Brighton Hill
Encyclopedia
Brighton Hill is a district of Basingstoke
, England
, that was formed around 1970 as part of the Town Centre Development Plan. The area is bounded to the west by the newer housing estate of Hatch Warren
and by the A30. To the east of Brighton Hill, the Viables
Industrial Estate and Cranbourne area, sometimes referred to as Grove
lays. The area to the east is a lot older than Brighton Hill itself. The M3 motorway runs in a straight line to the south of the area, directly next to the southern ebb of Brighton Hill, which sometimes is referred to as Old Hatchwarren.
The place marked as Brighton Hill on the 1877 map would roughly at the rear of Hatchwarren School, at the junction between the footpaths. As the map shows, one such footpath was the original Hatch Warren Lane in the area, the other links Brighton Hill with Hatch Warren.
where Viables Roundabout is today. A section of track lies in the middle of the roundabout, as a permanent reminder of the railway. Cranbourne Lane carried on into Basingstoke Town Centre, passing many agricultural nurseries on the way. At the railway crossing, there was a junction with a road, now known as The Harrow Way but in times gone by, The Basingstoke Bypass. This road stretched from the junction with the road to Alton
(now A339) from Hackwood Lane, to the Winchester
Road (A30
). The A30 route from Basingstoke Town Centre runs to a very similar alignment today, the main difference being a diversion behind Brighton Hill Community College
, to allow for building of a retail park. The only real housing in the area was in a street known as Cumberland Avenue, at the time completely surrounded by fields. The road exists today and is a very unusual place in Brighton Hill.
The Willis Museum features many articles relating to the history of Basingstoke and its suburbs; visit the website at: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/museum/willis-museum/local-studies-willis.htm .
Later additions included the Guinness Trust
development, from Beecham Berry in the south to Boyce Close and Copland Close in the north. This development filled more of the gaps left, with Boyce Close and Copland Close in quite close proximity to the A30
Winchester Road. Tallis Gardens was created from part of the Chalk Ridge Primary School playing field in around 1990, and at a similar time a housing development took place on Gershwin Road, in addition to a new school, Hatchwarren Junior and Infant School. Numerous small developments were also added, such as Vivaldi Close and Gershwin Court, a sheltered housing
area.
, and four primary schools. The secondary school is now known as Brighton Hill Community College
, opening in 1975 and the primary schools are Manorfield School, Chalk Ridge School and Hatchwarren School. Beechdown School was largely destroyed by fire in November 2000, and now remains closed. Queen Mary's College
is around a 20 minute walk from Brighton Hill, nearby to the Town Centre
. Transport links have always been provided for those in further education. The town's technical college is also near to Basingstoke
Town Centre.
One very popular attraction was the Davies Snooker Centre, which was at first floor level in the place now occupied by the Girlzone Gym. This become known as Premiers, and then as Cosys before finally closing. One of the Davies Snooker Centre's former tables, table five, now resides in the Kestrel public house
in Kempshott
. Eric Bristow
is reputed to have practiced his skills at the DSC on occasion. While under the Premiers label, a large Scalextric
track was built, with regulars racing the model cars round the vast track. This was featured in the Basingstoke Gazette
when new.
The main drinking establishment currently remaining on the estate is the Brighton Hill Community Association. This is a place that requires membership, in the same way as many others, such as working men's clubs. The building is used in the daytime by a play school, and normally opens at 1900 every day. Exceptions are Fridays and weekends.
The former Stag and Hounds public house is nearby to Brighton Hill, being situated by the Brighton Hill Roundabout on the former A30
. The later diversion of the road passes behind the building. This has long been taken over by the Harvester
chain, and a Travelodge Inn has been built nearby. A similar establishment is nearby to the A30
, opposite to the Guinness Trust
development, at Down Grange.
For those seeking other forms of leisure, Brighton Hill was supplied with plentiful green spaces and open areas. There is a lot of land used as playing fields in the area. An adventure playground exists in the large green area near the M3 motorway
, at the southern end of Hatchwarren Lane. Many playgrounds were provided in residential areas, but most have been removed amid safety fears.
