Chafford Hundred

Chafford Hundred

Housing in Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred shown within Essex
Population 13,466 (est 2006)
OS grid reference TQ595795
• London 18.5 mi (29.8 km) W
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town GRAYS
Postcode district RM16
Dialling code 01375
Police Essex
Fire Essex
Ambulance East of England
EU Parliament East of England
UK Parliament

Chafford Hundred is a turn of the 21st century built settlement north-west of Grays, and south-east of South Ockendon in the Borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex. Its station also serves, to its western side, intu Lakeside in the largely retail and distribution-dominated area of West Thurrock. It is located in the Chafford and North Stifford, and South Chafford wards in the unitary authority of Thurrock.[1] Chafford Hundred was built on parts of the historical parishes of Stifford and West Thurrock, Mill Lane being the border of the respective historical parishes.[2]

History

Built on an area of 600 acres, northwest of Grays town centre. Two-thirds of the site was previously used as a chalk quarry, the rest was agricultural land. Approximately 5,600 houses and flats have been built since 1989 on 353 acres of brownfield housing land. These areas have a variety of housing types which includes private sector housing as well as housing associations and retirement homes.[3] Chafford Hundred railway station serves the local area, and was built expressly for the settlement. It opened in 1993, and currently sees a twice hourly service connecting it to London, Grays and Southend.[4] The name is re-used from the historic Hundred of Chafford, which covered a much larger area including parts of present-day Thurrock in Essex and the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.

The area has seen large growth since its inception, with many City workers living there due to the relatively easy commute into central London. In 2012, it was reported in the national press, that more than half the flats (in the estate) were repossessed during the early 1990s housing slump, impacting it so significantly that prices fell by half.[5] Housing ranges from one or two bedroom apartments up to five / six bedroom large houses and therefore the area caters for many, although property prices grew rapidly during the late 1990s – The Evening Standard article, "the most coveted address in Britain" by Nick Curtis in 2001 included properties in the new village.[6] This is not due to the architecture of the houses (mostly all very similar starter homes), but because it provides relatively affordable housing with public and recreation areas, as well as generally large private gardens, well connected to many jobs.[7]

There are four elected councillors representing Chafford Hundred, these are currently: Cllr Mark Coxshall; Cllr Garry Hague; Cllr Suzanne MacPherson and Cllr Tunde Ojetola.[8] Although there were initially no facilities, they managed to raise funds to build a youth park which was launched last year.[9] In terms of other facilities, it has one GP surgery,[10] a Church,[11] a gym[12] and 2 main pubs [13][14]

Schools

Chafford Hundred currently has four primary schools and two secondary schools.

  • Tudor Court Primary School
  • Warren Primary School
  • Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred
  • Harris Primary Academy Mayflower
  • Harris Academy Riverside
  • Harris Academy Chafford Hundred (secondary, formerly Chafford Hundred Campus Business and Enterprise College)[15]

Geography

The land is on very gentle slopes (ranging from 18 to 34m AOD) and the area also has included a number of park and recreational areas. The largest area is of special environmental and scientific interest, Chafford Gorges Nature Park; its management was taken over by Essex Wildlife Trust on 9 June 2005, since which it has a visitor centre open to the public.[3][16]

References

  1. ↑ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England Archived 14 July 2013 at WebCite
  2. ↑ http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/essex/vol8/pp57-74
  3. 1 2 "Chafford Hundred Station Travel Plan" (PDF). thurrock.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Network Rail Winter 2016/7 Working Timetable" (PDF). p. 28. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
  5. ↑ Clark, Ross (11 December 2002). "Who will survive a crash?". London: telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  6. ↑ Curtis, Nick (11 December 2002). "The Most Coveted Address in Britain". telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Moran, Joe (2005). Reading the Everyday. telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Thurrock Councillers by Ward
  9. ↑ http://www.theenquirer.co.uk/read.aspx?id=11519%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  10. ↑ "Chafford Hundred Medical Centre - GP Surgery Website. All about your doctors surgery, the opening times, making appointments, ordering your repeats, health information and more".
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  12. ↑ "Chafford Hundred - Bannatyne Spa".
  13. ↑ "Chafford Hundred".
  14. ↑ "HERE Maps - City and Country Maps - Driving Directions - Satellite Views - Routes".
  15. ↑ Shepherd, Jessica (13 January 2010). "School created five years ago is 'most improved'". London: guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  16. ↑ "Threats to brownfield in the Thames Gateway". essexfieldclub.org. Retrieved 13 November 2012.


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