Woughton

Woughton
Woughton  Woughton shown within Buckinghamshire
Population	13,774 [1]
OS grid reference	SP876369
Civil parish	Woughton on the Green
Unitary authority	Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county	Buckinghamshire
Region	South East
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	MILTON KEYNES
Postcode district	MK6
Dialling code	01908
Police	Thames Valley
Fire	Buckinghamshire
Ambulance	South Central
EU Parliament	South East England
UK Parliament	Milton Keynes South
Website	woughton-pc.gov.uk
List of places UK England Buckinghamshire

Woughton (/ˈwʌftən/ WUF-tən) is a civil parish^[2] in south central Milton Keynes, ceremonial county of Buckinghamshire, England. The parish takes its name from the original ecclesiastic parish of Woughton and the village of Woughton on the Green which was originally within the parish until the parish was split into two separate parishes in April 2012.

Geography and settlements of the parish

Prior to April 2012 the parish also included the communities of Woughton on the Green and Woughton Park. The current boundaries of the parish run from the Netherfield Roundabout (H8/V8), south along the V8 (Marlborough Street) to the rounderbout (H9/V8). Turn west along the Groveway H9 until it reaches the intersection with the A5. It broadly follows the line of the A5 north until it passes underneath Chafron Way H7. It then runs east along the H7 until returning to the Netherfield Roundabout (H8/V8).

The parish comprises the communities of Beanhill, Coffee Hall, Eaglestone, Leadenhall, Netherfield, Peartree Bridge and Tinkers Bridge. Additionally, there are two industrial areas; Bleak Hall and Redmoor.

Beanhill

The building of the Beanhill area of Milton Keynes started in 1973/1974 during a strike by brick makers. Hence phase one was constructed by timber frame with corrugated cladding. The later phase two bungalows are brick-built. From the original build, with the exception of the roads of Capron and Simnel (which are two story houses), the rest of the residential buildings were all bungalows. After construction every new home came with a tree voucher, compliments of The Milton Keynes Development Corporation, known then as the MKDC. More recently there have been additional roads / buildings slotted in. For example where Bracken House now stands there was originally allotments. In 1989 phase three introduced 35 shared ownership homes in the Wheatcroft Close area.

In keeping with the 1970s Milton Keynes culture there were various arts projects within the Beanhill community. Notably the underpass painted in the Wizard of Oz theme, which was between Beanhill and Coffee Hall, at the back of Lammas. Also the Toadstools, created by Sue McFarland, on the field behind Simnel, they are still there. In Beanhill's very early days there was also a street theatre based there called The Beanhill Flat Earth Society. They performed around MK.

Currently Beanhill benefits from local shops, a meeting place, a medical centre, and a first school and a nursery, both called Moorlands, although on different sites.

Bleak Hall

This district, next to the West Coast Main Line, is dedicated to light industry, construction industry supply and 'big shed' retail. The name Bleak Hall derives from a nearby farm. The streets of Bleak Hall are named after characters and places in the book Bleak House by Charles Dickens.

Coffee Hall

Coffee Hall consists of council and privately owned housing and a local shopping centre, including a church, local shop, fish and chip shop and the much loved local Chinese restaurant & takeaway - Beijing Peter. Coffee Hall also houses a first school and the Coffee Hall Out Of School Project (CHOOSP) which offers child minding services for professional parents during office hours. Coffee Hall is located between Leadenhall, Eaglestone, Netherfield & Beanhill. The roads on Coffee Hall are all named after old London coffee houses hence the name Coffee Hall.^[3]

Eaglestone

Eaglestone is home to Milton Keynes General Hospital, a large combined school (Falconhurst) and a retirement village. The layout of Eaglestone's residential area is unique in that it is mostly off road, with houses surrounding picturesque parks with child's playing equipment, outdoor furniture (often used for street parties) and vast quantities of greenery. Eaglestone has a ring road which leads into various parking garage areas with the housing streets themselves away from roads. Eaglestone has a local shopping centre, featuring a hairdressing salon, basketball & squash courts, activity centre, a public house (The Eagle), a veterinarians clinic, an off licence shop and also a much famed and locally popular fish and chip restaurant (The Brothers Fish Bar).

Leadenhall

Leadenhall contains the Woughton Campus of Milton Keynes College, Milton Keynes Academy, St Pauls School, Milton Keynes and Woughton Leisure Centre — including The Pitz performance space. (This general area of the district is usually called Woughton Campus).

Netherfield

Netherfield is a housing estate located opposite Milton Keynes General Hospital, it also has a large shopping district featuring a co-op, public house, African food specialists, kebab house, Chinese takeaway, fish & chip shop and a doctors surgery (The Grove). The Parish Council offices are in Farthing Grove, Netherfield.

The estate was largely designed by Dixon, Jones, Gold and Cross^[4] around 1971, and is essentially modernist; it comprises several long parallel terraces, designed around the landform so that the roofline remains level: homes towards the top of the slopes are single storey; those at the bottom are three storey. The choice of prefabricated construction materials was partly a consequence of a shortage of bricks in the UK at the time. Milton Keynes Council has gradually been renovating the estate, adding a pitched roof when funds permit.

Peartree Bridge

Peartree Bridge is situated to the West of the Grand Union canal. There are two eateries in the area, Sam's Chinese and the Toby Inn restaurant, pub & hotel. Peartree Bridge has a small farm (InterAction) that provides workshops for local children including circus camp, pottery and community friendly underpass painting.

Redmoor

Redmoor is an industrial district. Notable organisations based there include Post Office Parcels.

Tinkers Bridge

Tinkers Bridge is an estate of mainly social housing. It is part of a grid square that also includes Passmore and Woughton Park private housing.

Campaign for a new parish

In 2010, the residents of Woughton On The Green, Woughton Park and Passmore (in the Tinkers Bridge grid square), came together to argue for the parish to be split into two smaller ones – one consisting primarily of private housing and the other of public housing.^[5] In autumn 2010, the campaign was launched after a group of residents surveyed the three estates to find over 90% of those who responded supported the proposal.^[6] In response, the chairman of the community council accused those in favour of elitism, saying 'to divide those communities in an artificial way that divides rich from poor is surely against the very spirit of what we are all seeking to do in Milton Keynes'.^[7] In October 2010, Milton Keynes Borough Councillors, in a recorded vote, voted against the proposal to split the parish into two smaller parishes, however a further review was instigated.^[8] In November 2011, Milton Keynes Council changed this decision and instigated the new parish^[9] which was to operate under the temporary title of Ouzel Valley. Parish elections were held in May 2012 and, at the first meeting of the nine-member parish council, the name of Old Woughton Parish was adopted.^[10]

References

External links

Media related to Woughton at Wikimedia Commons