Viables Craft Centre is near to the estate, with regular runnings on the miniature railway line and craft fairs.
There is a professionally equipped Martial Arts and fitness centre in Brighton Hill in Jays Close. www.basingstokekarate.com teaches Karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Judo plus BodyCombat (Les Mills BTS)Pilates and Fitness and Circuits classes. There are specialist children's and adults classes plus family friendly classes.
, along with the Pig and Whistle public house
. Plentiful car parking was provided, and in years gone by Brighton Hill Centre had the use of a traditional Greengrocers and a Butchers shop, a council office and the Unwins
off licence. These are now long gone. When the supermarket was first opened, Sainsbury's traded there, closing the store when the Hatch Warren branch opened in 1988. Hatch Warren is a much bigger store, and provides more range than the Brighton Hill one did. After Sainsbury's moved on, Robert Grieg took over, running the shop until 1998. After this, the store closed and the building was left empty until its demolition. The local doctors surgery, the Gillies Health Centre, was provided within the centre complex, and the original building was demolished in 2002. Surgery continued in a temporary Portakabin structure until the new surgery was opened in 2004. The new one is on the site of the original.
A Post Office
had always been provided at Brighton Hill Centre until its closure in June 2008.
Public toilets were provided adjacent to the doctors surgery, but these fell into disrepair and were taken out of use in the late 1980s. At present there are only eleven public conveniences in the Basingstoke and Deane
area, and a considerable number are outside of the town.
Misselbrook and Weston opened a shop on Stanford Road in the 1980s, this is now under the One Stop
brand.
Much retail development has taken around the estate, with the area by Brighton Hill Roundabout seeing much change. The former Smiths Industries site has become a retail park
, featuring some quite large units. The largest is the Toys R Us shop, with Harveys Furniture
and JJB Sports
in large units. There is also a Pizza Hut
and a McDonald's
at the retail park. Nearby a development has taken place by the A30
Winchester Road, with Homebase
and Allied Carpets
as prominent features.
was provided by the Hants and Dorset bus company, but this predates much development in the area. After the privatisation of the bus industry, services are run in the area by Stagecoach
, now under the Stagecoach in Hampshire
sector.
Former notable bus routes were the 39, 40, 50 and 59, although much of this network was considerably altered in the year 2000. The network was very extensive and there were many historical bus routes in Basingstoke
. Bus routes for the estate are now served by routes 1 and 2, the former serving Brighton Hill at a ten minute frequency for much of the time. Exceptions are on Sundays/Bank Holidays and in evenings. Route 2 normally operates every twenty minutes. Of the two routes, route 1 is seen as the more popular route for the Town Centre, operating direct via Winchester Road.
Current timetables and information are on the Hampshire page of the Stagecoach website, the link is provided: http://www.stagecoachbus.com/south/
in the convenience stores in the area were a lot more expensive than those in the supermarket, particularly affecting the elderly and disabled who found it harder to travel further than the estate. The general atmosphere in the area did not do much to lift residents' spirits at this stage in time.
However, in 2002 the demolition of the former supermarket began. This involved digging up car parking and also demolition of the Pig and Whistle public house, by this time closed. The work also involved filling in of 'subways' under roads in the immediate area and new crossings provided. This was as the former subways were often inhabited by youths and were seen by residents as intimidating places. Additional footpaths were built, particularly in the green area behind the precinct and also a new playground built at a higher level than the previous one. Bus stops nearby were lengthened to accommodate two buses easily and two new roundabouts constructed, adding to the 'Doughnut City' label Basingstoke
has already. Much of the site has been taken over by the Asda
supermarket and associated parking spaces.
MP, Maria Miller, Brighton Hill is a Liberal Democrat
-run ward. The area is split into two areas, Brighton Hill South and Brighton Hill North. The southern ward has John Barnes as its local councillor
, and the northern part has Sheila Rowland as its councillor
. The boundary is generally along Quilter Road and Brighton Way.
