Seneffe

Seneffe
Municipality
Château de Seneffe
Coat of arms
Seneffe Location in Belgium
Location of Seneffe in Hainaut
Coordinates: 50°31′N 04°15′E / 50.517°N 4.250°ECoordinates: 50°31′N 04°15′E / 50.517°N 4.250°E
Country	Belgium
Community	French Community
Region	Wallonia
Province	Hainaut
Arrondissement	Charleroi
Government
• Mayor	Philippe Bouchez (PS)
• Governing party/ies	PS, CDH
Area
• Total	62.77 km^2 (24.24 sq mi)
Population (1 January 2013)[1]
• Total	11,006
• Density	180/km^2 (450/sq mi)
Postal codes	7180, 7181
Area codes	064
Website	www.seneffe.be

Seneffe is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Seneffe had a total population of 10,743. The total area is 62.77 km² which gives a population density of 171 inhabitants per km².

The municipality consists of the following sub-municipalities: Seneffe proper, Arquennes, Familleureux, Feluy, and Petit-Rœulx-lez-Nivelles.

The Castle of Seneffe, now a museum belonging to the French Community of Belgium, is located in the municipality.

British Leyland

Between 1965 and 1982 Seneffe was the location of a car plant belonging to British Leyland, which in its later years assembled models including the Mini and the Austin Allegro from crated kits shipped from the company's Cowley facility.^[2] A significant milestone was reached in June 1977 when the plant produced its 500,000th vehicle, an Austin Allegro 1300 Special.^[3] The Seneffe plant was closed in 1982 as the company's aging model range lost market share across Europe, with further loss of demand resulting from the depressed state of the UK economy at the time. With alternative employment opportunities limited, the plant closure triggered considerable bitterness locally.

References

1. Population per municipality on 1 January 2013 (XLS; 607.5 KB)
2. "Deeper into Europe". Autocar. Vol. 136 (nbr 3975). 22 June 1972. pp. 2–3.
3. "News: Belgians build ½-millionth Leyland". Autocar. Vol. 146 (nbr 4205). 11 June 1977. p. 19.

External links

• Media related to Seneffe at Wikimedia Commons