Fulbourn

Infobox UK place
country = England
official_name= Fulbourn
latitude= 52.183951
longitude= 0.227244
static_

static_image_caption= The windmill
civil_parish= Fulbourn
population = 4,704 (2001)
shire_district= South Cambridgeshire
shire_county= Cambridgeshire
region= East of England
constituency_westminster= South East Cambridgeshire
post_town= CAMBRIDGE
postcode_district = CB21
postcode_area= CB
dial_code= 01223
os_grid_reference= TL522563

Fulbourn is a village in Cambridgeshire, England.

Geography

Fulbourn lies about five miles (8 km) south-east of the centre of Cambridge, separated from the outer city boundary by farmland and the grounds of Fulbourn Hospital. The village itself is fairly compact and roughly in the centre of the administrative parish. North and East of the village the land is flat, drained fenland; to the South and South-West the Gog Magog Hills rise to over 200 feet. Outside the residential area the land is open farmland, with relatively few trees. There is a wooded area including a Nature Reserve to the East in the Manor grounds. The village is set within the Cambridge Green Belt. The traditional parish boundaries follow the line of a Roman road and Icknield Way to the South-West and South-East, Fleam Dyke - an ancient defensive earthwork - to the East and the tributaries of Quy Water that drain to the River Cam. The parish extends some five miles (8 km) North-South and four miles (6 km) East-West.

Population

The majority of the population live within a half-mile square in the main village. The main settlement around the Parish Church of St Vigor has extended in post-war years westwards towards Cambridge and northwards in a narrow ribbon of development towards the former station on the Cambridge-Newmarket railway. Substantial housing estate developments, both local authority and private have taken place in the village, particularly south-west and south of the centre. The civil parish contains additional housing located on the edge of Cherry Hinton, which itself falls within the Cambridge City boundary.

The population of the ecclesiastical parish in 2001 has been estimated at about 4,000, being some 78% of the civil parish estimated in 1998 at 5,100. This has grown from a base of 1,440 in 1951 to 2,060 in 1961 and 4,220 in 1971. The 1979 boundary changes moved some (then) un-built-on land from Fulbourn and some partly developed land from Teversham both into the ecclesiastical parish of Cherry Hinton, as it was considered the people living there would look towards the churches in those parishes. Most of the subsequent growth in the administrative parish of Fulbourn has been in this area which is not part of the ecclesiastical parish. In 1998 the population of the civil parish was made up of 1,000 people under 16, 3,100 aged 16-59, and 1,000 over 60. The economically active population was estimated at 2,600.

Employment

In common with changes in the post-war years most of the residents in employment work outside the village, in Cambridge and elsewhere. Being close to Addenbrookes' Hospital an increasing number have found work there. Within the village itself there is employment in industrial areas close to the previous Railway Station and elsewhere to the north of the village. There are also professional offices in the former Rectory and Pumping Station and a developing Business Park in the previous Hospital buildings and in new ones close-by. Others are employed in service industries such as retail shops and in education. Agriculture though still important in land use terms only employs a small number.

Local Services

Fulbourn Hospital was built as an asylum in the mid-19th century between the village and Cherry Hinton. Until recently the main Victorian building was used as a psychiatric hospital, while the 1960s Kent House to the west was built for acute mental health patients and the Ida Darwin Hospital to the east was developed for the mentally handicapped. The main buildings have now been transformed into a Business Park although some acute facilities remain. From 540 patients at the hospitals in 1981 this has now been considerably reduced, with so many ex-patients being moved into the community. Within the Business Park is the East of England Strategic Health Authority's offices.

Apart from the remaining hospital units, there is a Health Centre in the village with a single practice, though this is based at premises on the edge of Cambridge. There is also a chiropodist in the village.

There is a community centre and a village hall on separate sites, the latter being adjacent to the extensive recreation ground. There is a retirement home, Home Close, in the village: the Rector currently sits on the Residents Committee, visits the home regularly and conducts services there. The Fulbourn Primary School, close to the village centre, has about 270 on roll and has recently had a very successful Ofsted inspection. The Rector attends Assemblies at the school throughout the term, alternating with the Minister of the URC. Secondary schooling for most children is at the Village College in Bottisham five miles (8 km) to the North, though many parents choose to send their children to schools in Cambridge. There is also a special school within the parish which caters for learning disabilities, though this school's future is under discussion at present.

In the Old School Building, next to the current Primary School, there is a library, [http://www.fulbournlibrary.co.uk Fulbourn Village Library] , which was re-opened by volunteers in November 2003, having been closed by the County Council in October 2003. It is still supported by Cambridgeshire County Council Library Service which provides 1,000 books and 3 computers, plus IT support. Anyone with a Cambridgeshire Library card can use the Library and request books from anywhere within Cambridgeshire Libraries. The Library relies on donated books to supplement the County stock and due to the generosity of the community, has a steady supply of donations.

In the High Street there are a number of shops including a Co-op supermarket, a butcher selling own-flock and local produce, a greengrocer selling produce from New Covent Garden Market, a chemist, a flower shop, a post office, an art gallery, a used-car dealer, a cappuccino bar, a beauty salon, a Chinese take-away and a kebab shop, as well as "Twelve", the church office/meeting-room. There is also a Tesco superstore within the parish close to the hospital site. Along with The Fulbourn Community Centre on Haggis Gap, perhaps the most important social centre in the village is The Six Bells pub, now owned by the White family and housed in a building that dates from the 1400s. Being historically "the last coaching stop on the way to Newmarket", Fulbourn at one point had over twenty public houses, including The Harrow Inn (now no longer a pub) and The White Hart, which is still functioning. The village has a well appointed recreation ground adjacent to which is the newly refurbished Townley Memorial village hall, which now includes meeting rooms, a small indoor sports hall, a venue for sports and social clubs.

The village's Business Park is joined by the [http://www.capital-park-cambridge.co.uk/ Capital Park] on the site of the old Hospital, which has many tens of thousands of square feet of office space. These parks enhance the area's business environment beyond what was started by the creation of the Science Parks which date from the 1980s and 1990s.

Fulbourn falls within the jurisdiction of Cambridgeshire County Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council for Local Government Services.

Future Developments

Proposals for significant additional housing to the north of the village after 2016 included in the current Structure Plan review have been vigorously fought by the Parish and District Councils. The Panel which conducted an examination into the review have recommended that these proposals be dropped. It is expected, however, whatever the outcome, some additional housing will occur within or on the edge of the village in the next 10 years or so. Apart from the developing Business Park already mentioned there are no current proposals for additional employment opportunities in Fulbourn.

See also

* List of places in Cambridgeshire

External links

* [http://fulbournpc.org/ Fulbourn Parish Council]
* [http://www.fulbournlibrary.co.uk Fulbourn Village Library]
* [http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/B66E7EA7-488A-46B7-B1A9-9C0A679F660E/0/Fulbourn.pdf 2001 Census]