Links to local government figures are provided below:
http://www.mariamiller.co.uk/type2.asp?id=59&type=2 - the page for Maria Miller MP
http://councillor.basingstoke.gov.uk/johnbarnes - the page for Cllr Barnes
http://councillor.basingstoke.gov.uk/sheilarowland - the page for Cllr Rowland
has used a former snooker centre in Brighton Hill to practise his darts skills. Not so much his darts, he was keen on snooker too and stayed with one of the members of the Davies Snooker Centre when he was playing at the Lakeside in Frimley. Allison Fisher, former world ladies snooker champion also played there in the 80's pre her crossover to Pool.
In 2005 Sharon Osbourne
starred in an Asda
TV advert, filmed at night at the Brighton Hill store.
The subway linking Lehar Close and Dankworth Road (under Brighton Way) is the only circular subway in Basingstoke.
The character 'Trojan' from the ITV
show Gladiators (British TV show) attended school in Brighton Hill. Trojan aka Mark Griffin was also a champion squash player.
In October 2007, it was revealed that Brighton Hill Roundabout was within the top 10 worst roundabouts in the country.
Singer/songwriter Tanita Tikaram went to Brighton Hill School, leaving in 1985.
Former Portsmouth footballer Lee Sandford also attended Brighton Hill School.
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
footballer Josh Payne
attended Brighton Hill School, leaving in 2007.
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, that was formed around 1970 as part of the Town Centre Development Plan. The area is bounded to the west by the newer housing estate of Hatch Warren
Hatch Warren
Hatch Warren is a district and ward of Basingstoke in Hampshire, west of the town centre. Neighbouring housing estates include Kempshott and Brighton Hill...
and by the A30. To the east of Brighton Hill, the Viables
Viables
Viables is a district of Basingstoke, England, that was formed around 1970 as part of the Basingstoke Town Centre Development Plan. The area is mostly made up of industry such as crafting centres, industrial and housing estates and the Jazz Buss Service. The area is bounded to the west by Hatch...
Industrial Estate and Cranbourne area, sometimes referred to as Grove
Grove
People, places, and things commonly known as grove include:* Grove , a small group of trees* Sacred grove, a small group of trees used as a place of worship- People :* Amanda Grove, Court TV personality...
lays. The area to the east is a lot older than Brighton Hill itself. The M3 motorway runs in a straight line to the south of the area, directly next to the southern ebb of Brighton Hill, which sometimes is referred to as Old Hatchwarren.
Origin of the name
The earliest mention of the Brighton Hill name found so far was on a map dated 1877. However, this seems to relate to a cottage or some other building, situated just over halfway between Hatch Warren Farm (at the rear of the 'Portsmouth Arms' public house) and where the then Hatch Warren Lane and Winchester Road (now the A30) joined at a crossroads. An excert of map is shown here: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/mapsheet.aspx?compid=55119&sheetid=3770&ox=2671&oy=2821&zm=1&czm=1&x=363&y=235The place marked as Brighton Hill on the 1877 map would roughly at the rear of Hatchwarren School, at the junction between the footpaths. As the map shows, one such footpath was the original Hatch Warren Lane in the area, the other links Brighton Hill with Hatch Warren.
Original layout
Before the estate was built, the area was almost entirely farmland. The current Hatchwarren Lane, and Beggarwood Lane runs on the site of the original country lanes, which crossed the Basingstoke and Alton Light RailwayBasingstoke and Alton Light Railway
The Basingstoke and Alton Light Railway was a railway in Hampshire, UK, opened on Saturday, 1 June 1901, with no formal ceremony.It was the first railway to be enabled by an Order of the Light Railway Commission under the Light Railways Act of 1896...
where Viables Roundabout is today. A section of track lies in the middle of the roundabout, as a permanent reminder of the railway. Cranbourne Lane carried on into Basingstoke Town Centre, passing many agricultural nurseries on the way. At the railway crossing, there was a junction with a road, now known as The Harrow Way but in times gone by, The Basingstoke Bypass. This road stretched from the junction with the road to Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
(now A339) from Hackwood Lane, to the Winchester
Winchester
Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...
