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West Swindon

Coordinates: 51°33′29″N 1°49′59″W / 51.558°N 1.833°W / 51.558; -1.833
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West Swindon
Westlea Drive, West Swindon in 2012
West Swindon is located in Wiltshire
West Swindon
West Swindon
Location within Wiltshire
Area9.056 km2 (3.497 sq mi)
Population26,846 (2021 census)
• Density2,964/km2 (7,680/sq mi)
OS grid referenceSU117844
Civil parish
  • West Swindon
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townSwindon
Postcode districtSN5
Dialling code01793
PoliceWiltshire
FireDorset and Wiltshire
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
WebsiteParish Council
List of places
UK
England
Wiltshire
51°33′29″N 1°49′59″W / 51.558°N 1.833°W / 51.558; -1.833

West Swindon is a civil parish in the borough of Swindon, Wiltshire, England. In 2021 it had a population of 26,846.[1]

Geography

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As its name suggests, the parish lies west of the central area of the town of Swindon. The southern boundary of the parish is a short stretch of the M4 motorway, immediately east of junction 16. The River Ray forms part of the eastern boundary, and in the north-east the boundary follows the Golden Valley line, the railway from Swindon to Gloucester.[2]

History

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Before the 20th-century expansion of Swindon, the rural area immediately west of the town was in the civil parishes of Lydiard Millicent (to the north, including the hamlets of Roughmoor, Nine Elms and Shaw) and Lydiard Tregoze (to the south, including Toot Hill and the hamlet of Mannington). A small area in the south-west of the present West Swindon parish, around Blagrove Farm, was in Wroughton parish. The town was unparished, its western boundary following the Midland and South Western Junction Railway and (further north) the River Ray.[3]

The main development of West Swindon began in the 1970s[4] and included the construction of the West Swindon Centre complex,[5] with a supermarket, shops, a public library, and a multi-sport building called the Link Centre with an ice rink and swimming pool.[6] To the east are office buildings and light industry, including the Renault Centre, designed by Norman Foster and built in 1982 as the UK headquarters of the Renault car company but now called the Spectrum Building and occupied by other businesses.[7]

A community governance review in 2015–2016 led to the creation of West Swindon parish, effective from April 2017.[8][9] Besides the modern housing area, the parish extends west to include Lydiard Park,[2] which had been bought by the Corporation of Swindon in 1943.[10] The park was the grounds of the 17th-century mansion known as Lydiard House.[11] Today Swindon Borough Council operate the grounds as a country park and occasional events venue, while the house is a hotel, wedding venue and museum.[12]

In 2023, a new Community Diagnostic Centre in West Swindon was announced.[13] The same year the former post office reopened.[14] In September 2023, the West Swindon library was flooded out.[15]

Churches

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The 13th-century St Mary's church, built as the parish church of Lydiard Tregoze, stands next to Lydiard House.[16] A new church, Holy Trinity, was built at Shaw in 1989 to serve the expanding suburbs.[17] Further modern churches are at Freshbrook (affiliated to the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches)[18] and Toothill (ecumenical).[19] All four churches are members of the West Swindon and Lydiard Tregoze Church Partnership.[20]

Governance

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The first tier of local government is West Swindon Parish Council.[21] For elections to Swindon Borough Council, the parish is covered by three wards: Shaw ward (in the north) and Lydiard and Freshbook ward (south-west) are entirely within the parish, while Mannington and Western ward in the south-east straddles the parish boundary to include Even Swindon.[2] Each ward elects three councillors.[22] For Westminster elections, the parish is part of the Swindon South constituency.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "West Swindon". City Population. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d "Election Maps: Great Britain". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map, SU18". National Library of Scotland. 1959. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  4. ^ "West Swindon: What the eye doesn't see". Born Again Swindonian. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Community Governance Review" (PDF). Swindon Borough Council. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 May 2021 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ "The Link Centre". SwindonWeb. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "Spectrum building is awarded listed status". Swindon Advertiser. 21 September 2013. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  8. ^ "Community governance review". Swindon Borough Council. 2 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 February 2017 – via Internet Archive.
  9. ^ "The Swindon Borough (Reorganisation of Community Governance) No. 1 Order 2017" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. 19 January 2017. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 April 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  10. ^ Historic England. "Lydiard Park (park and garden) (1001238)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  11. ^ Historic England. "Lydiard Park (mansion) (1198420)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  12. ^ "Lydiard Park". Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  13. ^ "New diagnostic healthcare facility to open in Swindon for almost 19,000 tests a year". Swindon Advertiser. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  14. ^ Clarke, Lewis (3 December 2023). "West Swindon Centre Post Office is back in business after two years of closure". Wiltshire Live. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Latest update on work to reopen library FIVE months after flooding". Swindon Advertiser. 19 February 2024. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  16. ^ Historic England. "Church of St. Mary, Lydiard Park (1023470)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  17. ^ Bainbridge, Virginia, ed. (2011). "Historic Parishes – Lydiard Millicent". A History of the County of Wiltshire, Volume 18. Victoria County History. University of London. pp. 186–209. Retrieved 10 March 2024 – via British History Online.
  18. ^ "About Us – Freshbrook Church". Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  19. ^ "Worship - Toothill Church". toothillchurch.org.uk. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  20. ^ "West Swindon and the Lydiards Church Partnership". Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  21. ^ "Councillors - West Swindon Parish Council". www.westswindon-pc.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  22. ^ "Your Councillors". Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
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Media related to West Swindon at Wikimedia Commons

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