Alconbury Weald

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Alconbury Weald
Cambridgeshire UK location map.svg
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Alconbury Weald
Location within Cambridgeshire
Population1,221 
OS grid reference TL2076
Civil parish
District
Shire county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town Huntingdon
Postcode district PE28
Dialling code 01480
Police Cambridgeshire
Fire Cambridgeshire
Ambulance East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cambridgeshire
52°22′N0°14′W / 52.37°N 00.24°W / 52.37; -00.24

Alconbury Weald is a new settlement in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, in the Huntingdonshire district, [1] of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. The settlement lies to the north-west of the town of Huntingdon, [2] and to the south of Peterborough. [3] The site was previously part of RAF Alconbury, with planning permission for the first phase of the new settlement being granted in 2014. It is close to the A1(M) motorway. Cambridgeshire County Council moved its headquarters from Cambridge to New Shire Hall at Alconbury Weald in 2021.

Contents

History

The Royal Air Force station at Alconbury opened in 1938, and was subsequently also used from 1942 by the United States Army Air Force, with operations continuing at the base after the Second World War had ended. By 2009 flying operations from the base had ceased, although the American air force continued to use part of the site. Most of the redundant land at RAF Alconbury, including the former runway, was sold to a development company, Urban and Civic, in 2009 for £27.5 million. [4]

The old airfield had straddled the civil parishes of Alconbury (after which it was named) and The Stukeleys, with many of the buildings on the site closely adjoining the village of Little Stukeley. The parish boundaries were redrawn in April 2010 to put the whole of the site into the parish of The Stukeleys. [5]

New Shire Hall: headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald (June 2023).jpg
New Shire Hall: headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council

In 2011, the UK Government designated the Alconbury Enterprise Zone covering the site, to encourage development delivering new jobs and homes in the area. [6]

Planning permission was granted in October 2014 for up to 290,000 m2 of employment floorspace and up to 5,000 homes, with supporting infrastructure and facilities, including shops, schools, health and leisure facilities and open spaces. The application also reserved a site for a possible new railway station on the Great Northern Railway, which skirts the eastern edge of the site. [7] Residents began occupying the first new homes on the site in 2016, with the first school on the site opening in September 2016. [8]

In 2018, Cambridgeshire County Council decided to vacate its former headquarters at Shire Hall, Cambridge and move to a new building at Alconbury Weald. [9] The new building was named "New Shire Hall", with the council's first committee meeting there being held in September 2021. [10]

In the 2021 Census, Alconbury Weald had a population of 1,221. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambridgeshire</span> County of England

Cambridgeshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Peterborough, and the city of Cambridge is the county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdonshire</span> Historic county and district of Cambridgeshire, England

Huntingdonshire is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the east, South Cambridgeshire to the south-east, Central Bedfordshire and Bedford to the south-west, and North Northamptonshire to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huntingdon</span> Former county town of Huntingdonshire

Huntingdon is a market town in the Huntingdonshire district of Cambridgeshire, England. The town was given its town charter by King John in 1205. It was the county town of the historic county of Huntingdonshire. Oliver Cromwell was born there in 1599 and became one of its Members of Parliament (MP) in 1628. The former Conservative Prime Minister (1990–1997) John Major served as its MP from 1979 until his retirement in 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civil parishes in Cambridgeshire</span>

A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 264 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, most of the county being parished; Cambridge is completely unparished; Fenland, East Cambridgeshire, South Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire are entirely parished. At the 2001 census, there were 497,820 people living in the parishes, accounting for 70.2 per cent of the county's population.

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Alconbury is a village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Alconbury is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being an historic county of England. Alconbury lies approximately 5 miles (8 km) north-west of Huntingdon.