Road (A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
). The A30 route from Basingstoke Town Centre runs to a very similar alignment today, the main difference being a diversion behind Brighton Hill Community College
Brighton Hill Community College
Brighton Hill Community College is located in Brighton Hill, Basingstoke in the county of Hampshire in the south of England. The Headteacher is Mr Charlie Currie, and the school has specialist status as a Sports College and Language College.Brighton Hill has run exchange trips with Marienschule, a...
, to allow for building of a retail park. The only real housing in the area was in a street known as Cumberland Avenue, at the time completely surrounded by fields. The road exists today and is a very unusual place in Brighton Hill.
The Willis Museum features many articles relating to the history of Basingstoke and its suburbs; visit the website at: http://www3.hants.gov.uk/museum/willis-museum/local-studies-willis.htm .
Housing growth
The first section of Brighton Hill to be completed was the Quilter Road area, with much of the ex - council housing from Haydn Road in the west, to Wagner Close in the east following soon after. Part of this development was a number of medium sized tower blocks, namely in Verdi Close, Mozart Close and Schubert Road. These had been demolished by the early 1990s and replaced with more modern houses. One large development was the private sector housing, stretching from Handel Close in the west, to Porter Road to the east. This was completed by the mid 1970s and filled in all the former farmland in the Hatchwarren Lane/Harrow Way/Winchester Road square. The remainder of the space adjacent to Winchester Road was occupied by Brighton Hill School - now known as Brighton Hill Community College. Many new roads were constructed, Brighton Way and Gershwin Road being very important feeder roads to the new housing. It is important not to forget the development on the south west side of the estate, consisting of Bach Close and Novello Close.Later additions included the Guinness Trust
Guinness Trust
The Guinness Trust is the oldest member of the Guinness Partnership, a group of housing associations. It is a UK registered charity providing affordable housing....
development, from Beecham Berry in the south to Boyce Close and Copland Close in the north. This development filled more of the gaps left, with Boyce Close and Copland Close in quite close proximity to the A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
Winchester Road. Tallis Gardens was created from part of the Chalk Ridge Primary School playing field in around 1990, and at a similar time a housing development took place on Gershwin Road, in addition to a new school, Hatchwarren Junior and Infant School. Numerous small developments were also added, such as Vivaldi Close and Gershwin Court, a sheltered housing
Sheltered housing
Sheltered housing is a British English term covering a wide range of rented housing for older and/or disabled or other vulnerable people. Most commonly it refers to grouped housing such as a block or "scheme" of flats or bungalows with a scheme manager or "officer"; traditionally the manager has...
area.
Education
Brighton Hill was eventually provided with no less than one secondary schoolSecondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
, and four primary schools. The secondary school is now known as Brighton Hill Community College
Brighton Hill Community College
Brighton Hill Community College is located in Brighton Hill, Basingstoke in the county of Hampshire in the south of England. The Headteacher is Mr Charlie Currie, and the school has specialist status as a Sports College and Language College.Brighton Hill has run exchange trips with Marienschule, a...
, opening in 1975 and the primary schools are Manorfield School, Chalk Ridge School and Hatchwarren School. Beechdown School was largely destroyed by fire in November 2000, and now remains closed. Queen Mary's College
Queen Mary's College
Queen Mary's College is a sixth form college in Basingstoke, Hampshire, England.-The College:The majority of the college's classrooms are housed in a single, two-storey, wide spread main building with a few smaller buildings and four temporary buildings providing most of the rest of the teaching...
is around a 20 minute walk from Brighton Hill, nearby to the Town Centre
Town centre
The town centre is the term used to refer to the commercial or geographical centre or core area of a town.Town centres are traditionally associated with shopping or retail. They are also the centre of communications with major public transport hubs such as train or bus stations...
. Transport links have always been provided for those in further education. The town's technical college is also near to Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
Town Centre.
