Abbeymead
Encyclopedia
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of the city of Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
in the county of Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. They lie approximately 3 miles south-east of the city centre, and are bounded by the suburbs of Coney Hill to the north west, Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
and Hucclecote
Hucclecote
Hucclecote is an affluent and sought-after village in Gloucestershire , England situated on the old Roman road connecting Gloucester with Barnwood, Brockworth, Cirencester and Cheltenham...
to the north and north east, Matson
Matson, Gloucester
- History :Unlike neighbouring villages, such as Brookthorpe and Upton St Leonards, Matson is not mentioned in the Domesday Book. It appears to have been a part of Kings Barton at the time of the survey...
to the south west and the M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
to the south and east. The village of Upton St Leonards
Upton St Leonards
Upton St Leonards is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire.Forming part of the district of Stroud it is a mile or so north of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham....
is immediately across the M5 motorway.
The two suburbs are contiguous and share many amenities but there is clear definition of where Abbeydale ends and Abbeymead begins.
History
Most of the Abbeydale area was green fields until around 1971, when the Heron Park development was constructed by Heron Homesteads.The Heron Park appears to have been designed in accordance with the Radburn model. It consists of loops and cul-de-sacs radiating from a central spine road, Heron Way, giving access to the rear of the houses where there are garages and hard-standings. The houses face each other across interconnecting pathways and green spaces, so that pedestrians are largely separated from traffic. In keeping with the developer's brand name, the streets were named after British birds. The area is almost identical to a Heron development in Yate
Yate
Yate is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, at the southwest extremity of the Cotswold Hills, 12 miles northeast of the city of Bristol. At the 2001 census the population was 21,789. The town of Chipping Sodbury is continuous with Yate to the east...
, South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
which was built around the same time and even has its own Heron Way. Later parts of Heron Park, such as Hawthorn and Bitterne Avenues, were not built to the Radburn model.
In 1975, contracts were signed for the construction of Heron Primary School, which opened in 1977.
The Glevum Way Shopping Centre opened in 1981, with a Safeway
Safeway (UK)
Safeway was a chain of supermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom. It started as a subsidiary of the American Safeway Inc., before being sold off in 1987....
supermarket and a handful of small shops. Over the following few years, a community centre, a doctor's surgery, a pub and a veterinary clinic were built beside the centre. In 1983, the Safeway store was damaged by fire. In 2005, the shopping complex was demolished to make way from a new, larger Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
store.
The second half of what became known as Abbeydale, was started around 1976, with further development on land between Heron Park and the M5. These homes were constructed by the Robert Hitchins and Glevum Estates building companies and are distinguished from Heron Park by their more conventional layout and different house designs. Most houses face the road, have front driveways and garages, and are similar to those built by the same companies in Quedgeley
Quedgeley
Quedgeley is a suburb and civil parish of Gloucester, England, situated southwest of the city. It is the only civil parish in Gloucester, and a has a population of 11,800.-See also:*RAF Quedgeley, a large RAF logistics site which closed in 1995...
. These developments, which lie either side of Wheatway, were completed around 1982. When the road, Wheatway, was built, it bisected The Wheatridge and the part nearest the M5 motorway was called The Wheatridge East. This newer part of Abbeydale is separated from the older Heron Park by The Wheatridge - a lane of former farmworkers' cottages and larger country houses leading from Painswick Road (B4073). Around 1984, plots of land at the top of The Wheatridge were sold for the construction of individually designed homes and a small housing development. A small church, Christchurch, Abbeydale, was built and opened in 1995.
From 1986, further housing development began on farmland between Abbeydale and Barnwood and became known as Abbeymead. It was connected to Abbeydale with the construction of its main artery, Abbeymead Avenue, designated the Eastern Radial Road, a high speed roadway into Gloucester, which was to have had a flyover across Eastern Avenue; never built. To cater for road safety, no houses on Abbeymead Avenue actually face directly on the road. Smaller, piecemeal developments have continued to be added, turning Abbeymead into one of the more populous and desirable suburbs of the city.
Local government
For administrative purposes the suburb is covered by three electoral wards. The majority of residents live in the Abbey ward, the north eastern area is in the HucclecoteHucclecote
Hucclecote is an affluent and sought-after village in Gloucestershire , England situated on the old Roman road connecting Gloucester with Barnwood, Brockworth, Cirencester and Cheltenham...
ward, and the northern area is in the Barnwood
Barnwood
Barnwood, in Gloucestershire, England is situated on the old Roman road that connects the City of Gloucester with Hucclecote, Brockworth and Cirencester....
ward. The councillors currently representing Abbeymead are as follows:
- Abbey ward: Gordon Taylor(ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
); Norman Ravenhill(ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
); Andrew Gravells(ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
) - Barnwood ward: Lise Noakes (ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
); John Mclellan(Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
); Phill McLellan (Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
) - Hucclecote ward: David Brown (Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
); Jonathan Whittaker(Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
); Declan Wilson(Liberal DemocratLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
)
Amenities
The biggest shopping outlet, next to Heron Way (Abbeydale) has four (formerly five) shops in addition to the Morrisons supermarket, Lloyds Pharmacy, Taylors (Estate Agents), Ruby Cantonese & Fish & Chip shop, plus Sue Ryder Care charity shop. Nearby is the Ridge & Furrow Pub and straight across Abbeymead Avenue are several other small retail units.Heron Primary School and Abbeymead Primary School are the only two schools in the area and both serve 4 to 11 year olds. Part of the shopping complex includes a community centre with an all-weather pitch. Nearby is also a children's playground.
Further along Abbeymead Avenue, in Abbeymead, is another pub, called The Turmot Hoer, and a small row of shops, a Tesco Express, hairdresser, pet shop and chip shop.
Among its many open spaces is a skateboarding amenity, Clock Tower Park and, further away, a local nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
at Hucclecote Meadows, which has been designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
As the area is now virtually fully built up, it is unlikely that Abbeydale/Abbeymead will see any real expansion. Large-scale residential development is in progress, however, at Brockworth, on the other side of the M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
, linked from Abbeymead Avenue by Lobleys Drive. Nearby is also a large business park, on the site of the old Brockworth Aerodrome.
The whole area is served by several frequent bus routes, the 3, 4, 5 and 13.