Watermead, Buckinghamshire

Last updated

Watermead
Watermead Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 904485.jpg
Looking across the lake.
Watermead in Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 1319671.jpg
Watermead
Buckinghamshire UK location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Watermead
Location within Buckinghamshire
Population2,343 (2011 Census) [1]
OS grid reference SP8215
Civil parish
  • Watermead
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town AYLESBURY
Postcode district HP19
Dialling code 01296
Police Thames Valley
Fire Buckinghamshire
Ambulance South Central
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Buckinghamshire
51°49′57″N0°48′22″W / 51.832547°N 0.806247°W / 51.832547; -0.806247

Watermead is a village situated to the north of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. It is a civil parish and forms part of the Aylesbury Urban Area.

Contents

Housing development

Plans for the village of Watermead were first drawn up in the 1980s. The idea was to create a self-contained executive area that would bring new sports facilities and a better quality of housing to the town.

Bandstand with ducks Bandstand and Ducks, Watermead, Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 137534.jpg
Bandstand with ducks

The village is built on green belt land. At the planning stage the designers were required to pay heed to the ecology of the local area to help protect the environment. Central to the plans therefore was an extensive lake that would become a haven for wildlife and many wild birds.

The water table in the Vale of Aylesbury is higher than the average in England, on account of extensive water reserves that are stored below the clay bed of the whole vale.[ citation needed ] The designers of the village took this into account by creating a lake in the centre to allow for rise in water levels. Construction went underway and the first houses were ready for sale in 1986

On the opposite side of the lake from the village was an artificial ski slope. Control over the local water table with flood defences installed and diversions for the River Thame to flood planes on specially dug lakes. The village has grown extensively and has a very active parish council. The ski slope site has been developed and is now Aylesbury Vale Crematorium.

Dry ski slope in Watermead, Aylesbury Dry Ski Slope, Watermead, Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 137531.jpg
Dry ski slope in Watermead, Aylesbury

Watermead was voted one of the top villages of its type in the country in the early 1990s and won awards for its design and original ideas.[ citation needed ]

Ducks in the lake during a March sunset. Lake with Ducks, evening. Watermead, Aylesbury - geograph.org.uk - 137536.jpg
Ducks in the lake during a March sunset.

The original Royco theme was designed by architects John Evennett Associates. Blocks of individual homes were built that made walking through each road (each named after a breed of bird) interesting, although this is something that has been lost since newer building designs were erected around Watermead, but predominantly the existing original Royco village are visible from the approach road, and from over the bridge and across the lake.

Transport

Watermead's closest station is Aylesbury with services to London Marylebone and High Wycombe. Several buses routes connect Watermead to Aylesbury town centre operated by Rainbow Routes, Redline Buses and Arriva.

Parish Council

Watermead parish was established in 2001 and had its first meeting on 18 June of that year.

Notable residents

Related Research Articles

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

Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milton Keynes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chiltern Hills</span> Range of hills in Southeast England

The Chiltern Hills are a chalk escarpment in the UK northwest of London, covering 660 square miles (1,700 km2) across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and Bedfordshire, stretching 45 miles (72 km) from Goring-on-Thames in the southwest to Hitchin in the northeast. The hills are 12 miles (19 km) at their widest.

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

Aston Clinton is a historic village and civil parish in the Vale of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England. The village lies at the foot of the Chiltern Hills, between the Wendover and Aylesbury arms of the Grand Union Canal. Surrounding towns include Wendover to the south, Aylesbury to the west, and Tring to the east - across the nearby county border with Hertfordshire.

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

Bierton is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about half a mile northeast of the town of Aylesbury. It is mainly a farming parish. Together with the hamlets of Broughton, Kingsbrook, Broughton Crossing and Burcott it historically formed the civil parish of Bierton with Broughton within Aylesbury Vale district and form part of the Aylesbury Urban Area, but in 2020 the parish was broken into three, with Bierton becoming its own parish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendover</span> Town in Buckinghamshire, England

Wendover is a town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road along the foot of the Chilterns. The town is some 35 miles (56 km) north west of London and 5 miles (8 km) south east of Aylesbury.