Leisure and entertainment
One popular destination for many of Brighton Hill's residents was the Pig and Whistle public house, sited near the junction with Chopin Road and Brighton Way. This was closed in 2000 (after many years of public order problems) in preparation for the clearance of the former shopping precinct. No replacement was provided. The last owners were the Scottish and Newcastle brewery.One very popular attraction was the Davies Snooker Centre, which was at first floor level in the place now occupied by the Girlzone Gym. This become known as Premiers, and then as Cosys before finally closing. One of the Davies Snooker Centre's former tables, table five, now resides in the Kestrel public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
in Kempshott
Kempshott
Kempshott is a ward of Basingstoke on the western edge of the town, to the south of Pack Lane and north of Winchester Road.The Kempshott estate dates back to the early 18th century A. M.W...
. Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
is reputed to have practiced his skills at the DSC on occasion. While under the Premiers label, a large Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...
track was built, with regulars racing the model cars round the vast track. This was featured in the Basingstoke Gazette
Basingstoke Gazette
The Basingstoke Gazette is a local newspaper for Basingstoke, Hampshire, UK. The newspaper is published three-times weekly, on a Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, with the Wednesday edition branded as the "Basingstoke Extra", and distributed free of charge....
when new.
The main drinking establishment currently remaining on the estate is the Brighton Hill Community Association. This is a place that requires membership, in the same way as many others, such as working men's clubs. The building is used in the daytime by a play school, and normally opens at 1900 every day. Exceptions are Fridays and weekends.
The former Stag and Hounds public house is nearby to Brighton Hill, being situated by the Brighton Hill Roundabout on the former A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
. The later diversion of the road passes behind the building. This has long been taken over by the Harvester
Harvester (restaurant)
Harvester Restaurants is a popular family farmhouse-style licensed restaurant chain with more than 170 outlets in the United Kingdom.-History:-Courage:...
chain, and a Travelodge Inn has been built nearby. A similar establishment is nearby to the A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
, opposite to the Guinness Trust
Guinness Trust
The Guinness Trust is the oldest member of the Guinness Partnership, a group of housing associations. It is a UK registered charity providing affordable housing....
development, at Down Grange.
For those seeking other forms of leisure, Brighton Hill was supplied with plentiful green spaces and open areas. There is a lot of land used as playing fields in the area. An adventure playground exists in the large green area near the M3 motorway
M3 motorway
The M3 motorway runs in England for approximately from Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, to Southampton, Hampshire and forms an unsigned section European route E05. It is dual three lanes as far as Junction 8 near Basingstoke and then dual two lane until Junction 9 near Winchester and then dual three...
, at the southern end of Hatchwarren Lane. Many playgrounds were provided in residential areas, but most have been removed amid safety fears.
Viables Craft Centre is near to the estate, with regular runnings on the miniature railway line and craft fairs.
There is a professionally equipped Martial Arts and fitness centre in Brighton Hill in Jays Close. www.basingstokekarate.com teaches Karate, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Judo plus BodyCombat (Les Mills BTS)Pilates and Fitness and Circuits classes. There are specialist children's and adults classes plus family friendly classes.
Brighton Hill Centre and retail areas
Brighton Hill Centre was built along with much of the housing development in the area. This consisted of shops and a supermarketSupermarket
A supermarket, a form of grocery store, is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments...
, along with the Pig and Whistle public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
. Plentiful car parking was provided, and in years gone by Brighton Hill Centre had the use of a traditional Greengrocers and a Butchers shop, a council office and the Unwins
Unwins
Unwins was a Kent-based chain of 381 off-licences with outlets focused on London and the South East. Unwins was founded in 1843 and went insolvent on 19 December 2005. 200 Unwin stores were subsequently sold to rival Thresher Group....
off licence. These are now long gone. When the supermarket was first opened, Sainsbury's traded there, closing the store when the Hatch Warren branch opened in 1988. Hatch Warren is a much bigger store, and provides more range than the Brighton Hill one did. After Sainsbury's moved on, Robert Grieg took over, running the shop until 1998. After this, the store closed and the building was left empty until its demolition. The local doctors surgery, the Gillies Health Centre, was provided within the centre complex, and the original building was demolished in 2002. Surgery continued in a temporary Portakabin structure until the new surgery was opened in 2004. The new one is on the site of the original.
A Post Office
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
had always been provided at Brighton Hill Centre until its closure in June 2008.
