Baffins is an administrative district of

Portsmouth, England Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

, located on the eastern side of

Portsea Island Portsea Island is a flat and low-lying natural island in area, just off the southern coast of Hampshire in England. Portsea Island contains the majority of the city of Portsmouth. Portsea Island has the third-largest population of all th ...

. The district is mainly composed of 1930s housing. The population of the Baffins ward at the 2011 Census was 15,121. Before the area became developed for housing, it had been occupied by a farm of the same name. This

farm A farm (also called an agricultural holding) is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used ...

(known as ''Bavins Farm'') had a history stretching back to the 12th century. The only surviving remnant of the rural past is Baffins Pond and the adjoining Tangier Field - a large open space between Baffins Pond and

Portsmouth College Portsmouth College is a sixth form college on Tangier Road, Baffins, in the city of Portsmouth, England. Admissions The principal at Portsmouth College is Simon Barrable. The college ilocatedjust off the ''Eastern Road'' which provides an easy ...

at the eastern end of the field.

Local attractions: Baffins Pond and Tangier Field

Baffins Pond and Tangier Field
is 182,000 square metres (18.2 hectares). The large natural pond is a habitat for ducks, geese, swans and other wild fowl. It is managed as a wildlife refuge and is popular with people of all ages. In 2014 Baffins Pond again received a

Green Flag award The Green Flag Award is an international accreditation given to publicly accessible parks and open spaces, managed under licence from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, a UK Government department, by Keep Britain Tidy, ...

. There is also a play area at Baffins Pond with equipment for children of all ages as well as a ball-court with basketball and 5-a-side goals. To the east of the pond area is Tangier Field, a large grassed open space that also serves as a valuable habitat for the brent goose or

brant goose The brant or brent goose (''Branta bernicla'') is a small goose of the genus '' Branta''. There are three subspecies, all of which winter along temperate-zone sea-coasts and breed on the high-Arctic tundra. The Brent oilfield was named after ...

, an internationally important protected species, which visits the

Solent The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...

area in the winter months. There is no public access to the fenced enclosure between 1 October to 31 March for the time the birds are resident, although most of the area is open to the public at all times.

Local amenities

The local shopping area for Baffins is in Tangier Road. The many shops and businesses include a

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

within the

Co-op A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

store, newsagents,

butchers A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishm ...

, a greengrocer, a pharmacist, numerous take-aways, and 'The Baffins'

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

. The Alderman Lacey

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

is at the edge of Baffins Pond. There are two churches in Tangier Road: St Joseph's Catholic Church and a City Life Church. St Cuthbert's Church is located in Hayling Avenue which borders Baffins Pond on its southern side. There is also a GP (the Baffins Surgery) next to this church. Baffins is also within short walking distance of St. Mary's Hospital which includes a minor injuries/illness walk-in centr
St. Marys Treatment Centre

Education

The Baffins area is served by Langstone Infant and Junior School, Westover Primary School, Admiral Lord Nelson School and Milton Cross Academy as well as

(formerly the Great Salterns Comprehensive School; prior to co-education and secondary school amalgamations in the 1970s it was Southern Grammar School for boys).

References

{{Reflist Areas of Portsmouth