Branksome Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Branksome Park is a suburb of Poole in Dorset, which adjoins Branksome. The area covers approximately 360 acres, mostly occupied by housing, and includes Branksome Chine which leads to the award-winning blue-flagged beaches of Poole.
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[edit] The Area
Branksome Park is one of Poole's most desirable areas alongside Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs, Evening Hill, Lilliput, and Salterns Marina.
It is on the border of Poole, with Bournemouth being on the other side of The Avenue.
House prices vary in the area. There are small 1960s flats costing just under £200,000 and mansions costing well over £3 million. A new mansion called Sleon House was recently built with a price tag of £5,250,000; it comes with 10,000 square feet of land.
Many people prefer Branksome Park to some of its neighbouring areas due to the tranquillity of the beaches and roads. It is also within walking distance of the shopping area of Westbourne and a quick bus journey to The Square in the centre of Bournemouth.
Unlike Sandbanks, there are no expensive homes right on the waterfront and there are far fewer properties that have sea views like Canford Cliffs. Many of the most exclusive houses will be front right in the heart of the area where the houses and plots are much grander.
The area's nightlife is normally much more relaxed than in the areas around it which have a large number of trendy restaurants, cafés etc, although the area, like all the opulent seaside areas around it, does yet a large number of visitors during the summer season and from the fireworks which are shown once a week in the summertime on Sandbanks beach.
As life in Branksome Park is normally much calmer than many of Poole's other seaside areas, a large percentage of the elderly people in Poole like to live in the area (Poole Town and Parkstone also have a high percentage). The population of elderly people (mainly over 85) in the area is expected to rise even more by 2025.
In Branksome Park there are also tennis courts, a bowling field, a small library, nursing homes, the All Saints Church constructed in 1877, and a school for disabled children which is located on the outskirts of the area, opposite a small Tesco.
[edit] The Architecture
Branksome Park does not have as many ultra modern buildings as some of its neighbouring seaside-suburban areas, but architects such as Eddie Mitchell (owner of Seven Developments), have made some truly controversial masterpieces such as the multi award winning Thunderbird which has an impressive 6,000 square foot, and rumours say may be in the next James Bond movie as an energy plant.
[edit] The overdevelopment of Branksome Park
A big problem for the area though is massive overdevelopment mainly in the more affordable parts of Branksome Park which tend to be nearer the shopping areas.
According to the rules on development in Branksome Park, you cannot build more than one house on a 3/4 of an acre plot land, although it appears that the rule is not followed 100% of the time.
On many roads, large Victorian houses with good-sized plots have been knocked down to make way for a large number of modern mock-Victorian flats or town houses
Many of the roads in Branksome Park have few or no houses left due to the popularity of the area, but the mayoress of Poole did promise a slowing down in development in the area. Sadly though that promise was not kept; in 2006, two houses were demolished to make way for 21 town houses, and even more development is said to continue including a stunning mansion within grounds of 2 acres will be completely demolished so 14 townhouses can be constructed.
[edit] Victory over the mobile phone masts
On June 10th 2005, the U.K.'s mobile phone company Orange asked Poole council for permission to place a mobile phone mast in the junction of Western Avenue and Bury Road. Five days later, another well known phone company, Vodafone asked if they could put even more masts in Branksome Park (by Cerne Abbas), Canford Cliffs, Lower Parkstone and Lilliput. Vodafone asked if they could install two 20 metre high phone masts and the idea of having one by Cerne Abbas was withdrawn, but the other mast in the Avenue was rejected.
On 27 February 2006, the idea for having telephone masts on the junction of Bury Road and Western Avenue was also rejected.
[edit] Who's lived in Branksome Park
A noted resident of Branksome Park was Wilfred Rhodes, who died there. Queen Elizabeth II had a house in Branksome Park called Cerne Abbas (named after the historic village in Dorset), which was later turned into a retirement home for war veterans, but unfortunately like many houses in the area, it was knocked down and a large number of houses (mainly town houses) where placed there instead. Other people who once resided in Branksome Park included Bob Monkhouse, Max Bygraves, J. R. R. Tolkien, Tony Blackburn and Tom Jones. According to the media, David and Victoria Beckham considered living in the area.
Liam Gallagher could also be living in the area as in November 2006, as he put in an offer for 'the Thunderbird'. However, the architect (Eddie Mitchell of Seven Developments), is yet to confirm the offer due to interest from a large number of viewers.