Public toilets were provided adjacent to the doctors surgery, but these fell into disrepair and were taken out of use in the late 1980s. At present there are only eleven public conveniences in the Basingstoke and Deane
Basingstoke and Deane
Basingstoke and Deane is a local government district and borough in Hampshire, England. Its primary settlement is Basingstoke. Other settlements include Bramley, Tadley, Kingsclere, Overton, Oakley, Whitchurch and the hamlet of Deane, some from Basingstoke....
area, and a considerable number are outside of the town.
Misselbrook and Weston opened a shop on Stanford Road in the 1980s, this is now under the One Stop
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...
brand.
Much retail development has taken around the estate, with the area by Brighton Hill Roundabout seeing much change. The former Smiths Industries site has become a retail park
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
, featuring some quite large units. The largest is the Toys R Us shop, with Harveys Furniture
Harveys Furniture
Harveys Furniture is a British furniture retailer with over 150 stores throughout the United Kingdom. It has been the sponsor of long running soap opera Coronation Street since 30 September 2007. It is wholly owned by Steinhoff International which owns more than 70 factories. Steinhoff was founded...
and JJB Sports
JJB Sports
JJB Sports plc is a United Kingdom sports retailer. It currently operates 251 stores in the UK and Ireland.- History :The sportshop chain was founded in 1971, when ex-footballer Dave Whelan acquired a single sports shop in Wigan. The original store was established by JJ Broughton in the early...
in large units. There is also a Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
and a McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
at the retail park. Nearby a development has taken place by the A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
Winchester Road, with Homebase
Homebase
Homebase is a British home improvement store and garden centre, with 350 stores across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. It is well known by its green and orange colour scheme. Together with its sister company Argos , it forms part of Home Retail Group. Homebase recorded sales figures...
and Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets
Allied Carpets is one of the largest retailers of floor coverings operating a chain of large out-of-town superstores around the UK. It also has some High Street stores. It is the second-largest retailer of carpets in the UK.-History:...
as prominent features.
Public transport
Bus transport for many years was provided by National Bus, under the Hampshire Bus sector. Long ago public transport along the A30A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
was provided by the Hants and Dorset bus company, but this predates much development in the area. After the privatisation of the bus industry, services are run in the area by Stagecoach
Stagecoach
A stagecoach is a type of covered wagon for passengers and goods, strongly sprung and drawn by four horses, usually four-in-hand. Widely used before the introduction of railway transport, it made regular trips between stages or stations, which were places of rest provided for stagecoach travelers...
, now under the Stagecoach in Hampshire
Stagecoach in Hampshire
Hampshire Bus Company Ltd. trading as Stagecoach in Hampshire is an operating sub-division of Stagecoach South, part of the Stagecoach Group.Its main bases of operation are Andover, Basingstoke and Winchester.-Local:...
sector.
Former notable bus routes were the 39, 40, 50 and 59, although much of this network was considerably altered in the year 2000. The network was very extensive and there were many historical bus routes in Basingstoke
Historical bus routes in Basingstoke
The town of Basingstoke in Hampshire, England, has a large bus network, providing the main public transport service there. Most services are currently run by Stagecoach in Hampshire...
. Bus routes for the estate are now served by routes 1 and 2, the former serving Brighton Hill at a ten minute frequency for much of the time. Exceptions are on Sundays/Bank Holidays and in evenings. Route 2 normally operates every twenty minutes. Of the two routes, route 1 is seen as the more popular route for the Town Centre, operating direct via Winchester Road.
Current timetables and information are on the Hampshire page of the Stagecoach website, the link is provided: http://www.stagecoachbus.com/south/
Decline
After the closure of the local supermarket the shopping precinct became run down and vandalised. Some shops closed down over this period. Many residents did not feel safe using the area, particularly at night.All change
In the early 2000s there were rumours of a complete overhaul of the Brighton Hill Centre, and surrounding areas. Many residents were sceptical and morale at the time was low. For what seemed like a very long time, Brighton Hill was missing out on many basic features, one example is the lack of cashpoint in the area, the nearest being around two miles away. ProvisionsProduct (business)
In general, the product is defined as a "thing produced by labor or effort" or the "result of an act or a process", and stems from the verb produce, from the Latin prōdūce ' lead or bring forth'. Since 1575, the word "product" has referred to anything produced...
in the convenience stores in the area were a lot more expensive than those in the supermarket, particularly affecting the elderly and disabled who found it harder to travel further than the estate. The general atmosphere in the area did not do much to lift residents' spirits at this stage in time.
