Information AboutBirchwood |
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Birchwood is a district in the eastern part of Warrington in the North West of England. It was built during the time of much expansion in the town of Warrington as it became a " New Town ". Birchwood Town is separated into three villages Gorse Covert , Oakwood and Locking Stumps . Birchwood is a Civil Parish , with a population of 11,395 according to the 2001 census. HISTORY "The surface, at a distance, looks black and dirty, and will bear neither horse nor man….. What nature meant by such a useless production ‘tis hard to imagine, but the land is entirely to waste" are the words of Daniel Defoe as he rode through Birchwood in 1724. Throughout History travellers have avoided the Birchwood area because it of its dangerous moss, however gradually over time much of the fertile mossland was reclaimed and turned into farm land. With the advent of World War II the landscape changed massively. 927 acres (3.8 km²) of prime agricultural land was changed into a massive Royal Ordnance Factory , ROF Risley , with several large areas carrying out a multitude of functions. German bombers knew of the large factory's location but it surprisingly was never bombed, according to a local builder: "It was very lonely and misty at night, and that’s why the factory was constructed there ….. it was usually covered with a mist or cloud. It was hard to see it in the day time, you know". Several underground bunkers were also built (that can still be seen today) to house the weaponry and protect it from potential bombing. However after the war the factory no longer had a purpose other than as a storage depot and so in 1956 the north west of the factory was sold to UKAEA with the entire disused area being put on the market in 1963 . No buyer was ever found for it until 1968 when the Warrington And Runcorn Development Corporation bought the site and turned it into the new town of Birchwood. SHOPPING The area's principal shopping needs are serviced by Birchwood Mall, a recently renovated mall with many shops and a large ASDA store. There are also a number of smaller shops in each village of the town. TRANSPORT Birchwood is located close to the intersections between the M6 and M62 and the M6 and M56 and the Railway Station on the Liverpool -- Manchester train line. There are frequent Bus services (routes 24, 25, 26 and 27) to Warrington town centre, and to Culcheth and Leigh (routes 386 and 586). Details of all these serverice can be found on the Warrington Borough Transport web site. Birchwood Railway Station Birchwood Station is a mainline station with trains stopping bound for Manchester, Liverpool, Warrington Central as well as long distance services to Scarborough , Leeds , Newcastle and York . Trains pass through three times an hour (two operated by Northern Rail on the hour and half-hour, as well as a train operated by First Transpennine Express , all trains will operate the Manchester-Liverpool via Warrington line, while the transpennine trains go on to further afield. {Link without Title} Road Birchwood is very close to Junction 11 of the M62 , providing access to Liverpool (22 miles/35km) and Manchester (15 miles/24km). Junction 11 is notable for the ''Encounter'' statue (also known as the ''Angel of Birchwood''). Birchwood is close to Junction 21 of the M6 , giving access to Birmingham (80 miles/128km). Birchwood is approximately 5 miles from Warrington Town Centre (via Birchwood Way) and Leigh (11 miles/18km) (via Warrington Road). Buses There are six bus services operating in this district of Warrington. The 24, which starts in Gorse Covert, running via all districts of Birchwood and then going into Padgate and Fearnhead before going into the town centre. This is a journey of 47 minutes start to terminus. :This operates four times a day (on week days only) as follows:
The 25, this is the normal daytime Monday to Saturday service running from 0550 (from Warrington) to 1858 (from Gorse Covert) and runs from Gorse Covert, through all the districts of Birchwood, then running through Fearnhead, Cinnamon Brow and Orford. ] :It runs a fifteen minutely service at the following times past the hour:
The 26 and '''27''' are the late night (post 1900) and Sunday services. The 26 operates as per the normal route until Fearnhead where it turns right and operates along Enfield Park Road (the main road through Fearnhead) to Orford (Greenwood Crescent) and continues with the 25 route. The 27 as normal until Fearnhead then goes into Cinnamon Brow and meets the route on Poplars Ave (main road through Orford). These operate at 10:27 (Sun) and 18:27 (Mon-Sat) then 11:24 (Sun) and 19:24 (Mon-Sat) and continues this pattern until the last bus at 23:27 (to Wilderspool depot). The buses arrive into Warrington at :06 and leave Warrington at :45 arriving at :29 (if route 27) or :26 (if route 26) into Gorse Covert. The 386, operates to Oakwood, Birchwood and Locking Stumps (but not to Gorse Covert), on a half-hourly basis before going onto Leigh or Warrington (depending on direction) via Culcheth and Padgate respectively. It is a half hourly service. Warrington bound buses arrive into Birchwood at :18 and :48 arriving in Warrington at :38 and :08. In the opposite direction buses arrive into Birchwood at :02 and :42 arriving in Leigh at :32 and :12. The 586 operates to Locking Stumps only and is a hourly Sunday and Evening service, Warrington journeys arrive at :04 arriving into Warrington at :19. In the opposite direction buses arrive at :42, arriving into Leigh at :08 EDUCATION Birchwood is served by 3 primary schools, one per village, Birchwood Community High School , and a special school for disabled children (''Fox Wood School''). INDUSTRY To the north of the Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF), Risley, was the site chosen for the design offices and headquarters of the Department of ATomic ENergy (DATEN) after the Second World War . Later to become the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), the offices were charged with the manufacture of the Nuclear Reactors and process plants at Windscale to help build the UKs Atomic Defence . Following on from the weapons program, the Risley offices were responsible for the building of the Magnox and AGR designs of reactor in the UK. In 1971 BNFL was set up from the production division of the ( UKAEA ), and until 2003 its headquarters were based at Risley , near Warrington . BNFL s headquarters are now at Daresbury Park industrial estate {Link without Title} , also near to Warrington. BNFL (now British Nuclear Group ) maintains a large office of the site, which is something of a nuclear nexus, with NNC , Atkins Design, Environment & Engineering, Nuclear Technolgies Plc , Serco Assurance and Quintessa (among others) based on Birchwood Park. GEOGRAPHY The area east of Birchwood is mainly Birch forests and Risley Moss . Built on the site of the former Royal Ordnance Factory (ROF). In the centre of Birchwood is Birchwood Forest Park, built on the site of the old ROF, and in which the old underground bunkers form part of the landscape. Risley Moss, part of the Mersey Forest . GORSE COVERT
Gorse Covert is the eastmost of the 'villages' which form the Town of Birchwood in Warrington . It is also the most easterly part of the Warrington urban area (though not of Warrington borough). It was formerly site 6 of the Royal Ordnance Factory at Risley . It is now a large, suburban residential area with a mixture of good quality housing. It has a pub, (''The Poacher''), a primary school (''Gorse Covert Primary School'') and a local shop ('' Spar ''). Demographics At the 2001 Census (the next one scheduled for 2011 ), there were 2790 residents living in 1191 properties (statistic areas 005B and 004B - Gorse Covert, Risely South and Locking Stumps East). Of these properties 81% are owner occupied, with the remainder being rented, either from the council, local housing authority or private landlords. Gorse Covert residents are approximately 23% more likely to be in paid employment than the average for England and Wales , with an Unemployment rate of around 1.9% of all economically active people aged 16-74. LOCKING STUMPS
Locking Stumps, is the furthest west of the three districts in Birchwood, Warrington. Locking Stumps has a population of 2759 residents in 1102 households . It is a relatively large district with a shop, pub (''The Turf and Feather''), takeaway shop, primary school (''Locking Stumps Community Primary School''), and a modern church. Demographics At the 2001 census, Office for National Statistics areas 004C and 004D the housing breaks down into:
(''source:Office for National Statistics'' {Link without Title} ) OAKWOOD
Oakwood is a district of Birchwood, which is very close to the Birchwood centre. According to the 2001 census, there are 2003 properties, with a total of 4381 residents (this covers the ONS areas of 005A (Oakwood West, near Birchwood), 005C (Oakwood East, near Risely Moss) and 005D (Oakwood Central)). Oakwood has various basic ameninties including a convenience store, two pubs (''Nelsons Quaterdeck'' and ''The Silver Birch''), a takeaway shop, a church, a primary school (''Birchwood CofE Primary School'') and a high school (''Birchwood Community High School'') Demographics At the 2001 census, of 2003 possible houses in Oakwood:
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| "http://neighbourhoodstatisticsgovuk/dissemination/NeighbourhoodProfileSearchdoareaId=562457&ward=true&wardName=Birchwood&=72" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Map of Statistic Zones <br> |
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| "http://wwwwarringtonboroughtransportcouk/new/tables_pdf/25%20TTpdf" class="copylinks" target="_blank">Bus timetables for services 24-27 <br> |
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