| South Woodham Ferrers | |
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South Woodham Ferrers
South Woodham Ferrers shown within Essex |
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| Population | 16,629 approx. |
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| OS grid reference | TQ812970 |
| District | Chelmsford |
| Shire county | Essex |
| Region | East |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CHELMSFORD |
| Postcode district | CM3 |
| Dialling code | 01245 |
| Police | Essex |
| Fire | Essex |
| Ambulance | East of England |
| EU Parliament | East of England |
| UK Parliament | Maldon |
| List of places: UK • England • Essex | |
South Woodham Ferrers is a town and civil parish in the borough of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It is approximately 35 mi (56 km) from London and, according to the 2001 census, has a population of 16,629. The town is located east of Fenn Creek, and near where it meets the River Crouch. South Woodham Ferrers is currently part of the Maldon constituency represented by John Whittingdale.
South Woodham Ferrers is today considered to be a generally affluent commuter town.
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The railway station was originally built in the early 20th century to serve the small village of Woodham Ferrers, which lies a mile or so to the north of South Woodham Ferrers, above the valley where the railway runs. The town of South Woodham Ferrers itself grew up around the station, but underwent dramatic growth as part of a planned development in the late 1970s. The final phase of the town's development has occurred in the last two years with a new area of building near Fenn Creek.
In 1981 HM Queen Elizabeth II opened the town square, which is named after her.
Many street names in the south-western part of the town, developed as part of the second wave of building in the 1980s, are taken from the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, with names such as Gandalf's Ride, Gimli Watch, Rivendell Vale, Celeborn Street, Hobbiton Hill and Arwen Drive.
Bushy Hill is technically part of South Woodham Ferrers and lies to the north of the town. It is known locally as "Radar Hill" due to having been visually dominated[1] by a radar testing site. This site was operated by a number of the former Marconi[2] companies including Alenia Marconi Systems, and more recently (currently?) operated by BAE Systems in the process of developing various radar technologies,[3] some of which is for military orientated projects. While the site remains in use, the large dish which earned the hill its nick-name has since been removed. Online mapping services such as Google Maps clearly show the site in use, including a "H" pad is located there for the landing of helicopters. The public footpath around the site passes the entrance sign warning of "helicopters landing, danger of radiation" and other such dangers associated with a working radar testing site. The actual inner workings of the site are well secured with a security gatehouse, anti-climb harass fencing and a number of well placed CCTV cameras.[4] Bushy Hill was also known locally, before Marconi came to use it, as "Landslip Hill", referring to the south face of the hill which has slid away leaving a bare escarpment, clearly visible from the village. From the west-side of the present Marconi site, trailing off towards Edwin's Hall, is a woodland of mature trees, sometimes called "Bluebell Wood". During snowy winters, Bushy Hill is very popular for sledging.
The main secondary school in the town is William de Ferrers School, the first intake of which was in 1982. South Woodham Ferrers is home to five primary schools: Collingwood, Elmwood, St. Josephs RC, Trinity St. Mary's C of E and Woodville. Chetwood Primary School was closed in 2009.
The town centre consists of around 100 business units. Approximately 45% are retail premises, with the remainder being a combination of professional services (such as banks and estate agents) and dining locations such as cafes and restaurants.
The supermarket chain Asda is regarded as a key development partner for the town centre, opening a store in the town in late 1978 which made them the principal retailer in the town. In 2001 Essex County Council sold the freehold for the vast majority of the town to Asda, who in turn sold a package of land and property to SW Investments. As a result of these sales, Asda own the town's car parks, Queen Elizabeth II Square and approximately one third of the shop premises in the town centre. SW Investments owns most of the remaining areas in the town centre, including Market Square, with the remaining premises having a variety of private owners.
Because Asda is such a focus for the town centre, many perceive it as dominating the area. Sporadically the local newspapers carry letters from a small number of residents complaining about the situation, often accusing the company of charging excessive rents, abusing their position, and controlling the shops in the town. These letters often culminate in calls to boycott Asda, yet very few residents seem to take part in such proposed boycotts. Despite the complaints, a number of small businesses have existed in the town centre for significant periods, with a number closing for various reasons, the most commonly given being a lack of support from the local community.
Chelmsford Borough Council has recently entered a consultation period with a number of groups in the town, including the local business group, over the future development of the town centre.
Home to the local football club and cricket team, the village hall is a well known feature of the town. It offers special events such as monthly and weekly football and cricket matches.
In Summer 2006, South Woodham Ferrers elected its first town mayor, Councillor Ian Roberts.
South Woodham Ferrers Rugby Club has its own purpose built Club House at Saltcoats Park. They are a young club of some 25 years standing and have one of the strongest Juniors and Minis sections in the south east, running teams at all ages between under 7 and under 16. The youth section consists of under 17s and colts and have three senior teams, a veterans team and a ladies team. The First Team is in the London North East Third Division.
South Woodham Ferrers Cricket Club currently runs three teams in the T Rippon Mid-Essex League, playing home games at Saltcoats Park & the village hall.
South Woodham Ferrers is home to a number of amateur football teams. These include Focus Ferrers, Fennlands and Woodham Radars.
South Woodham Ferrers has good road transport links: The A132 lies to the north of the town, which leads to the A130, a road linking Chelmsford to Canvey Island) and then into Wickford and to the A127 and A13 in Basildon. The B1012 road connects SWF with the Dengie peninsula, including the towns of Burnham and Maldon. The town is also served by South Woodham Ferrers railway station, (formally Woodham Ferrers station until May 2007) a station on the single track Crouch Valley Line which runs hourly trains between Wickford and Southminster. During rush hour however, trains continue on from Wickford to London Liverpool Street. The relative infrequency of the train service is due to the track being a single line over most of its distance to Wickford, meaning trains cannot pass each other, except for a 2 line passing point at Fambridge station. Notably, the branch line was more substantial in the past, operating a double line, but this was removed during the 'Beeching Axe' of British railways in the 1960s. It is thought however, that the line has also survived in part, remaining open in its current form due to its servicing of nearby but no longer operational Bradwell Power Station. A weekly train load of used or "spent" nuclear fuel replaced one of the timetabled passenger train services for many years. The material was taken by road from Bradwell to Southminster, and then by train for reprocessing, usually at Sellafield in Cumbria.
There are a number of bus routes connecting South Woodham Ferrers with towns in the surrounding area:
There are also other buses which serve a number of the villages in the Dengie Peninsula.
Due to the way the town is laid out, it is very easy to walk or cycle from one side of town to the other, and there is also a Golden Jubilee Walk, which was created in honour of Queen Elizabeth II for her Golden Anniversary in 2002. A coastal path walk, providing an attractive view of the Crouch Valley/Estuary can be picked up from the Compass Gardens area, and either heads towards the nearby village of Fambridge in one direction, or Battlesbridge in the other.
Places of interest include "The William De Ferrers Sports Centre" (providing public facilities for swimming, badminton, tennis,fitness room, and home to multiple other sporting clubs and activies such as football, hockey, netball, gymnastics etc)), "Marsh Farm Country Park", "Tropical Wings" Butterfly & Animal/Bird Collection, "Compass Gardens", "Saltcoats Park" and the "Memorial Park". South Woodham Ferrers is also home to the Crouch Vale Brewery, whose ale won the 2005 and 2006 Champion Beer of Britain at the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Great British Beer Festival.
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