However, in 2002 the demolition of the former supermarket began. This involved digging up car parking and also demolition of the Pig and Whistle public house, by this time closed. The work also involved filling in of 'subways' under roads in the immediate area and new crossings provided. This was as the former subways were often inhabited by youths and were seen by residents as intimidating places. Additional footpaths were built, particularly in the green area behind the precinct and also a new playground built at a higher level than the previous one. Bus stops nearby were lengthened to accommodate two buses easily and two new roundabouts constructed, adding to the 'Doughnut City' label Basingstoke
Basingstoke
Basingstoke is a town in northeast Hampshire, in south central England. It lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon. It is southwest of London, northeast of Southampton, southwest of Reading and northeast of the county town, Winchester. In 2008 it had an estimated population of...
has already. Much of the site has been taken over by the Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
supermarket and associated parking spaces.
Brighton Hill today
Brighton Hill Centre is now a busy and thriving place, with much trade passing through the Asda supermarket, which opened in 2003. The redevelopment seen in the early part of the 2000s has brightened up the shopping area immensely, and improved much morale in the surrounding area. With good shopping facilities and good transport links, Brighton Hill has much to offer. There are many food outlets and variety in the different premises at the centre. Also general upkeep and maintenance is done to a high standard by the local council.Local government
Despite Basingstoke having a ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP, Maria Miller, Brighton Hill is a Liberal Democrat
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
-run ward. The area is split into two areas, Brighton Hill South and Brighton Hill North. The southern ward has John Barnes as its local councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
, and the northern part has Sheila Rowland as its councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
. The boundary is generally along Quilter Road and Brighton Way.
Links to local government figures are provided below:
http://www.mariamiller.co.uk/type2.asp?id=59&type=2 - the page for Maria Miller MP
http://councillor.basingstoke.gov.uk/johnbarnes - the page for Cllr Barnes
http://councillor.basingstoke.gov.uk/sheilarowland - the page for Cllr Rowland
Trivia
It is rumoured that Eric BristowEric Bristow
Eric Bristow MBE is a British darts player, whose skill at the game in the 1980s helped turn it into a worldwide spectator sport.- Early career :...
has used a former snooker centre in Brighton Hill to practise his darts skills. Not so much his darts, he was keen on snooker too and stayed with one of the members of the Davies Snooker Centre when he was playing at the Lakeside in Frimley. Allison Fisher, former world ladies snooker champion also played there in the 80's pre her crossover to Pool.
In 2005 Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Osbourne
Sharon Rachel Osbourne is an English television host, author, music manager, businesswoman and promoter as well as the wife of heavy metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne....
starred in an Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
TV advert, filmed at night at the Brighton Hill store.
The subway linking Lehar Close and Dankworth Road (under Brighton Way) is the only circular subway in Basingstoke.
The character 'Trojan' from the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
show Gladiators (British TV show) attended school in Brighton Hill. Trojan aka Mark Griffin was also a champion squash player.
In October 2007, it was revealed that Brighton Hill Roundabout was within the top 10 worst roundabouts in the country.
Singer/songwriter Tanita Tikaram went to Brighton Hill School, leaving in 1985.
Former Portsmouth footballer Lee Sandford also attended Brighton Hill School.
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers F.C.
Doncaster Rovers Football Club is an English football club, based at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The team currently competes in the Football League Championship, after being promoted via the League One play-offs in 2008, and have remained there since.The club was founded in...
footballer Josh Payne
Josh Payne
Joshua James "Josh" Payne is an English football player who currently plays for Oxford United.-Early life:Payne was born in Basingstoke and grew up there for the first part of his life. He attended Brighton Hill Community College....
attended Brighton Hill School, leaving in 2007.