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Molesworth is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Brington and Molesworth in Cambridgeshire, England. Molesworth is 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Huntingdon. The neighbouring village of Brington is 0.7 miles (1.1 km) from Molesworth. Molesworth is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 114. The civil parish of Brington and Molesworth covers an area of 2,842 acres. Just to the north of Molesworth and within the civil parish is RAF Molesworth. The village of Molesworth was designated a conservation area by Huntingdon District Council largely due to its typically rural English character that includes several listed buildings.

Alconbury Weston – in Huntingdonshire, England – is a village and civil parish, lying just outside of the Fens, having just a few hills, but a significant change to the flat of the Fens. Alconbury Weston is situated 6.5 miles (10.5 km) north-west of Huntingdon.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenstanton</span> Human settlement in England

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The Stukeleys is a civil parish in the district of Huntingdonshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, consisting of the villages of Great Stukeley and Little Stukeley, and the new settlement of Alconbury Weald being built on the old RAF Alconbury site. The parish lies just north-west of Huntingdon. As well as the two villages, the parish also includes Huntingdon racecourse. The East Coast Main Line runs across the eastern edge of the parish. The A14 road runs south-east to north-west across the western half of the parish and has junction with the A1 road just outside the western border of the parish. Cambridgeshire County Council has its headquarters at New Shire Hall on the Alconbury Weald development in the parish.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Stukeley</span> Human settlement in England

Great Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys. It is 1.8 miles (2.9 km) north-west of Huntingdon. Great Stukeley is in Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as a historic county of England. It lies on the old Roman road of Ermine Street. In 1931 the parish had a population of 354.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little Stukeley</span> Human settlement in England

Little Stukeley is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of The Stukeleys, in Cambridgeshire, England. Little Stukeley lies approximately 3 miles (5 km) north-west of Huntingdon. Little Stukeley is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire as well as being a historic county of England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 209.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brington, Cambridgeshire</span> Human settlement in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">RAF Alconbury</span> Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom

Royal Air Force Alconbury, or more simply RAF Alconbury, is an active Royal Air Force station near Huntingdon, England, that for many years was used by the USAF. The airfield is in the civil parish of The Stukeleys, close to the villages of Great Stukeley, Little Stukeley, and Alconbury. Flying operations are no longer based at the site, with most of the land, including the runway, having been sold in 2009 to become the new settlement of Alconbury Weald.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shire Hall, Cambridge</span> County building in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Shire Hall, Alconbury Weald</span> County building in Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire, England

New Shire Hall is a municipal building on Emery Crescent, Alconbury Weald, Cambridgeshire, England, built in 2019–2020. It is the headquarters of Cambridgeshire County Council.

References

  1. ↑ "The Stukeleys Parish Council, Huntingdonshire". Parish Councils.
  2. ↑ "Alconbury Weald (Cambridgeshire, East of England, United Kingdom) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "Cambridgeshire · United Kingdom". Cambridgeshire · United Kingdom. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  4. ↑ "Locals divided on Alconbury sale". BBC News. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  5. ↑ The Huntingdonshire (Parishes) Order 2009 (Statutory Instrument 2009 No. 2091) (PDF). London: Department for Communities and Local Government. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  6. ↑ Huntingdonshire Local Plan to 2036 (PDF). Huntingdon: Huntingdonshire District Council. 15 May 2019. p. 80. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  7. ↑ Planning application 1201158OUT for Alconbury Airfield, Ermine Street, Little Stukeley, submitted by Urban & Civic to Huntingdonshire District Council 15 August 2012, granted 1 October 2014.
  8. ↑ Day, Sophie (21 September 2016). "New primary school in Alconbury welcomes first class". Hunts Post. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Makey, Julian (15 May 2018). "County council HQ will move to Alconbury Weald - decision". Hunts Post. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
  10. ↑ "Children and Young People Committee, 14 September 2021". Cambridgeshire County Council. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  11. ↑ "Alconbury Weald in Cambridgeshire (East of England)". City Population.de. Retrieved 1 September 2024.

External sites

Urban & Civic: Alconbury Weald

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