Blackwater, Hampshire

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Blackwater






Statistics
Population:
Ordnance Survey
OS grid reference:	SU855595
Administration
Parish:	Blackwater and Hawley
District:	Hart
Shire county:	Hampshire
Region:	South East England
Constituent country:	England
Sovereign state:	United Kingdom
Other
Ceremonial county:	Hampshire
Historic county:	Hampshire
Services
Police force:	Hampshire Constabulary
Fire and rescue:	{{{Fire}}}
Ambulance:	South East Coast
Post office and telephone
Post town:	CAMBERLEY
Postal district:	GU15
Dialling code:	01252, 01276
Politics
UK Parliament:	Aldershot
European Parliament:	South East England

Blackwater is a small town in the northeastern corner of Hampshire, lying in the county's Hart District.

It is situated on the borders of both Berkshire and Surrey about 5 km (3 miles) north of Farnborough, 3 km ( 2 miles) west of the adjoining town of Camberley and 25 km (16 miles) east of Basingstoke on the A30 road. Blackwater is situated 49 km (31 miles) southwest of London. An old marker stone signpost near the Agincourt club on the A30, in western Camberley marks 30 miles, and an old stone on the A30 London Road, near the Hawley Hill roundabout marks 32 miles. Blackwater centre is situated directly midway between these.

This relative proximity to the capital (the nearest point in Hampshire, and closer than much of Berkshire) has made the town popular with commuters. Blackwater is part of the Blackwater Valley conurbation which includes the towns of Farnborough, Aldershot, Camberley, Sandhurst, Yateley, Frimley and Farnham. The River Blackwater flows through the length of this urban area. The town lies at the point where the A30 trunk road from London to Land's End crosses the River Blackwater. It is served by Blackwater railway station which is on the main line almost precisely mid-way between Reading and Guildford.

Due to its postal location, it is commonly perceived that the town lies in Surrey, as a western suburb of neighbouring Camberley. It is in fact just within Hampshire, the boundary being marked by a road bridge crossing both the River Blackwater and a main rail line (near Blackwater rail station), and the Hampshire county sign. The town is somewhat unusual in that it is covered by two separate STD dialling codes, the 01252 (Farnborough area) and 01276 (Camberley area) prefixes. Furthermore, televisions on the north side of the town (around the Frogmore and Darby Green districts) are set-up to receive the Meridian broadcasting signal (for central-southern England) whilst the south side of the town, plus the adjacent sub-village of Hawley, receives an ITV London signal (covering southeastern England and London).

Blackwater has occasionally received a bad press for the look of its built environment, especially given that it is a 'gateway' town into Hampshire on a main national route (the A30) and is deemed not to give a good first impression of the county. The 'high street' area (the A30) is a dual-carriageway lined by an unkempt 1960s shopping parade and a large, unsightly brick building which is now an Aldi supermarket. A new Lidl supermarket was built opposite Aldi in 2003, cementing residents' fears that the town was only attracting 'cheap and cheerful' (or even 'downmarket') retail outlets. However, given the fact major shopping complexes such as The Meadows (less than 1 km away in Sandhurst) and The Main Square (in Camberley) are in very close proximity to the town, this is perhaps not surprising. Rush-hour traffic is also a considerable problem as the town is situated on a major traffic intersection. It is just 2 km north of the M3 motorway (at junction 4) with the A30, which is effectively the town's 'high street', resembling a car park for at least three hours of every day. However, much of Blackwater consists of several highly desirable housing areas covering many different styles, interspersed with larger swathes of 1960s housing.

[edit] Sub-villages of Blackwater

There are two sub-villages to the north, Frogmore and Darby Green, which are generally considered as districts of Blackwater (as they are within the same GU17 postcode), however, these technically fall within the auspices of the larger town of Yateley, situated 3 km to the northwest (under Yateley Town Council), even though they merge with the Blackwater urban area rather than with Yateley. Frogmore has its own modern village hall, village green, church, pub and a small shopping parade. Darby Green has a shopping parade (including a Tesco Express), a pub and a small youth centre. There is also a modern medical surgery between the two sub-villages on Frogmore Road.

The sub-village of Hawley, which has its own village hall, primary school, church, private leisure centre, cricket ground and equestrian centre, lies less than 1 km to the south, on the road towards Farnborough and is regarded as one of the most affluent communities within the entire Blackwater Valley area.