Hockwell Ring is a suburb of

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable a ...

in the north-west of the town, in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council ...

, England. The area is roughly bounded by Brickly Road to the north, High Street and Torquay Drive to the south, the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which ...

to the west, and Vincent Road to the east. Hockwell Ring mostly consists of a 1950s and 1960s-built

council estate 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 ...

. The estate was built as part of the post-war expansion of Luton, at a similar time to Marsh Farm. Hockwell Ring is not a particularly large estate. The area ties into much of the neighbouring 1930s developments and is reasonably well connected to the rest of the town. The estate is dominated by four large towers, which are of similar design, 14 stories high, and top out at 44.20 m each, these can be seen clearly from the M1 motorway southbound carriageway just before Junction 11, which passes close to the estate. The

tower blocks A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdicti ...

were constructed in 1965–1966, at roughly the same time as the rest of the estate and are typical examples of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

approach to 1960s high-rise living. They dominate the

skyline A skyline is the outline or shape viewed near the horizon. It can be created by a city’s overall structure, or by human intervention in a rural setting, or in nature that is formed where the sky meets buildings or the land. City skyline ...

of that part of the town, and along with the towers in Marsh Farm and Park Town are the tallest buildings in the town and county. At the centre of the estate is a small shopping centre, park, and other facilities, doctors and dentist. The tower blocks are undergoing some refurbishment to the exterior. Like many other estates of the 1960s, Hockwell Ring was seen as a vision for the future; however, by the 1990s the reality was very different. House prices in the area had fallen dramatically and the estate had developed a very real image problem. Things have begun to change in recent times. An influx of London commuters to the area due to its proximity to Leagrave train station has led to an increase in house prices. The estate is seeing some improvements. Many of the locals that caused problems and damaged the image of the area have now moved out, and the area as a whole has a much safer image.

Local schools and education

Nurseries * Gill Blowers Nursery, Mossdale Court Primary schools * Beechwood Primary School, Linden Road * Leagrave Primary School, Strangers Way * Pirton Hill Primary School, Road Secondary schools * Chalk Hills Academy, Emerald Road *

Lealands High School Lealands High School, formerly Sundon Park Comprehensive School, is a foundation school for 11 to 16 year olds located in Sundon Park, Luton. The school attracts students from Sundon Park and across Luton and Bedfordshire. It was judged good ...

, Sundon Park Road Libraries * Leagrave Library, Marsh Road

Politics

Hockwell Ring is within

Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The area is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torquay Drive and High Street to the nor ...

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, which is represented by Cllr Waheed Akbar ( Labour), Cllr Maria Lovell (Labour) and Cllr Sameera Saleem (Labour). The ward forms part of the

parliamentary constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other poli ...

of Luton North, and the MP is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British politician and trade unionist serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. A member of the Labour Party, she has served Shadow Minister for Local Government and Faith ...

( Labour).

Local attractions

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers cover Hockwell Ring, although they are not specific to the area. They are the:
Herald and Post

Luton News

References

{{Luton Housing estates in England Areas of Luton