Leigh Park
| Leigh Park | |
|---|---|
 Staunton Country Park | |
  Leigh Park Location withinHampshire | |
| Population | Approx 27,500 |
| OS grid reference | SU712082 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Havant |
| Postcode district | PO9 |
| Dialling code | (023) |
| Police | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Fire | Hampshire and Isle of Wight |
| Ambulance | South Central |
| UK Parliament | |
Leigh Parkis a largesuburb(population 27,500) ofHavant,inHampshire,England.It currently forms the bulk or whole of fourelectoral wards:Battins, Bondfields, Barncroft and Warren Park (generally referred to as 'The Warren').
Staunton Country Parklies on the northern edge of Leigh Park, also within the Havant boundary.
History
[edit]Leigh Park existed before becoming a post Second world war housing estate,
Early history
[edit]As early as 1750 mention was made of a farm on the site in a will of that year and local historians consider it likely that a farm existed there around 100 years earlier.[1]
Leigh Park Estate
[edit]The stables, walled garden and coach house of the house survived as part ofStaunton Country Park.The estate encompassed decorative planting, lakes and follies[2]and was described as "one of the most beautiful spots in the county" in 1826.[3]
In 'The Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales' Leigh is described as atythingof Havant parish two miles to the north west of Havant with a population of 547.[4]
Second world war
[edit]Leigh Park was re-developed as a new suburb for those madehomelessinPortsmouthby bomb damage which occurred duringWorld War IIand to enable the new roads and parks of Portsmouth to be built.
Post war
[edit]The land for the estate was purchased by PortsmouthCity councilfrom theFitzwygramfamily in 1944; work started on building in 1947 and the first residents moved in during 1949. The first shops opened in 1952 (in Stone Square) and the main shopping centre of Park Parade / Greywell Shopping opened in 1955.[a]
The majority of homes in Leigh Park were built by Portsmouth City Council, notHavantBorough Council through a financially underwritten cooperation with the former Havant and Waterloo Urban District Council. Most Leigh Parktenantsofsocial housingpay rent to the properties' ownersGuinness Partnership(formerly Hermitage Housing) or Portsmouth City Council which has an office near Park Parade. Residents are liable incouncil taxto Havant Borough Council who provide local services and collect the Hampshire County Council proportion.
Construction of the estate was not fully completed until the early 1970s, although most of the houses in the area were built by 1960.
Barratt Homesis currently building on the formerProcter & Gamblesite in the centre of Leigh Park. Leigh Park was one of the largest wholly council estates inEuropehowever following the ongoingright to buymany of the properties are privately owned.
In 2004, Leigh Park made the news when a gang stole more than £100,000 from theNationwide Building Society[5]and a man sleeping on a bench was set on fire, in a separate incident.[6]
Governance
[edit]
The suburb of Leigh Park comes under the remit of thelocal government districtandborough of Havantand within the boundary ofHampshire County Council.As of November 2019[update]the area is broadly covered by theelectoral wardsof Barncroft, Battins and Warren Park while some northern section of Bedhampton ward might be considered within what might be commonly thought of Leigh Park.[7]
Leigh Park is part of theparliamentary constituency of Havant.As of November 2019[update]it is served by MPAlan Mak,aConservative.
Geography
[edit]Places adjacent to Leigh Park | ||||||||||||||||
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The modern estate is bordered to the east by the Havant to Petersfield railway line excluding perhaps some industrial units by the railway which would not be considered part of the estate. The Northern extent is approximately defined in line with theA3Mand B2150 junction.Staunton Country Parkand Leigh Park Gardens may or may not be considered part of the estate, as might the Southleigh House area which lies to the east of the Railway. The western edge is bounded but excluding houses around B2150 road from Old Bedhampton to Waterlooville. To the south, the boundary lies broadly just to the north of the B2149 road.
Leigh Park is broadly flat gradually rising to the North with some sharper rises at fringes around the northern parts.
The Hermitage Stream and tributaries run through parts of Leigh Park while the Lavant stream runs down the left side of the settlement.[8][9]Both run intoLangstone Harbourwhich is approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south at the nearest point.
Culture and community
[edit]![[icon]](/translate/en.wikipedia.org?u=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FFile%3AWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg&t=vi){kind=small} | This sectionneeds expansion.You can help byadding to it.(November 2019) |
There was aBowling alleybeside park parade that was converted to a bingo hall and opened by Diana Dors in 1984.[10]: 4
Transport
[edit]The main shopping precinct is served byStagecoach Southbus routes 20, 21, 23, 37 and 39, which provide links with central Havant (with some services continuing to Portsmouth and the main area hospital).Stagecoach Southalso operate the 27 service through the estate between Rowlands Castle, Havant and Emsworth.
