plans for four football pitches in the new development to the north west of Bishop's Cleeve.
Cheltenham North RFC play at a ground to the west of the village, next to Grundon and the industrial estate on Stoke Orchard Road.
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bishop's Cleeve. |
- St Michael's Church Bishop's Cleeve
- Bishop's Cleeve Parish Council
- Bishop's Cleeve Tithe Barn
- BBC Gloucestershire: 360° photos of Bishop's Cleeve
- BBC Gloucestershire: Bishop's Cleeve photos
- This is Gloucestershire
- A collection of historical maps and photographs
Coordinates: 51°56′51″N 2°03′39″W / 51.9474°N 2.0609°W