North Somerset

North Somerset is a unitary authority area in England. Its area covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset but it is administered independently of the non-metropolitan county. Its administrative headquarters is in the town hall in Weston-super-Mare.

North Somerset borders the local government areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, Mendip and Sedgemoor. North Somerset contains the parliamentary constituencies of Weston-super-Mare and North Somerset.

History

Between 1 April 1974 and 31 March 1996, it was the Woodspring district of the county of Avon (named after Woodspring Priory, an isolated mediaeval church near the coast just north east of Weston-super-Mare). The district of Woodspring was formed from the municipal boroughs of Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon and Portishead urban districts, Long Ashton Rural District, and part of Axbridge Rural District.

Though the government proposed that the new unitary area be known as "North West Somerset" from 1 April 1996, the council voted instead to adopt the name "North Somerset" and so the name "North West Somerset" was never widely used. There remained some legal doubt as to whether the council had validly changed the name to "North Somerset", but in 2005 the council passed a resolution to put the matter beyond doubt.

North Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

North Somerset is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Liam Fox, a Conservative.

History

Earlier versions of the seat existed between 1885–1918 and 1950–1983.

Parliament passed the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 creating the larger constituency of North Somerset from the 1885 general election, which was later abolished for the 1918 general election.

North Somerset was re-established for the 1950 general election, and abolished again for the 1983 general election.

The seat is currently represented by Liam Fox, former Secretary of State for Defence.

Following the review of parliamentary representation in the North Somerset district by the Boundary Commission for England, the former Woodspring constituency has been renamed as North Somerset without substantial boundary changes from its predecessor.

Boundaries

1885-1918: The Sessional Divisions of Keynsham, Long Ashton, and Temple Cloud, and the civil parishes of Binegar, Chilcompton, and Midsomer Norton.

Locking, Somerset

Coordinates: 51°19′51″N 2°54′39″W / 51.3309°N 2.9108°W / 51.3309; -2.9108

Locking is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is a predominantly quiet residential area of North Somerset, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south east of the town of Weston-super-Mare and houses a large farming contingent.

As well as a pub and church the village has a village hall, school (Locking Primary School), a post office, two hairdressers, a Chinese takeaway, a reptile shop and petrol service station comprising car sales and a mechanical workshop.

The village gave its name to RAF Locking, which has now closed and proposals are under consideration for an employment and residential development for the site that could deliver 25 hectare (62 acres) of employment space and up to 1,800 new homes. In July 2011, North Somerset Council gave planning permission for the £50 million LeisureDome to be constructed on the site. It will contain a 210-metre (690 ft) indoor ski slope, other leisure facilities and a number of shops and restaurants.

Somerset

Somerset (ⁱ/ˈsʌmərsɛt/ or /ˈsʌmərsᵻt/) is a county in South West England which borders Gloucestershire and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east and Devon to the south-west. It is bounded to the north and west by the Severn Estuary and the Bristol Channel, its coastline facing southeastern Wales. Its traditional border with Gloucestershire is the River Avon. Somerset's county town is Taunton.

Somerset is a rural county of rolling hills such as the Blackdown Hills, Mendip Hills, Quantock Hills and Exmoor National Park, and large flat expanses of land including the Somerset Levels. There is evidence of human occupation from Paleolithic times, and of subsequent settlement in the Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods. The county played a significant part in the consolidation of power and rise of King Alfred the Great, and later in the English Civil War and the Monmouth Rebellion. The city of Bath is famous for its substantial Georgian architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Somerset (UK Parliament constituency)

Somerset was a parliamentary constituency in Somerset, which returned two Members of Parliament (MPs), known traditionally as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England until 1707, the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832.

Elections were held by the bloc vote system.

Members of Parliament

MPs 1290–1629

MPs 1640–1832

References

Sources

Somerset (SEPTA station)

Somerset Station is an elevated stop on the Market-Frankford Line, above the intersection of Kensington Avenue and Somerset Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Kensington neighborhood. During peak hours, the station is served by "B" trains only.

Like the nearby Huntingdon Station, Somerset is located over a five-way intersection, which is northeast of a high truss bridge over a Conrail freight line. Access to the station from street-level can be found at the southwest and southeast corners of Kensington Avenue and Somerset Street. Unlike Huntingdon, no access is available from D Street.

The station is adjacent to the corner of Kensington and Somerset, named by Philadelphia Weekly in 2007 as the number one drug corner in the city. The corner itself is dominated by sales of hypodermic needles and the methadone-like detox medication Suboxone, with referrals readily available to one of the many heroin dealers on nearby blocks.

Station layout

SEPTA City Bus Connections