South Midlands

Last updated

South Midlands
Country United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East Midlands (part)
East of England (part)
South East England (part)
Counties
Counties included in some definitions
Time zone UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
  Summer (DST) UTC+1 (British Summer Time)

The South Midlands is an area of England which includes Northamptonshire, the northern parts of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and the western part of Bedfordshire. Unlike the East Midlands or West Midlands, the South Midlands is not one of the NUTS statistical regions of the United Kingdom.

Contents

An early definition

The 1851 census defined a South Midland division which comprised Middlesex (except the Metropolitan portion), Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. [1]

To understand why the South Midland division extends so far south, it may help to know that some 19th-century geographers defined a Central Plain consisting of the middle parts of England, lying between the valleys of the River Trent and the River Thames to the north and south, and between the Fen district and the high ground bordering the valley of the River Severn to the east and west. [2]

Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area

The Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area EnglandSouthMidlands.png
The Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area

In 2008, the Government referred to an area centred on the City of Milton Keynes as the Milton Keynes and South Midlands growth area. This area comprises the whole of Bedfordshire, the whole of Northamptonshire, and parts of Buckinghamshire (the City of Milton Keynes and other parts of north Buckinghamshire).[ citation needed ] It straddles the boundaries of other regions of England, including portions of the East Midlands, East of England and South East England. [3]

The main settlements are Aylesbury, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Corby, Kettering, Wellingborough, Rushden, Bedford and Luton. A report in 2002 found that: "The most successful economies are those of Milton Keynes and Northampton. Bedford, Corby and the Luton/Dunstable/Houghton Regis area are in need of regeneration." [4] The region is served by London Luton Airport (the fifth busiest airport in the United Kingdom), and has important road and rail links, being served by the M1 motorway and both the West Coast and East Coast main lines, connecting it with London, Birmingham and the north of England.

Other examples

See also

Related Research Articles

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

Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the east, Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, and Oxfordshire to the west. The largest settlement is the city of Milton Keynes, and the county town is Aylesbury.

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

Northamptonshire is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire to the south and Warwickshire to the west. Northampton is the largest settlement and the county town.

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

Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Luton (225,262), and Bedford is the county town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London metropolitan area</span> Region of England

The London metropolitan area is the metropolitan area of London, England. It has several definitions, including the London Travel to Work Area, and usually consists of the London urban area, settlements that share London's infrastructure, and places from which it is practicable to commute to work in London. It is also known as the London commuter belt, or Southeast metropolitan area.

BBC Three Counties Radio is the BBC's local radio station serving the counties of Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire.

BBC Radio Northampton is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Northamptonshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borough of Wellingborough</span> Former borough in England

The Borough of Wellingborough was a non-metropolitan district and borough in Northamptonshire, England, from 1974 to 2021. It was named after Wellingborough, its main town, but also included surrounding rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Bedfordshire</span> History of Bedfordshire County in England

Bedfordshire is an English ceremonial county which lies between approximately 25 miles and 55 miles north of central London.

The Oxford–Cambridge Arc is a notional arc of agricultural and urban land at about 80 kilometres radius of London, in south central England. It runs between the British university cities of Oxford and Cambridge via Milton Keynes and other settlements in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire at the northern rim of the London commuter belt. It is significant only in economic geography, with little physical geography in common.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Milton Keynes Central railway station</span> Principal railway station of Milton Keynes, England

Milton Keynes Central railway station serves Milton Keynes and surrounding parts of Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire (England). The station is located on the West Coast Main Line about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of London. The station is served by Avanti West Coast intercity services, and by West Midlands Trains regional services.

