Ribbleton

Ribbleton is a suburb and ward of the city of Preston, in Lancashire, England. It is located to the east of the city centre, between the A59 New Hall Lane and the B6243 Longridge Road. The M6 motorway also runs through the area. The ward had a population of 7,351 recorded in the 2001 census, of which 77.2% classed themselves as Christian.http://www.preston.gov.uk/Documents/General/Ribbleton.pdf] . At the most recent elections, the valid electorate in Ribbleton was 5,727.

Most of the area west of the M6 is residential. The area to the east contains a large industrial estate and agricultural land and no residential. Preston cemetery is entirely contained in the Ribbleton ward, as is Preston Crematorium. Part of the suburb is in Brookfield ward, including the head office of the Booths supermarket chain and the former railway station, which was on the Preston and Longridge Railway.

Amenities

Ribbleton has a library [cite web | url=http://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries/librarydetails/libsearch1.asp?name=Ribbleton | title=Welcome to the Library and Information Service web site - Ribbleton Home Page | accessdate=2008-02-26 | publisher=Lancashire County Council] , a number of shops and pubs, post offices and schools. The City of Preston High School (previously Ribbleton Hall High School.) is centrally located in the area. The primary schools in the ward are Grange Community Primary, Moor Nook Community Primary, Blessed Sacrament Catholic Primary School and Brockholes Wood Community Primary School.

Council housing

A number of council estates are located in the ward, including Moor Nook, Farringdon Park and Grange. In 2001, 37.65% of all households were in local authority housing, although this figure is down from almost 50% in 1991. The council transferred its housing stock to Preston Community Gateway Association in 2005. [http://www.lep.co.uk/news/39Crisis39-call-for-council-housing.3160203.jp 'Crisis' call for council housing - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] Since then some troublesome and unrentable flats in the area have been demolished, [http://www.lep.co.uk/preston-ribble-valley/Troublehit-flats-to-be-demolished.2909265.jp Trouble-hit flats to be demolished - Lancashire Evening Post ] ] despite the housing crisis in Preston with over 4,000 families on a waiting list. Community Gateway Association cannot commence a building programme until 2010.

Transport

Access to Preston is via the A59 or B6243 which are often congested. There is access to the M6 nearby at junctions 31 (Samlesbury) and 31A (Bluebell Way), although there is no access to or from the M6 north via junction 31A. Although the railway through Ribbleton no longer exists, there are frequent bus services provided by Preston Bus, as well as the Stagecoach route between Preston and Longridge and less frequent Stagecoach services. Recently there has been increased competition from Stagecoach including new local services, many of which duplicate Preston Bus services.

ee also

*Preston local elections
*Districts of Preston

References

External links

[http://www.preston.gov.uk Preston City Council]

[http://www.communitygateway.co.uk Community Gateway Association]

[http://www.prestonbus.co.uk Preston Bus]

[http://www.stagecoachbus.com/region_4.html Stagecoach North West]

[http://www.lep.co.uk Lancashire Evening Post - local newspaper]

[http://www.ribbleton-hall.lancsngfl.ac.uk City of Preston High School]

[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/education/05/school_tables/secondary_schools/html/888_4004.stm BBC - League Tables - City of Preston High School]