Oakwood, Derbyshire

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Oakwood
Oakwood, Derbyshire (Derbyshire)
Oakwood, Derbyshire

Oakwood shown within Derbyshire
Population 13,450
OS grid reference SK381383
Shire county Derbyshire
Region East Midlands
Constituent country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town DERBY
Postcode district DE21
Dialling code 01332
Police Derbyshire
Fire Derbyshire
Ambulance East Midlands
European Parliament East Midlands
UK Parliament Mid Derbyshire
List of places: UKEnglandDerbyshire

Coordinates: 52°55′59″N 1°24′58″W / 52.933, -1.416

Oakwood shopping centre, April 2007.
Oakwood shopping centre, April 2007.
Bluebells, Chaddesden Wood, April 2007.
Bluebells, Chaddesden Wood, April 2007.
Springwood Leisure Centre, April 2007.
Springwood Leisure Centre, April 2007.

Oakwood is a modern housing estate in Derby, UK, built mainly in the 1980s and 1990s.

It is one of the largest new housing estates in Europe and, as such, is a major settlement in its own right. It is situated on the outskirts of the city, bordering the suburb of Chaddesden, which is one of the largest council housing estates in England. Oakwood is built on land which used to be known as Chaddesden Common, It has three clusters of shops, the largest of which has all the amenities of a large village. The last new houses to be built in Oakwood were completed towards the end of 2001.

The original oak wood, from which the area is named, has been preserved as Chaddesden Wood Nature Reserve, and is maintained by the council. It is the only ancient oak woodland in the city of Derby. In 1991, it was declared a local nature reserve. The wood contains a nature trail open to the public, roughly one kilometre long.

There is also a sizeable park surrounding a modern community centre, as well as many smaller areas, or "green wedges" that have been designed to provide routes throughout the estate for use by walkers and wildlife.

A leisure centre, a school and a football academy are also situated within Oakwood. The leisure centre was first planned by a private businessman before being taken over and completed by the council. The school promised from early on in the development of Oakwood is a primary school (ages 3-11) that caters for some of the children living within the local community (although it is far too small to cater for all of them). The football academy at Moor Farm is owned by Derby County Football Club who moved to the premises from their old training ground, the RamArena, at Raynesway.

There are still remains of an old small railway line on the green area at the roundabout of Oakwood Drive and Bishops Drive. This small railway was privately owned and is thought to have stretched south down to the old Chaddesden village and as far north as the old mainline just north of the suburb.