Bradley Stoke
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Bradley Stoke is a dormitory town/suburb in South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire
South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, in South West England.-History:The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon...
, England, situated on the north side of the city of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. Named after the local Bradley Brook and Stoke Brook
Stoke Brook
Stoke Brook is a small brook in South Gloucestershire, England. It gives its name to the settlements of Stoke Gifford, Harry Stoke, Little Stoke, Great Stoke, Stoke Lodge and Bradley Stoke....
streams, the town was planned in the 1970s and building began in 1987. The town is predominantly residential with some retail and commercial areas.
About
Although there is some provision for local employment, such as the business parks at the north of the town, the Aztec WestAztec West
Aztec West is a business park in South Gloucestershire, England, situated at the northern fringes of Greater Bristol, near Bradley Stoke and Patchway. It is close to the M4 and M5 motorways and the Almondsbury Interchange. Adjacent is the A38 trunk road....
business area and the two supermarkets, it is a commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
, with many people travelling daily to the nearby city of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. The town now has more than its planned population of 25,000. Parts now join with Little Stoke
Little Stoke
Little Stoke is a suburb of north Bristol, situated in South Gloucestershire, England. Surrounded by Patchway, Stoke Gifford and Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke, in the middle, is often forgotten...
, Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford
Stoke Gifford is a large dormitory village, and parish in South Gloucestershire, England, in the northern suburbs of Bristol. It has around 11,000 residents as of the 2001 Census. It is home to Bristol Parkway station, on the London-South Wales railway line, and the Bristol offices of Friends Life...
and Patchway
Patchway
Patchway is a town in South Gloucestershire, England, situated northwest of central Bristol. The town is a housing overflow for Bristol being contiguous to Bristol's urban area, and is often regarded as a large outer suburb. Nearby are the other Bristol satellite towns of Filton and Bradley Stoke....
, and further growth is restricted by the M4
M4 motorway
The M4 motorway links London with South Wales. It is part of the unsigned European route E30. Other major places directly accessible from M4 junctions are Reading, Swindon, Bristol, Newport, Cardiff and Swansea...
and M5 motorway
M5 motorway
The M5 is a motorway in England. It runs from a junction with the M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Bromwich and west of Birmingham through Sandwell Valley...
s. The planning was built around domestic residence and the car, providing little in the way of public space and other facilities normally found in an area of comparable size and population such as parks, playing fields and public houses.
Bradley Stoke is twinned with Champs-sur-Marne
Champs-sur-Marne
Champs-sur-Marne is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France in the Île-de-France region from the center of Paris....
in France, on the outskirts of Paris. A modern residential area in Bradley Stoke is named after Champs Sur Marne.
Many of the differences between Bradley Stoke and the Bristol area can be attributed to either the difference in demographics, or local political geography. While Bristol has a wide ranging demographic expected from a populous city, Bradley Stoke in 2001 was largely made up of white, owner-occupier
Owner-occupier
An owner-occupier is a person who lives in and owns the same home. It is a type of housing tenure. The home of the owner-occupier may be, for example, a house, apartment, condominium, or a housing cooperative...
, young families.
Facilities
Many of the facilities in the town were to be funded by the housing developers from housing sales, via 'Section 106' planning agreements. When house building and sales slowed for a time in the late 80s, there was a significant slowdown in facility completion. This included the late provision of the road joining the north and south sides of the town, and also completion of the doctors' surgery.The town centre, Willow Brook Centre, opened on 13 October 2008 featuring around 18 units. Stores include: Tesco Extra
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...
, Phoenix Dental Surgery, Giant Bicycles, Pets at Home
Pets at Home
Pets at Home is a large pet supplies retail chain in the United Kingdom. With 300 stores nationwide, it is the largest pet supplies retail chain in the United Kingdom Pets at home currently have over 5000 employees...
and Specsavers
Specsavers
Specsavers Optical Group Ltd is the biggest optical retailer in the UK and Ireland. It is also the biggest of the four major opticians that control 70% of the British market for spectacles and contact lenses, with Specsavers having a 39% share of the market...
.
The new town centre was named by an anonymous resident as part of a competition run by Tesco. The centre is situated on the original Tesco supermarket site, and the redevelopment was approved by South Gloucestershire Council on 13 November 2006.
In addition the town is served by two Tesco Express stores, and an Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...
store (on the former Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...
site.)
There are six primary schools, a leisure centre with a swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
and public library
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
, gym and beauty salon, an emerging district centre, and a secondary school. The secondary school, Bradley Stoke Community School
Bradley Stoke Community School
Bradley Stoke Community School is a secondary school in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire near Bristol. After construction was completed in July 2005, the school opened in September to accommodate the new year 7 pupils. It currently has 100 staff and 918 students.Plans recently went through to...
, opened in September 2005 and has the capacity for up to 1,080 students.
A post-16 centre at the school was completed in Summer 2010.
The Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve
Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve
The Three Brooks Nature Reserve is a Local Nature Reserve of about 60 hectares in Bradley Stoke, South Gloucestershire, England. It is named after the Hortham, Patchway, and Stoke Brooks which run through it, meeting at Three Brooks Lake before flowing eastwards back under the M4 motorway as...
is an area of about 60 hectares (148.3 acre) in the town including bluebell woods, rough grassland, brooks, ponds, and the man-made Three Brooks Lake.
The town's local football team is Bradley Stoke Town FC. The cricket club is Bradley Stoke Cricket Club.
Business
Employment is particularly found along the Great Park Road, at the Almondsbury Business Park, and at the Aztec WestAztec West
Aztec West is a business park in South Gloucestershire, England, situated at the northern fringes of Greater Bristol, near Bradley Stoke and Patchway. It is close to the M4 and M5 motorways and the Almondsbury Interchange. Adjacent is the A38 trunk road....
development.
The further developments of the Willow Brook Centre and the addition of larger high street chains such as Boots, Peacocks and the Harvester have increased the number of jobs available for local residents as well as boosting trade within Bradley Stoke. In previous years, Bradley Stoke attracted custom through passing trade from those exiting and joining the motorways and commuting, however since the expansion of the willow Brook centre both business owners and potential employees are attracted to this area.
Community Festival
The Bradley Stoke community festival has been running since 2002 and is held over a weekend in June. The purpose of the commuity festival is to bring the community together with different activities and events, such as live music and sports.Media
Bradley Stoke's news publications include: Bradley Stoke Matters, the free community magazine and community website which started up in 2005, and is delivered quarterly to every home, and The Bradley Stoke Journal, an online newspaper publication since 2007.The town is served by a community radio station, Bradley Stoke Radio which broadcasts 365 days a year on its webcasts and twice a year on 87.7 MHz FM.