Merley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Merley is a large housing estate in the borough of Poole, a mile (2 km) south of Wimborne Minster. Originally called Myrle, Merley was a manor in the tithing of Great Canford (or Canford Magna). The housing estate was originally going to be called "Oakley Garden Village", note Oakley Shops and other signposts around the community but the name was changed. The housing estate only covers part of the area that was originally called Merley/Myrle. The estate is mainly populated by lower-middle class people and families.

Merley has its own football Team "Merley Allendale YFC" who practice at Merley first school and in Fenners field.

Merley has many large green areas, which were an interesting mistake made by the developers. The developers had a planning order for a certain number of houses and thought if they left lots of green space at a later date they could re-apply and fit more houses in, but fortunately for the residents the planning agency stood their ground and no more than the original number of dwellings were constructed. In one location on the estate space was however left for a footpath linking two of the cul-de-sacs on the first road built, but an extra house was squeezed into the latter, preventing the path's creation.

Contents

[edit] Statistics

Merley is part of the greater ward called "Merley and Bearwood" and here are some statistics on this area:

[edit] People

  • 10629 people live in Merley and Bearwood.
  • There are about 4078 dwellings in the ward
  • There are 2228 people over the age of 60 living in this ward
  • 52.54% of people over the age of 16 are currently married.

[edit] Housing

  • 88.99% of residents either own their homes outright or with a mortgage.
  • 5.27% of residents live in council or housing association homes.
  • 4.27% of residents live in privately rented homes.

[edit] Environment

  • The population density of Merley and Bearwood is approximately 1673 people per square mile (646/km²).
  • The actual size of the ward is 6.4 square miles (17 km²).

[edit] Employment

  • The biggest industry in this area (with 16.62% of people) are the wholesale and retail trade motor mechanic industries.
  • The biggest male industry in this area (with 21.86% of males) is the manufacturing industry.
  • The biggest females industry in this area (with 21.84% of females) is the health and social work industry.

Source: First release of the 2001 Census data, released in September 2002.

[edit] History

The 1970's housing estate surrounding Sopwith Crescent was built over a period of several years from the Oakley Straight end on former farmland. It was originally called Oakley Garden Village by the developers, but soon became incorporated into the adjacent older village.

[edit] Landmarks (amenities)

  • Lantern Church
  • Oakley Shopping Center with butchers, a Nisa Shop, a Pharmacy and a Chinese takeaway
  • Merley First School
  • Merley Community Center
  • The Public house The Willet Arms
  • The Park
  • Fenners Field
  • The privately run Canford School is located nearby.
  • Down in the Woods - Youth Club and Playground
  • The Pulse Christian Youth Club is also located nearby

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 50.78427° N 1.97016° W