Havant railway stationis the nearest major train station, smaller stationsBedhamptonandRowlands Castleare near parts of Leigh Park. TheA3(M) motorwayandA27Havant bypass are the areas' major links to the rest of the country.
Education
[edit]Leigh Park contains several primary schools: Front Lawn, Trosnant, Riders, Sharps Copse, Park House, Warren Park, Barncroft School and St Albans C of E.
Leigh Park is currently served by three secondary schools:Havant Academy(known as Wakefords Secondary School when it opened in 1970[11]and latterly Staunton Community Sports College until 2009),Park Community School(known previously as Broomfield Secondary School, when it opened in 1958,[12]and Broomfield Comprehensive School until 1988) and Prospect School, built in 2008, an education centre for children with learning and social disabilities.
The West Leigh area was also served by Oak Park Secondary School on Leigh Road (close to the junction with Crosland Drive - now demolished), from its opening in 1957 to its closure in the late 1980s.[11]Pupils from that area then attended Warblington Comprehensive School situated some distance from the area on Southleigh Road, Denvilles.
Between 1958 and 1960 Havant Grammar School had shared the Broomfield Secondary School site on Middle Park Way until it moved to its own, new buildings on the corner of Barncroft Way and New Road.[12]The title Havant Grammar School disappeared with the arrival of the comprehensive school system and it becameHavant Collegea sixth-form college in 1974.
Sport
[edit]The suburb's main non-league football side isHavant & Waterloovillewho currently play in theConference South,two divisions below theFootball League.The team's main claim to fame is reaching theFA Cupfourth round in the2007-08 seasonwhen they twice took the lead against Liverpool atAnfieldbefore finally losing 5-2.
Havant Hockey Club play at Havant College on Barncroft Way (just on the outskirts of Leigh Park). The team were National and European Champions in the 1990s.
Sombourne Drive is home to Leigh Park Bowls Club and Front Lawn Recreation Ground, the "Rec" had a £1.5M upgrade and is now known as Front Lawn Community Hub, this upgrade provided improved facilities including four changing rooms, toilets and community space. In addition to this,
Front Lawn Community Hub also has A full-size, state-of-the-art 3G artificial pitch.
- 3G floodlit football pitch inc. changing facilities
- Multisport courts including: Tennis Courts x3 (x2 are floodlit), Basketball & Netball
- Office building with x2 function rooms
- Free parking
Leigh Park bo xing club is based at the community centre.[13]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^The centre consists of two main east-west shopping thoroughfares, with Greywell Road to the north and Park Parade to the south and west, and can be called either name
References
[edit]- ^"Birth of the estate".Staunton Records.Archived fromthe originalon 13 March 2016.
- ^"Parks & Gardens UK".Archived fromthe originalon 26 March 2012.Retrieved4 October2010.
- ^Scott, Richard (1826)A Topographical and Historical Account of Hayling Island, Hants.Havant: I. Skelton (anonymous) (Reissued by Frank Westwood, Petersfield, Hants, 1974ISBN0-904172-01-5
- ^Wilson (1870),p. 8.
- ^"Masked robber trio steal £100,000".27 November 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 24 March 2016.Retrieved17 November2019– via news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^"Boy, 17, charged over burning man".BBC News Online.14 June 2004.Archivedfrom the original on 17 November 2005.Retrieved1 September2012.
- ^"HavantWard Boundaries"(PDF).Havant Borough Council.Archived(PDF)from the original on 15 December 2017.Retrieved17 November2019.
- ^"The Lavant Stream at Havant, Rowlands Castle and Finchdean"(PDF).
- ^"A History of the Hermitage Stream and its Tributaries — Restoration and Enhancement Projects"(PDF).
- ^Cousins, Ralph (November 2016)."The Early Years of the Leigh Park Housing Estate"(PDF).Havant Borough History Booklet.
- ^ab"Havant Borough Council Timeline 2012"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 12 May 2014.
- ^ab"A History of Havant".localhistories.org.Archivedfrom the original on 12 June 2017.Retrieved10 May2014.
- ^"Leigh Park community Centre is saved by charity".The News (Portsmouth). 8 March 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 5 October 2018.Retrieved4 October2018.
Sources
[edit]- Cousins, Ralph; et al. (2017).A History of Leigh Park and the Hamlet of Leigh.Havant Borough.
- Hammond, Phil (September 1997).Leigh Park — the first fifty years.The Staunton Park Genealogy Centre.
- Community Centre, Leigh Park (1997).Leigh Park — Garden City of the South.Leigh Park Community Association.ISBN0953142205.
- Wilson, John Marius (1870).The imperial gazetteer of England and Wales.Vol. 4, L–M. Edinburgh: A. Fullarton. p.8.OCLC1046644770.
External links
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Towns and villages in the Borough of Havant | ||||||||||||
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