Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
| Bletchley and Fenny Stratford | |
  Bletchley and Fenny Stratford |
|
| Population | 15,313 [1] |
|---|---|
| OS grid reference | SP868338 |
| Civil parish | Bletchley and Fenny Stratford |
| Unitary authority | Milton Keynes |
| Ceremonial county | Buckinghamshire |
| Region | South East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | MILTON KEYNES |
| Postcode district | MK2 |
| Dialling code | 01908 |
| Police | Thames Valley |
| Fire | Buckinghamshire |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| EU Parliament | South East England |
| UK Parliament | Milton Keynes South |
|
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Coordinates: 51°59′34″N 0°43′38″W / 51.9928°N 0.7272°W
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.[2] It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2011 census had a population of 15,313.
The parish includes Brickfields (includes the Blue Lagoon), Central Bletchley (that is, Bletchley east of the West Coast Main Line), Denbigh (Denbigh North, Denbigh East and Denbigh West), Fenny Stratford, Fenny Lock, Granby, Mount Farm and Water Eaton (includes "Lakes Estate").
Central Bletchley
Originally, Bletchley was exclusively west of the railway line and was centred on St. Mary's (Church of England), Bletchley Park, and the Freeman Memorial Methodist chapel on Buckingham Road. This area is now known as Old Bletchley and is the reason why the station faces that way. However, as Bletchley developed, a new centre grew up around Bletchley Road (the road from Fenny Stratford to [Old] Bletchley. In 1966, after a Royal Visit, Bletchley Urban District Council renamed the street as "Queensway".[3]
Central Bletchley is bordered by the West Coast Main Line to the west, the Water Eaton Brook and Water Eaton Road to the south, North Street and Bletchley Leisure Centre to the North and Knowles School/Leon Recreational Ground to the East.
Denbigh
For many years, Denbigh has been an important employment area: perhaps its most famous resident is Marshall Amplification.
In 2005, large commercial developments occurred on the immediate outskirts of Bletchley, although still in the civil parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The supermarket chain Asda-Wal-Mart and the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA built and opened large stores at Denbigh North, northeast of the town centre on Watling Street, and Tesco responded by expanding its Fenny Stratford store (also on Watling Street). Whether or not these new developments accelerate the decline of the town centre remains to be seen.
This same area of development is also home to the new stadium:mk for Milton Keynes Dons F.C.. Many away fans will arrive via Bletchley railway station, and this may bring some added business to the town on their way to the ground. However, most fans will use intercity services to Milton Keynes Central and be bussed to the stadium.
Brickfields
The Blue Lagoon
Milton Keynes has its own nature reserve in Bletchley. The Blue Lagoon attracts many local visitors every day. School children in Bletchley are often taken on trips to learn about the history of this site.
Water Eaton
"The Lakes Estate was the last London overspill estate to be built in Bletchley. It took some time to build – beginning in about 1968 and not being fully completed until 1975."[4]
The Lakes Estate is bordered by Drayton road to the North and West, Stoke road to the East and Lomond drive to the south.
Social issues
The Lakes Estate council estate has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe: 59 in every 1,000 girls aged 15–17 have children. The UK national average is 42 per 1000, again 'comfortably' the highest in Europe.[5]
Borough Council ward
The parish is divided for election to Milton Keynes Council into the Bletchey & Fenny Stratford ward (which includes the eastern part of West Bletchley parish and Eaton Manor ward covering Water Eaton.
See also
References
- ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013
- ↑ Parishes in Milton Keynes – Milton Keynes Council.
- ↑ from "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress": Shopping. (oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club_.
- ↑ http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/eaton-overspill00/Lakes_estate_houses.html from "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress": Lakes Estate. Oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club.
- ↑ GMTV article
External links
- Town Council
- "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress". Oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club describe the post-war expansion of Bletchley by migrants from London.
External links
- 'Parishes : Bletchley with Fenny Stratford and Water Eaton' – Victoria History of the Counties of England, A History of the County of Buckingham: Volume 4 (1927), pp. 274–283.