Buckshaw Village

Buckshaw Village
Buckshaw Village, Chorley
Buckshaw Village  Buckshaw Village shown within Lancashire
Population	4,000
OS grid reference	SD562210
Civil parish	Euxton
District	Chorley
Shire county	Lancashire
Region	North West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CHORLEY
Postcode district	PR7
Dialling code	01772
Police	Lancashire
Fire	Lancashire
Ambulance	North West
EU Parliament	North West England
UK Parliament	Chorley
List of places UK England Lancashire

Coordinates: 53°40′59″N 2°39′50″W / 53.683°N 2.664°W / 53.683; -2.664

Buckshaw Village (often shortened to Buckshaw) is a new residential and industrial area between the towns of Chorley and Leyland in Lancashire, the original area of Buckshaw being part of Euxton. It is one of the largest urban development sites in the North West of England with a population of about 4,000.

The new development is taking place on the former site of the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF) Chorley, and covers several square kilometres. The area of land was known as Buckshaw, before it was requisitioned by the War Office in the 1930s. There is also a Buckshaw Scout team, in two groups.

There are two listed buildings in this area that the ROF had a duty of care over. They are, the smaller Old Worden Hall, which has recently been redeveloped by the Maysand Group,^[1] the ancestral seat of a branch of the Farrington family associated with the Worden Park historical ownership and the other building is Buckshaw Hall, which was built in the 1650s for the Robinson family, land owners from Chorley.^[2]

Sustainability

Old Worden Hall

The village is being developed in line with sustainable development principles and aims to transform a brownfield former munitions site. All landscaping is designed so that no earth is transported off-site^[3] with the stripped top soil now present in mounds dotted around the village. A trial scheme is in progress which uses recycled garden waste combined with sandy clay loam to produce compost.^[4] The compost is then spread over the mounds to produce woodland areas and green public spaces.

The transport strategy also incorporates sustainable principles with cycle lanes and public transport included in the masterplan. Improvements to the neighbouring M6 and M61 junctions have also been made.^[3] Public transport is also catered for by the new railway station that has been built.

Designing for storm water drainage run-off uses sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)^[3] which ensure no discharge leaves the site into neighbouring water courses. Measures include roadside verge soakaways and the use of retention ponds which are fully integrated into the landscaping.

Amenities include a village centre (developed by Eden Park Developments Ltd) with shops and all-weather sports pitches with future plans including a primary school^[3] and medical centre. Planning permission was approved in February 2007 for a community centre which will also provide office facilities for the local police.

Industry / Commerce

Industrial units in Buckshaw Village

Two halves of the development are separated by a major new road called Central Avenue. To the west is an industrial and commercial centre known as Matrix Business Park.^[5] Planning permission^[6] was granted in January 2007 for Buckshaw Village's first pub. The Pub which is owned and run by Marston's was named the Bobbin Mill, and is situated in Plot 1000B^[7] of Matrix Park, which opened on 7 April 2008.

Another major road named Buckshaw Avenue has been built running West-East through Buckshaw Village connecting Central Avenue to the A6. Buckshaw Avenue opened to the public in May 2007.

Revolution Park

Plans were announced in February 2006 for a new industrial development called Revolution Park^[8] by property developers HelioSlough (a joint venture between Helios Properties plc and Slough Estates). The 30 hectare site is accessed via Buckshaw Avenue and is situated in the south-east portion of the Buckshaw Village site. This is adjacent to the 2½ hectare plot occupied by Lex Auto Logistics' new distribution centre completed in late 2006.

Buckshaw Link

Another commercial development by Helioslough called Buckshaw Link had been built and completed by late 2010 and all the businesses were in place by 2011. The industrial estate is situated on land to the west of Revolution Park. A number of warehouse and industrial units are situated there, with 4 acres (16,000 m²) of space left over for other usage.

Multipart Solutions Limited the successor to Chorley's Leyland Trucks unit moved to a new purpose built site on Buckshaw in 2007.

Badger Office Supplies, the largest supplier of remanufactured ink and 12th fastest growing company in the United Kingdom, is situated near the Tesco supermarket. Merlin Cycles are one of the UK's longest established online bike shops and mail order specialists. They are based in unit A1, Ordnance Road^[9]

Housing

Housing development in Buckshaw Village, reminiscent of 19th-century warehouses

Up to 2000 new housing units are being built by various housebuilders including Redrow, Barratt Homes, Persimmon and Rowland Homes. The homes are mainly targeted at the family market but many of the new homes are also specifically aimed at first-time buyers with measures such as shared ownership schemes. Additionally, a joint venture between the Hica Group and Caddick Group sees the construction of a new retirement village designed to accommodate 200 homes aimed at over 55's. This will be situated to the west of Central Avenue adjacent to BAE Systems.

There is also an eco-friendly village built in conjunction with scientists from University of Manchester, who are testing various experimental and environmentally friendly principles. The homes will use a variety of energy sources, from geo-thermal and solar power to wind energy. The scheme is now a show village after opening on 25 May 2006.

Transport

Road connections nearby include the motorways M6 and M61, as well as the A6 and A49 roads.

Buckshaw Parkway railway station serves the village and opened on 3 October 2011. The railway station is situated opposite Runshaw College.

A bus service run jointly by John Fishwick and Stagecoach offers connections to Chorley, Leyland and Preston on route number 109. Stagecoach also run service 10 between Chorley and Buckshaw Village via Astley Village during the daytime every 30 minutes.

The developers of Buckshaw Village have incorporated an extensive cycle network into the masterplan and were awarded the 2005 Sustrans National Cycle Network Award for Excellence for Developer Infrastructure.^[10] Buckshaw Village forms part of the National Cycle Route 55 of the National Cycle Network.

Divisions

The "Green Man" sculpture

Buckshaw Village is currently split with sections in three Parish and Borough boundaries. Matrix Park and much of the north west side of the village is in Leyland (i.e. South Ribble Borough Council) with a few homes on the Eastern side when built falling within the Whittle-le-Woods parish boundary. The majority of the homes will be in the parish of Euxton as part of the Astley & Buckshaw Borough Ward. Both Euxton and Whittle-le-Woods Parish Councils fall within Chorley Borough Council.

It is understood Chorley borough will adopt all of Buckshaw Village within its boundaries once the development is complete with the village perhaps eventually having its own parish council. -

Bomb Scare

A suspicious package was found within an industrial unit in Buckshaw village on the 29th of January 2016. The package was made safe by bomb disposal experts and was later found to be of no risk and genuine correspondence to the company involved.^[11]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buckshaw Village.