Chafford Hundred

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Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred, Thurrock, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 22332.jpg
Housing in Chafford Hundred
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Chafford Hundred
Location within Essex
Population15,699 (2021 census) [note 1]
OS grid reference TQ595795
•  London 18.5 mi (29.8 km)  W
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town GRAYS
Postcode district RM16
Dialling code 01375
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°29′17″N0°18′00″E / 51.488°N 0.300°E / 51.488; 0.300

Chafford Hundred is an area in the Borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Chafford Hundred is north-west of Grays.

Contents

Its railway station serves the area and Lakeside Shopping Centre.

Lakeside Shopping Centre is in West Thurrock and is located in the Chafford and North Stifford, and South Chafford wards in the borough of Thurrock. [2] Chafford Hundred was built on parts of the historical parishes of Stifford and West Thurrock, Mill Lane being the border of the respective historical parishes. [3]

History

In 1985, Thurrock Council and Essex County Council approved a proposal by Blue Circle Industries, West Thurrock Estates and Tunnel Holdings to build a large landscape-housing estate on derelict land adjacent to the M25 motorway in Grays, Essex. [4] [5] Designed by architect Owen Luder, the proposal included the construction of 5,000 homes, five schools and new shops for a population of 15,000 people, and was estimated to cost £100 million. [5] It was named "Chafford Hundred" after a former Bishop of London and the historic Hundred of Chafford. [5] [6]

The development would be built on a 600 acre site in Grays and West Thurrock, north-west of Grays town centre. [7] [8] Around two-thirds of the site was previously used as a chalk quarry; the rest was mostly former agricultural land which had become uncultivated. [8] [9] Planning permission to reclaim and develop the site to build 5,000 homes was granted in July 1986 [7] [10] and construction began in 1988. [11] Blue Circle Industries formed a consortium with construction companies Rosehaugh and Pearson plc with the trade name Chafford Hundred Ltd to build the development. [11] To pay for construction costs, the consortium took up a £45 million loan to be paid back over the next seven years. [12] By this point, the project included plans for a new church, shopping centre, doctor's surgery, library and a train station on the Fenchurch Street railway line, with an overall estimated cost of £750 million. [13] [14] At the time, Chafford Hundred was characterised by the press as a new town in West Thurrock. [15] [14] [16] [13] [17] Officially, it was a housing estate in the western part of the town of Grays. [18] [7]

The first homes in Chafford Hundred were completed in 1989. Approximately 5,600 houses and flats have been built since 1989 on 353 acres of brownfield housing land. These areas have a variety of housing types which includes private sector housing as well as housing associations and retirement homes. [8] Chafford Hundred railway station serves the local area, and was built to serve the area. It opened in 1993, and currently sees a twice hourly service connecting it to London, Grays and Southend. [19] The name is re-used from the historic Hundred of Chafford, which covered a much larger area including parts of present-day Thurrock in Essex and the London Borough of Havering in Greater London. [20]

The area has seen large growth since its inception, with many City workers living there due to the relatively easy commute into central London. In 2012, it was reported in the national press, that more than half the flats (in the estate) were repossessed during the early 1990s housing slump, impacting it so significantly that prices fell by half. [21] Housing ranges from one or two bedroom apartments up to five / six bedroom large houses and therefore the area caters for many, although property prices grew rapidly during the late 1990s – The Evening Standard article, "the most coveted address in Britain" by Nick Curtis in 2001 included properties in the new village. [22] This is not due to the architecture of the houses (mostly all very similar starter homes), but because it provides relatively affordable housing with public and recreation areas, as well as generally large private gardens, well connected to many jobs. [23]

There are four elected councillors representing Chafford Hundred, currently Cllr Mark Coxshall and Cllr Garry Hague for Chafford and North Stifford Ward, and Cllr Abbie Akinbohun and Cllr Suzanne Hooper for South Chafford Ward. [24] The area's Member of Parliament is Jackie Doyle Price. Although there were initially no facilities, they managed to raise funds to build a youth park which was launched last year. [25] The area is also served by multiple churches. [26]

Schools

Chafford Hundred currently has four primary schools and one secondary school.

Geography

The land is on very gentle slopes (ranging from 18 to 34m AOD) and the area also has included a number of park and recreational areas. The largest area is of special environmental and scientific interest, Chafford Gorges Nature Park; its management was taken over by Essex Wildlife Trust on 9 June 2005.

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Grays is the largest town in the borough and unitary authority area of Thurrock, in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. The town, which is both a former civil parish and one of Thurrock's traditional Church of England parishes, is located on the north bank of the River Thames.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lakeside Shopping Centre</span> Shopping mall in Essex, England

Lakeside Shopping Centre is a large out-of-town shopping centre located in West Thurrock, Essex just beyond the eastern boundary of Greater London. It was constructed on the site of a former chalk quarry. The first tenants moved into the complex in 1988 and it was completed in 1990, being opened on 25 October of that year by Princess Alexandra of Kent, Marcus Bradford and Angus Ogilvy. New spaces in the red car park were added as recently as October 2019.

