Bletchley and Fenny Stratford

Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2001 census had a population of 13,971.

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), Eaton Manor, Fenny Stratford, Granby, Manor Farm, and Water Eaton (includes "Lakes Estate").

Central Bletchley

Originally, Bletchley was exclusively west of the railway line (around the Church of England church beside Bletchley Park and around the Methodist chapel at the junction of Newton Road/Shenley Road with Buckingham Road. This area is now known as Old Bletchley and is the reason why the station faces that way. But as Bletchley grew, a new centre grew up around Bletchley Road (the road from Fenny Stratford to [Old] Bletchley. In 1966, after a Royal Visit, the Town Council renamed the street as "Queensway". [ [http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/eaton-overspill00/Shopping.html from "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress": Shopping] . (oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club_.]

Denbigh

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 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

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

"The Lakes Estate was the last London overspill estate to be built in Bletchley. It took some time to build -beginning in around 1968 and not being fully completed until 1975." [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.]

ocial issues

The Lakes Estate council estate has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe: 59 in every 1,000 girls aged 15-17 have children [ [http://www.gm.tv/index.cfm?articleid=14732 GMTV article] ] . Though this is not the highest in Milton KeynesFact|date=February 2007 and the local school (Leon) is actively working to combat thisFact|date=February 2007.

ee also

* West Bletchley civil parish
* Bletchley, Milton Keynes
* Fenny Stratford

External links

* [http://www.bletchley-fenny-stratford.co.uk/ Town Council]
* [http://clutch.open.ac.uk/schools/eaton-overspill00/home.html "Bletchley Pioneers, Planning & Progress"] . Oral history collected by Knowles Middle School parents Clutch Club describe the post-war expansion of Bletchley by migrants from London.

References