Billing is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in eastern

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, covering the Great Billing, Little Billing, Ecton Brook and Bellinge areas. It is geographically the largest area of

. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 8,642, decreasing at the 2011 census to 8,457. Billing consists of four estates, with each estate constituting a ward of the parish. Great Billing and Little Billing were developed around the existing villages; Bellinge (or Middle Ward) and Ecton Brook were created as new communities. Billing is accessible by the A45 westward to Northampton which runs along the south side of Billing and is accessed through the Lumbertubs Way Interchange.

Billing Aquadrome Billing Aquadrome is a leisure park in Great Billing, a district of eastern Northampton, England. Facilities within the park, which was built around various mature gravel pits, include a caravan site, marina and funfair. It is also frequently ...

, a large leisure centre including lakes, a fair and also a caravan site which is home to over 2,000 people. Billing Aquadrome has recently taken over

Northampton Balloon Festival The Northampton Balloon Festival was an annual hot air balloon festival held in Northampton, England. The original festival was held in The Racecourse and managed by the (now defunct) Borough Council, and took place over a Friday, Saturday and Su ...

which had previously for a number of years been situated at Racecourse Park in the Town Centre. There is a contrast of housing within the Billing ward with large houses dotted around Great Billing and Little Billing keeping the traditional 'village feel' as when both were villages. On the other side there is Bellinge and Ecton Brook; estates built in the 1970s and 80s as

new towns A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

to house the overspill of London and other areas which are

council estates Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

. Bellinge in particular had suffered from serious problems in the 1990s and became one of the most crime ridden estates in England suffering from drug dealing and vandalism until the local council demolished a series of flats which stood on what is now Billingmead Square. The estate is now much improved and does not suffer the serious problems it had once encountered.

References

External links

Billing Parish CouncilMemories of Billing
Villages in Northamptonshire Areas of Northampton Civil parishes in Northamptonshire {{Northamptonshire-geo-stub

See also

References

External links