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

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

South Ockendon is a town, former civil parish and Church of England parish within the Thurrock borough in Essex in the East of England, United Kingdom. It is located on the border with Greater London, just outside the M25 motorway. The area to the north is North Ockendon. In 2019 it had an estimated population of 22,303 and in the 2021 United Kingdom census it had a population of 22,442

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

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

West Horndon is a village and civil parish in the south of the Borough of Brentwood in Essex, England. It is located 20 miles (32 km) east-northeast of Charing Cross in Central London. West Horndon civil parish was abolished in 1934 and created again in 2003 with new boundaries following a petition by residents in 2002. With a population of 1,650 in 2021, it is a predominantly rural parish with some residential and light industrial development. The civil parish includes the village of East Horndon. Dunton Hills, also within the civil parish, is planned to be the location of a new 3,700 home garden village. The local council of the parish is West Horndon Parish Council.

Thurrock Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Thurrock in Essex, England. Until 1 April 1998 it was a non-metropolitan district. One third of the council is elected each year, followed by one year without an election. Since the unitary authority was first elected in 1997, the council has consisted of 49 councillors elected from 20 wards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hundred of Chafford</span>

Chafford was an ancient hundred in the south west of the county of Essex, England. Its area has been partly absorbed by the growth of London; with its name reused for the modern housing development of Chafford Hundred. Its former area now corresponds to part of the London Borough of Havering in Greater London and parts of the districts of Brentwood and Thurrock in Essex.

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

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

Stifford is an area and former civil parish in the town of Grays in Thurrock, Essex, England. Historically a single village, the area was broken up by the construction of the A13 in the 1900s and is now divided by the road into three communities, the urban areas of South Stifford and Stifford Clays and the small village of North Stifford. In 1931 the parish had a population of 2188. On 1 April 1936 the parish was abolished to form Thurrock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mardyke (river)</span> River in Essex, England

The Mardyke is a small river, mainly in Thurrock, that flows into the River Thames at Purfleet, close to the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge. In part, it forms the boundary between the Essex hundreds of Barstable and Chafford. The river gives its name to the Mardyke Valley—a project aimed at increasing appreciation and usage of recreational land around the Mardyke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thurrock Council</span> Local authority in England

Thurrock Council is the local authority for the borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex, England. Thurrock is a unitary authority, having the powers and functions of a county council and district council combined. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association. The council is based in Grays.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chafford Gorges Nature Park</span> Nature reserve in Essex, England

The Chafford Gorges Nature Park is a 200-acre (81 ha) nature reserve located in Chafford Hundred, England, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It includes two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit has been designated for its biological interest, and Lion Pit for geological interest.

References

  1. ↑ Combined population of the electoral wards of South Chafford and Chafford and North Stifford. Also includes the settlement of North Stifford. [1]
  1. ↑ "East of England: Local Authority Districts and Wards". City Population. 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  2. ↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England Archived 3 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ "Parishes: West Thurrock | British History Online".
  4. ↑ "Reclaimed land". New Society . Vol. 75, no. 1213. 28 March 1986. pp. 548–549 – via Google Books.
  5. 1 2 3 Jones, Graham (28 August 1985). "Chalkpit plan eases threat to Green Belt". The Daily Telegraph . No. 40, 493. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Borough and council history: From Turroc to modern Thurrock". Thurrock Council . Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Community Needs and Open Spaces Study – Thurrock Council" (PDF). Thurrock Council . September 2005. pp. 105–106. Retrieved 10 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 "Chafford Hundred Station Travel Plan" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "Builders press for more than 30,000 homes on eight sites". The Guardian . 7 January 1986. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "The cement maker's blues". Manchester Evening News . No. 36, 448. 27 August 1986. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 Dineen, Michael (31 July 1988). "Thoroughly Thurrock". The Observer . No. 10269. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Premier's £200m loan facility hangs in balance". The Daily Telegraph . No. 41, 333. 16 May 1988. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. 1 2 Dineen, Michael (6 March 1988). "Bargains in Liverpool". The Observer . No. 10248. p. 51 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. 1 2 Taylor, Cheryl (22 November 1989). "The bridge to higher places". The Daily Telegraph . No. 41, 808. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Boardroom briefs". Manchester Evening News . No. 36, 192. 3 March 1988. p. 21 – via Newspaper.com.
  16. ↑ "New town for Essex". Burton Trader. No. 873. 23 March 1988. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Whetnall, Norman (3 March 1988). "Soaring Footsie cheers chartists". The Daily Telegraph . No. 41, 270. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Department of the Environment; Breheny, Michael J.; Gent, Tim; Lock, David (1993). Alternative Development Patterns: New Settlements. H.M. Stationery Office. p. 121. ISBN   978-0-11-752784-3.
  19. ↑ "Network Rail Winter 2016/7 Working Timetable" (PDF). p. 28. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  20. ↑ "Chafford hundred: Introduction | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  21. ↑ Clark, Ross (11 December 2002). "Who will survive a crash?". The telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  22. ↑ Curtis, Nick (11 December 2002). "The Most Coveted Address in Britain". The telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Moran, Joe (2005). Reading the Everyday. Routledge. p. 207. ISBN   978-1-134-37215-7.
  24. ↑ "Current councillors | Thurrock Council". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  25. ↑ "The Enquirer :: First anniversary for Chafford Hundred youth park". Archived from the original on 28 August 2013.
  26. ↑ "All Saints Church". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  27. ↑ Shepherd, Jessica (13 January 2010). "School created five years ago is 'most improved'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
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