Bracknell Forest

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Geography
Status:	Unitary, Borough
Region:	South East England
Ceremonial County:	Berkshire
Area: - Total	Ranked 238th 109.38 km²
Admin. HQ:	Bracknell
ONS code:	00MA
Demographics
Population: - Total (2006 est.) - Density	Ranked 187th 112,200 1026 / km²
Ethnicity[1]:	92.4% White 3.6% S.Asian 1.4% Black 1.5% Mixed 1.1% Chinese or Other
Politics
Bracknell Forest Borough Council http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/
Leadership:	Leader & Cabinet
Executive:	Conservative
MPs:	Adam Afriyie, Andrew Mackay

Bracknell Forest is a unitary authority and borough in Berkshire in southern England. It covers the towns of Bracknell, North Ascot, Sandhurst, Crowthorne and surrounding villages and hamlets.

[edit] History

Bracknell Forest was formed on April 1, 1974, as the non-metropolitan district of Bracknell. The district took on the territory of the former Easthampstead Rural District (in which the Bracknell new town had been developed). It changed its name in May 1988, at the same time as it was granted borough status.

On April 1, 1998, Berkshire County Council was abolished, as a consequence of the Banham Review, and Bracknell Forest Borough Council became a unitary authority.

Since 1973, Bracknell Forest has been twinned with Opladen in Germany, continued by Leverkusen after Opladen's incorporation in 1975.

[edit] The Forest

Main article: Swinley Woods

There is no forest called 'Bracknell Forest'. This name is often confused with Swinley Forest (or Woods), which is an area of the Windsor Estate between Bracknell and Bagshot. Owned and managed by the Crown Estates, it comprises 2,600 acres (11 km²) of woodland (mainly Scots Pine). It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and has protected areas for the birds that live there.

It also provides some of the best mountain biking in South-East England, with many off road 'single-track' trails available as well as plenty of fire roads. (Mountain biking is permitted with a permit)

[edit] Civil parishes

• Binfield
• Bracknell
• Crowthorne (partially in the Wokingham Borough Council)
• Sandhurst
• Warfield
• Winkfield

[edit] References

1. ^ Lead View Table

[edit] See also

• Regions of England

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