England is divided by a number of different regional schemes for various purposes. Since the creation of the Government Office Regions in 1994 and their adoption for statistical purposes in 1999, some historical regional schemes have become obsolete. However, many alternative regional designations also exist and continue to be widely used.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BBC East</span>

BBC East is one of BBC's English Regions covering Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire and parts of Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire. It is headquartered in The Forum, Norwich since 2003. It was also separated into two areas, one with the East area covering mostly in Norfolk, Suffolk & Essex, and another from the West area which covers from Cambridge, serving mostly Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire and the three counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandy Heath transmitting station</span> TV and radio transmitter, Cambridgeshire, UK

Sandy Heath transmitting station is a television and radio broadcasting station in England, located between Sandy, Bedfordshire and Potton near the B1042. It is owned by Arqiva, formerly NTL Broadcast. It was built in 1965, originally broadcasting Anglia Television on VHF 405-lines, UHF with 625-line services of BBC2, BBC1, and Anglia Television being added by January 1971. It carried Channel 4 and Channel 5 from their launch days, Channel 5 at lower power than the other four services. Today it broadcasts digital television on the DTT platform as digital switchover took place on 13 April 2011. On 17 June 2018, as part of the 700MHz clearance, Com5 moved from Ch52 to Ch36, Com7 moved from Ch32 to Ch55 and Com8 moved from Ch34 to Ch56

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Counties Omnibus</span>

United Counties Omnibus was an English bus company, operating in Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, and parts of surrounding counties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buses in Milton Keynes</span> Bus services in and around Milton Keynes, England

Buses in Milton Keynes are run by a mixture of operators on a network of urban and rural routes in and around the Milton Keynes urban area. These services have a varied history involving five different companies. At the foundation of the 'New City' in 1967 and for some years afterwards, Milton Keynes was served by a rural bus service between and to the pre-existing towns. Apart from a small-scale experimental service, urban buses arrived on the scene with deregulation in 1986. Since April 2010 the core local services have been provided by Arriva Shires & Essex. Long-distance coach services also serve MK, often via the Milton Keynes Coachway located near junction 14 of the M1 motorway.

The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) was established in 2011, and is one of 39 Local Enterprise Partnerships set up by the Government to drive economic development in England. The SEMLEP geographical region includes 36 enterprise and innovation centres, and five universities. Its board is made up of representatives from the public and private sectors, in addition to skills providers.

Local transport bodies are partnerships of local authorities in England outside Greater London. There are 38 local transport bodies. They cover similar areas to local enterprise partnerships, but are not permitted to overlap each other. Decision making for major transport infrastructure spending is devolved to these bodies from the Department for Transport. They will receive funding from April 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury Vale</span> Geographic region in Buckinghamshire, England

The Aylesbury Vale is a geographical region in Buckinghamshire, England, which is bounded by the City of Milton Keynes and West Northamptonshire to the north, Central Bedfordshire and the Borough of Dacorum (Hertfordshire) to the east, the Chiltern Hills to the south and South Oxfordshire to the west. It is named after Aylesbury, the county town of Buckinghamshire. Winslow and Buckingham are among the larger towns in the vale.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Midlands Rugby Football Union</span>

The East Midlands Rugby Football Union (EMRFU) is a governing body for rugby union in part of The Midlands, England. The union is the constituent body of the Rugby Football Union for the counties of Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire and the Huntingdonshire and Peterborough districts of Cambridgeshire and administers and organises rugby union clubs and competitions in those areas. It also administers the East Midlands county rugby representative teams.

England's Economic Heartland Strategic Alliance is one of seven sub-national transport bodies in England. EEH is a partnership of councils and local enterprise partnerships, stretching from Swindon and Oxfordshire in the west to Cambridgeshire in the east, and from Northamptonshire down to Hertfordshire. The area includes the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, as defined by Government.

References

  1. Map of the South Midlands Counties.
  2. W. Hughes, Manual of British Geography, 1851, page 15.
  3. Milton Keynes South Midlands Archived 1 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine .
  4. Roger Tym and Partners, Milton Keynes and South Midlands Study: Final Report of the Study, Chapter 8: Conclusions Archived 14 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. Council for British Archaeology South Midlands Region.
  6. Divisions of the English Powerlifting Association
  7. The Pagan Federation, South Midlands.
  8. "Area Associations – England Korfball".
  9. Hutson, Rebecca (30 July 2024). "South Midlands Authorities launched to unite region and drive economic growth". Northampton Chronicle and Echo. Retrieved 30 July 2024.

52°06′N0°48′W / 52.1°N 0.8°W / 52.1; -0.8