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

Quainton is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, 7 miles (11 km) north-west of Aylesbury. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 1,295. The village has two churches, a school and one public house. The location means that while many commute to London, others are employed in neighbouring towns and villages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haddenham, Buckinghamshire</span> Village in England

Haddenham is a village and civil parish in west Buckinghamshire, England. It is about 5 miles (8 km) south-west of Aylesbury and 4 miles (6 km) north-east of Thame in neighbouring Oxfordshire. At the 2011 Census, the population of the civil parish was 4,502.

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

Bletchley is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in the south-west of the city, and is split between the civil parishes of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford and West Bletchley.

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

Fleet Marston is a civil parish and deserted medieval village in the Aylesbury Vale district of Buckinghamshire, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of the centre of Aylesbury. The parish measures about 2.5 miles (4 km) north – south, but east – west it is nowhere more than about 34 mile (1.2 km) wide. It is bounded to the southeast by the River Thame, to the east by a stream that joins the Thame, and to the west by field boundaries. It has an area of 934 acres (378 ha).

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

Hawridge is a small village in the Chilterns in the county of Buckinghamshire, England and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Chesham, 4 miles (6.4 km) from both Tring and Berkhamsted. Hawridge is one of four villages making up Cholesbury-cum-St Leonards, a civil parish within Chiltern District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marsh Gibbon</span> Human settlement in Buckinghamshire, England

Marsh Gibbon is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. It is close to the A41 and the border with Oxfordshire about 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Bicester.

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

Whitchurch is a village and civil parish in the unitary authority area of Buckinghamshire, England. The village is on the A413 road about 4 miles (6.4 km) north of Aylesbury and 4.5 miles (7 km) south of Winslow. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 932.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">River Thame</span> River in Southern England

The River Thame is a river in Southern England. A tributary of the River Thames, the river runs generally south-westward for about 40 mi (64 km) from its source above the Buckinghamshire town of Aylesbury to the Thames in south-east Oxfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury railway station</span> Railway station in Buckinghamshire, England

Aylesbury railway station is a railway station in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, on the London–Aylesbury line from London Marylebone via Amersham. It is 38 miles (61 km) from Aylesbury to Marylebone. A branch line from Princes Risborough on the Chiltern Main Line terminates at the station. It was the terminus for London Underground's Metropolitan line until the service was cut back to Amersham in 1961. The station was also known as Aylesbury Town under the management of British Railways from c. 1948 until the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairford Leys</span> Estate in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England

Fairford Leys is a housing development in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, designed in the urban village style, with the street and block layout making it more friendly to pedestrians and cyclists. The three main developers of the development were bound by a design code to ensure architectural cohesion and this is maintained through covenants on the deeds of each property.

The Aylesbury Vale Academy, formerly Quarrendon School, was Buckinghamshire's first Academy. It is a Church of England Academy with the Anglican Diocese of Oxford as the primary sponsor and Buckinghamshire Council as a co-sponsor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station</span> Railway station in Aylesbury, England

Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station is a railway station serving villages northwest of Aylesbury, England. It also serves the Berryfields and Weedon Hill housing developments north of the town. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Chiltern Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buckingham Park, Buckinghamshire</span> Human settlement in England

Buckingham Park is a suburban residential neighbourhood contiguous with the north-west edge of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. It is currently the location of major housing developments on two sites known originally as Weedon Hill and Berryfields. Buckingham Park is also the name of the civil parish, part of Aylesbury Vale District Authority. The neighbourhood is close to the River Thame.

Newton Leys is a district that covers the southern tip of Bletchley and straddles the boundary between the City of Milton Keynes and the rest of Buckinghamshire. The larger fraction of Newton Leys lies within Milton Keynes and forms a part of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford civil parish. It is separated from central Bletchley, Water Eaton and the Lakes Estate by the West Coast Main Line. The remaining fraction of Newton Leys lies within the (former) Aylesbury Vale district and forms a part of the Stoke Hammond civil parish, although the village of Stoke Hammond is situated on the other side of the A4146

<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.

References

  1. Neighbourhood Statistics 2011 Census, Accessed 3 February 2013

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Watermead, Buckinghamshire at Wikimedia Commons