Hackbridge

Hackbridge

Roofs of the BedZED zero energy homes
Hackbridge
 Hackbridge shown within Greater London
OS grid referenceTQ285685
London borough Sutton
Ceremonial county Greater London
RegionLondon
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town WALLINGTON
Postcode district SM6
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
EU Parliament London
UK ParliamentCarshalton and Wallington
London Assembly Croydon and Sutton
List of places
UK
England
London

Coordinates: 51°24′03″N 0°09′06″W / 51.4009°N 0.1517°W

Hackbridge is a suburb in the London Borough of Sutton, south-west London. It is situated 9 miles (14.6 km) south-west of Charing Cross.

Hackbridge was home to the first Country dogs home opened by the Duke and Duchess of Portland. It is currently most notable for being home to the multi-award winning BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) eco-friendly housing development.

Hackbridge Masterplan

The London Borough of Sutton is working to make Hackbridge the 'UK's first truly sustainable suburb'. There has been a regeneration scheme in Hackbridge which has a number of developments on many sites. These are mentioned as part of the Hackbridge Regeneration. Detailed plans include proposals for new eco-friendly homes, more shops, leisure and community facilities, jobs, sustainable transport and pedestrian/ cycle initiatives, improved networks and open spaces.[1]

A key part of this is a £150m plan to redevelop the one million square foot former Felnex industrial estate, which has now gained redevelopment approval from the Greater London Authority. The development, which will become "one of the greenest places to live in the UK", will be centred on a public square and will see 725 homes built, as well as a new supermarket, doctor’s surgery, care home, offices and workshops, additional shops and a bus interchange. Work was expected to begin as soon as detailed consent was obtained for the first phase, which was expected to be in early 2013.[2]

BedZED

General view of BedZED

Hackbridge has already achieved success in its green agenda in the form of the acclaimed BedZED (Beddington Zero Energy Development) eco-friendly housing development, which is located around 500 yards north of Hackbridge railway station. Designed to create zero carbon emissions, it was the first large scale community to do so.[3] BedZED utilises a number of innovative technologies to enable it to operate with zero energy use. It has attracted wide interest over the past decade since it was built, and, among other examples of recognition, it was shortlisted for the Stirling Prize for architecture in 2003. Key features of BedZED include:

Geography

Interior of All Saints Church, Hackbridge
Victorian cottages in central Hackbridge
2013 apartment building in London Road opposite Hackbridge railway station
The River Wandle within Beddington Park
Location

Hackbridge is located on the River Wandle in the London Borough of Sutton, about two miles north east of the town of Sutton itself.

Architecture

Hackbridge has a fairly wide range of architecture, but is mainly Victorian in the central area.

There are also a number of 21st century buildings, the most notable being the environmentally-friendly BedZED development (see above); but a further example is the large and just completed (in 2013) Centrale apartment building (see photo) located in London Road, opposite the railway station.

Churches

The parish church of Hackbridge and Beddington Corner was built in 1931 (see photo of interior). The architect was H.P. Burke-Downing, and it is located opposite BedZED on the London Road.

Open Space

Beddington Park, through which the River Wandle flows, is a quarter of a mile south of Hackbridge railway station. It is nearly 100 acres in size and is maintained by the London Borough of Sutton. It was originally part of the Deer Park attached to Carew Manor, a grand country house built in the Tudor period, which stands to this day. It comprises a large area of open grassland with small clumps of trees, with an area of more formal gardens near the Grange restaurant, as well as the lake and pond. The main lake in the south west of the park was originally a mill pond. There are many paths and a number of ornamental bridges (see photo), which cross the stream which feeds the lake: this is part of the River Wandle (a Thames tributary), and the park is on the Wandle Trail. Part of the park is managed as a wildlife site.

Destinations from Hackbridge
Morden Mitcham Thornton Heath
The Wrythe, St. Helier Croydon
   Hackbridge  
Carshalton, Sutton Wallington Beddington

Sport

Nearest professional football club:

Nearest league football club:

Education

Primary education

Famous past residents

Transport

Rail

Hackbridge has a railway station with services to London Victoria, London Blackfriars, Sutton, Wimbledon, London St Pancras, St Albans and Luton. Trains are operated by First Capital Connect and Southern. The station is in Travel Card Zone 4 and the journey time to London Victoria is 25 minutes.

Bus

Hackbridge is served by Transport for London bus routes: 80, 127 and 151.[5]

Tram

The nearest Tram stop to Hackbridge is at Mitcham Junction. Trams go to Wimbledon and Croydon.

External links

Hackbridge Safety First - campaign to make Hackbridge a safer place since the redevelopment of Hackbridge

References

  1. ↑ London Borough of Sutton: Hackbridge Masterplan
  2. ↑ Sutton Guardian 7 June 2012
  3. ↑ Hyde, Richard; Watson, Steve; Cheshire, Wendy; Thompson, Mark (2007), The Environmental Brief: Pathways for Green Design, Taylor and Francis, p. 44, ISBN 978-0-203-96681-5
  4. ↑ "The Paley Center for Media | She Made It | Tracey Ullman". She Made It. 1959-12-30. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
  5. ↑ "Buses from Hackbridge". TfL. Retrieved 2014-03-17.