Woodside, Telford
Woodside is a residential area and ward within the civil parish of Madeley[1] and a ward within the borough of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England.[2] The population of the borough ward at the 2021 Census is given as 7,597.[3]
In 1963, Dawley New Town (soon to be known as Telford) was designated in the area surrounding towns and villages such as Ironbridge, Dawley and Wellington. The intention was to bring jobs to the area as well as houses to accommodate the thousands of workers being attracted to the Telford.
For the less well-off inhabitants of the then new town, there needed to be council housing available. The Woodside estate was among the council housing projects first planned in the development of Telford new town. It was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s,[4] and is among the largest housing estates in Shropshire.
History[edit]
Woodside came to fruition due to the New Towns Act of 1946, which saw Dawley New Town, now known as Telford New Town, named after the famous Scottish civil engineer, Thomas Telford being developed to cope mainly with the overspill from the West Midlands conurbation.
The land that was chosen for Woodside was previously used for farming and mining purposes, namely Rough Park Farm and Leasowes Farm. Brick Kiln Leasowes Crawstone Pit still part exists today in the form of its spoil mound running along both Ironbridge Road and the William Reynolds School. It was here in 1864 that nine men (the youngest being just a child of 12 years) fell to a tragic death, when a rope lowered to haul the men out, at the end of a busy day, snapped and all lives were lost in the fall. Within the woodland which now covers the spoil mound, the brick pond can still be seen from which water was drawn from the mine.
Situated in south Telford, Woodside was originally built as a council housing estate, being managed by both Telford Development Corporation and Dawley District Council. Modern housing was provided along with shopping and play areas as well as community facilities including a health centre, schools, public houses, a police station and a community centre.
Other facilities were provided at the nearby district of Madeley, which included a leisure centre, shops, a library and banks. Educational facilities were provided with two county primary schools along with a playschool. Secondary education was provided nearby at Madeley, namely the Abraham Darby and Madeley Court Schools. Roman Catholic education facilities were at St Marys’ Primary, Madeley and Blessed Robert Johnson secondary at Wellington.
Employment was a main factor of people re-locating to Woodside, with plentiful employment being made available at the newly built Tweedale and Halesfield industrial estates nearby.
Public transport was provided by the Midland Red bus company. They offered residents local services to other areas of the new town, along with direct services to out of town places such as Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, Wolverhampton and Birmingham.
Deprivation, regeneration[edit]
Woodside is the most deprived part of Telford. The 2001 Census revealed that 37.2% of the area's households did not have access to a car, 18.0% of households were single parent families, unemployment was at 11.3%. However, this was significantly less than the 1991 total of 17.3%, as the economy had been in recession then and was in a much healthier position 10 years later. With the recession that affected Britain from mid-2008, however, it is anticipated that the 2011 Census will show a considerably higher level of unemployment.
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visited the estate in 2003 to signal the start of a major redevelopment involving demolition of The Courts deck-access flats.[5][6] The Courts site lay empty for some years before Telford Council approved plans in 2009 for a 186-home development by Bellway Homes.[7] Almost all of the remaining houses on the estate have been brought up to modern standards.
References[edit]
- ↑ "New Parish and Town Ward Maps: Madeley (Woodside Town Ward)". Telford and Wrekin Council. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ↑ "Ward: Woodside". Telford & Wrekin Council. Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ↑ "Telford and Wrekin (Unitary District, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
- ↑ Baggs, A.D.; Cox, D.C.; McFall, Jesse; Stamper, P.A.; Winchester, A.J.L. (1985). "'Telford', in A History of the County of Shropshire: Volume 11, Telford". www.british-history.ac.uk. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
- ↑ "Thousands turn out to welcome the Queen". www.bbc.co.uk. 11 July 2003. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
- ↑ Alexander, Anthony (2009-06-30). Britain's New Towns: Garden Cities to Sustainable Communities. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-02551-0. Search this book on
- ↑ "Revised homes bid is given go-ahead". www.shropshirestar.com. 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
Sources[edit]
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