Bletchley and Fenny Stratford

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England.[2] It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2011 census had a population of 15,313.[1] Together with West Bletchley, it forms the Bletchley built-up area.

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
Mapping © OpenStreetMap
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
Location within Buckinghamshire
Population15,313 (2011 Census)[1]
OS grid referenceSP868338
Civil parish
  • Bletchley and Fenny Stratford
Unitary authority
  • Milton Keynes
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townMILTON KEYNES
Postcode districtMK2
Dialling code01908
PoliceThames Valley
FireBuckinghamshire
AmbulanceSouth Central
UK Parliament

The parish includes Brickfields (includes the Blue Lagoon), Central Bletchley (that is, Bletchley east of the West Coast Main Line), Denbigh (Denbigh North, Denbigh East and Denbigh West), Fenny Stratford, Fenny Lock, Granby, Mount Farm and Water Eaton (includes "Lakes Estate").

Central Bletchley

Originally, Bletchley was exclusively west of the railway line and was centred on St. Mary's (Church of England), Bletchley Park, and the Freeman Memorial Methodist chapel on Buckingham Road. This area is now known as Old Bletchley and is the reason why the station faces that way. However, as Bletchley developed, a new centre grew up around Bletchley Road (the road from Fenny Stratford to [Old] Bletchley. In 1966, after a Royal Visit, Bletchley Urban District Council renamed the street as "Queensway".[3]

Central Bletchley is bordered by the West Coast Main Line to the west, the Water Eaton Brook and Water Eaton Road to the south, North Street and Bletchley Leisure Centre to the North and Knowles School/Leon Recreational Ground to the East.

Denbigh
Main article: Denbigh, Milton Keynes

For many years, Denbigh has been an important employment area: perhaps its most famous resident is Marshall Amplification.

In 2005, large commercial developments occurred on the immediate outskirts of Bletchley, although still in the civil parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The supermarket chain Asda-Wal-Mart and the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA built and opened large stores at Denbigh North, northeast of the town centre on Watling Street, and Tesco responded by expanding its Fenny Stratford store (also on Watling Street). Whether or not these new developments accelerate the decline of the town centre remains to be seen.

This same area of development is also home to the new stadium:mk for Milton Keynes Dons F.C.. Many away fans will arrive via Bletchley railway station, and this may bring some added business to the town on their way to the ground. However, most fans will use intercity services to Milton Keynes Central and be bussed to the stadium.

Brickfields

The Blue Lagoon
Main article: Blue Lagoon Local Nature Reserve
Part of the Blue Lagoon

Milton Keynes has its own nature reserve in Bletchley. The Blue Lagoon attracts many local visitors every day. School children in Bletchley are often taken on trips to learn about the history of this site.

Water Eaton

Water Eaton is a small village to the south of Fenny Stratford, which was absorbed by Bletchley and Fenny Stratford, before the latter in turn became part of Milton Keynes. The village was first mentioned in the Domesday book of 1086 and was simply called Eaton and was the home of Geoffrey de Montbray and listed as a mill.

The Lakes Estate, south of Bletchley was the last London overspill estate to be built by the Greater London Council. It took some time to build – beginning in about 1970 and not being fully completed until 1975."[4]

The Lakes Estate is bordered by Drayton road to the North and West, Stoke road to the East and Lomond drive to the south.

Borough Council ward

The parish is divided for election to Milton Keynes Council into the Bletchey & Fenny Stratford ward (which includes the eastern part of West Bletchley parish and Eaton Manor ward covering Water Eaton.

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gollark: Fascinating.

See also

References
  1. Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013
  2. Parishes in Milton Keynes Archived 8 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine – Milton Keynes Council.
  3. from "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress": Shopping. (oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club_.
  4. http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/eaton-overspill00/Lakes_estate_houses.html from "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress": Lakes Estate. Oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club.
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