Newton Leys

Newton Leys, Bletchley
Newton Leys, Bletchley
Newton Leys, Bletchley shown within Buckinghamshire
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town MILTON KEYNES
Postcode district MK3 5
Dialling code 01908
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
EU Parliament South East England
UK Parliament
Website http://www.newtonleys.org.uk

Newton Leys is a district that covers the southern tip of Bletchley; a constituent town of Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, on the boundary of the Borough of Milton Keynes and Aylesbury Vale. At the 2011 Census the population of the district was included in the civil parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The area of Newton Leys within the Milton Keynes boundary forms a part of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford civil parish and is separated from Central Bletchley, Water Eaton and the Lakes Estate by the West Coast Main Line. The area of Newton Leys within the Aylesbury Vale boundary forms a part of the Stoke Hammond civil parish, although the village of Stoke Hammond is situated on the other side of the A4146[1]

Newton Leys within Milton Keynes is a brownfield development and within Aylesbury Vale is greenfield. The full district covers some 104 hectares and comprises development land with housing for up to 1650 homes with employment areas, shops, a school, community facilities, new park, hotel, a care home and leisure facilities built on two former brickworks and farmland. The site his being developed by Taylor Wimpey.[2] Houses have been built at the development by Taylor Wimpey South Midlands, Taylor Wimpey North Thames, Persimmon, and Bovis Homes Group.

The development area sits next to a man-made lake created from the brick making industry, a claypit was flooded to form Jubilee Lake, which has since become known as Willow Lake. The lakes at Newton Leys form part of a sustainable drainage system/balancing pond system designed to manage excess water caused by storms. Jubilee Brooks runs through the centre of the development, which rises north of Drayton Parslow and flows through the settlement towards the West Coast Mainline passing through the Lakes Estate where it joins with the Water Eaton Brook eventually flowing into the River Ouzel.[3]

Newton Leys is bordered by the A4146, the Bletchley Landfill Site operated by FCC Environment, Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve, Newton Longville and Stoke Hammond.[4] The Oxford to Bletchley railway line runs along the northern border of the site, whilst the West Coast Main Line runs to the east of the site.

History of the site

The Bletchley area is rich in Oxford Clay, which has long been used for bricks. There has been brickmaking taking place on the Newton Leys site and the surrounding area from the late 19th century, circa 1897.[5] The brickworks were named Newton Longville Brickworks and were made up of two sites - Jubilee Brickworks which was located on what is now the south of the Newton Leys site, and Bletchley Works which was in the northwest corner of the development site, adjacent to the Oxford to Bletchley railway line.

Jubilee Brickworks closed in 1978[6] and has since been used as farming land for the adjacent Slad Farm. The lake formed by clay extraction at this site was used by anglers for many years and was known as Jubilee Pit[7] The developer has since renamed it Willow Lake. Phase 1, 2 & 3 of the Newton Leys development is in this part of the site.

Bletchley Brickworks closed in September 1990[8] and was planned to be used as landfill, initially by London Brick Landfill, a division of the brickmaking company which owned the site, and was subsequently bought out by Shanks & McEwan.[9] Permission was granted in 2002, and the landfill site has been operated since 2004 by FCC Environment. The original claypits (Fletton Pit, Water Eaton Pit) for the Bletchley Works closed in 1970 and have since become the Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve.[10]

In 1991, a plans to develop the unused parts of the brickworks and the adjoining farmland they owned at Slad Farm were created by The London Brick Company with input from Aylesbury Vale District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Milton Keynes Council, and Milton Keynes Development Corporation.[11] Outline planning permission was granted in June 2006, and development is expected to be complete by 2021.[12]

Iron Age History

Parts of the site have a history going back as far as the Iron Age, an archaeological evaluation commissioned by the developer in 2006, found an area of occupation in the floor of a stream valley in the southern part of the site, just west of Willow Lake. This comprised at least one circular enclosure interpreted as either a roundhouse or stock enclosure, and a series of ditches, gullies and small pits and postholes as well as several spreads of occupation deposits including a significant find of Iron Age pottery.[13][14]

Newton Longville Brickworks

Newton Longville Brickworks were located on land between Bletchley, Buckinghamshire and Newton Longville, Buckinghamshire and were made up of two sites - Jubilee Brickworks and Bletchley Works. Brickmaking started onsite circa 1890's and has now ceased. The Brickworks has subsequently been demolished, and is in the process of being redeveloped as Newton Leys, a mixed use development including new homes, a school, employment and leisure uses. Nothing remains of the original brickworks.

Jubilee Brickworks

Jubilee Brickworks closed in 1978 and was mainly used as farming land for the adjacent Slad Farm. The lake formed by claypit at this site was used by anglers for many years and was known as Jubilee Pit. The lake is now known as Willow Lake.[15]

Bletchley Brickworks

Bletchley Brickworks closed in September 1990 and was planned to be used as landfill, initially by London Brick Landfill, a division of the brickmaking company which owned the site, and was subsequently bought out by Shanks & McEwan. Permission was granted in 2002, and Bletchley Landfill Site has been operated since 2004 by FCC Environment. The original claypits (Fletton Pit, Water Eaton Pit) for the Bletchley Works closed in 1970 and have since become the Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve. [16]

Redevelopment

In 1991, plans to develop the unused parts of the brickworks and the adjoining farmland they owned at Slad Farm were created by The London Brick Company with input from Aylesbury Vale District Council, Buckinghamshire County Council, Milton Keynes Council, and Milton Keynes Development Corporation. Outline planning permission was granted in June 2006, and development is expected to be complete by 2021.

The area is currently being redeveloped with plans for housing for up to 1650 homes with employment areas, shops, including a new, smaller-format Asda supermarket opening in the autumn of 2016, a new school, a care home, community facilities, new park, hotel and leisure facilities. The site his being developed by a consortium headed by Taylor Wimpey. Dwellings have been built at the development by Taylor Wimpey South Midlands, Taylor Wimpey North Thames, Persimmon, and Bovis Homes Group.

References

  1. ↑ "Newton Leys Residents Association". Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "MKWeb". Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  3. ↑ "Land to the South of Newton Leys" (PDF). Non Technical Summary. O&H Properties. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  4. ↑ "Milton Keynes Local Plan" (PDF). Milton Keynes Council.
  5. ↑ "Living Archive - Bletchley Bricks". Living Archive. Retrieved 23 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "Newton Leys Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Drainage Strategy" (PDF). Peter Brett Associates. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "Jubilee Pit". Milton Keynes Angling Association.
  8. ↑ "Newton Leys Strategic Flood Risk Assessment and Surface Water Drainage Strategy" (PDF). Peter Brett Associates. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "London Brick Landfill". Bedfordshire County Council.
  10. ↑ "Newton Leys Residents Association". Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Newton Longville Brickworks Planning Brief". Aylesbury Vale District Council, Milton Keynes Council, Buckinghamshire Country Council. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
  12. ↑ "Milton Keynes Core Strategy" (PDF). Milton Keynes Council. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
  13. ↑ "An Archaeological Evaluation at Newton Leys, Buckinghamshire" (PDF). Northamptonshire Archaeology. Retrieved 4 May 2014.
  14. ↑ "Newton Leys Residents Association". Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  15. ↑ "Newton Leys Residents Association". Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "Newton Leys Residents Association". Retrieved 16 October 2015.
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