West Dean 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 authorit ...

, situated in the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to ...

district of

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England.

History

The

was an

extra-parochial area In England and Wales, an extra-parochial area, extra-parochial place or extra-parochial district was a geographically defined area considered to be outside any ecclesiastical or civil parish. Anomalies in the parochial system meant they had no ch ...

in the St Briavels Hundred of Gloucestershire. It was without the usual parish structure until the West Dean and East Dean townships were formed in 1844. For poor relief, West Dean was grouped into the Monmouth Poor Law Union and was included in the Monmouth

rural sanitary district Sanitary districts were established in England and Wales in 1872 and in Ireland in 1878. The districts were of two types, based on existing structures: *Urban sanitary districts in towns with existing local government bodies *Rural sanitary dis ...

. Following the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 (56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The Act followed the reforms carried out at county level un ...

, West Dean became a civil parish in the West Dean Rural District. In 1974 the rural district was abolished and West Dean became one of 41 civil parishes in the

district.List of Forest of Dean Parish Councils
/ref>

Governance

West Dean parish is divided electorally into 5 wards with a total of 15 councillors as follows: * Ellwood and Sling Ward - 2 councillors * Christchurch Ward - 1 councillor * Bream Ward - 5 councillors * Pillowell Ward - 5 councillors * Berry Hill Ward - 2 councillors. The council is consulted by all public service providers and has a statutory right to comment on all planning applications in West Dean. In 2000 it purchased and refurbished Bream Community Centre, which has since been extended and a Parish Office established there. Other areas Council have become involved in are provision of bus shelters, street cleaning, footpaths, play areas, environmental improvements and capital projects such as the restoration of Bream Cenotaph and works at Parkend Churchyard. The Council meets on the last Wednesday of each month at Beam Community Centre at 7pm. Every Council meeting begins with a Public Open Forum to enable electors to ask questions or comment on matters that affect the Parish.

Geography

West Dean is the largest civil parish in the Forest of Dean district, both in respect of its population and its geographical size. At the 2001 census there were 10,305 people living in West Dean Parish, more than in any of the Forest towns. The size of the Parish is a considerable 4686 hectares and stretches from Berry Hill and Christchurch in the north to

Bream Bream ( ) are species of freshwater and marine fish belonging to a variety of genera including '' Abramis'' (e.g., ''A. brama'', the common bream), '' Acanthopagrus'', ''Argyrops'', '' Blicca'', '' Brama'', '' Chilotilapia'', ''Etelis'', '' L ...

in the south and from Sling in the west to Viney Hill in the east.

Villages in the civil parish

* Berry Hill, including Christchurch, Five Acres, Joyford, and Shortstanding * Edge End * Ellwood * Sling * Clements End * Little Drybrook *

* Brockhollands * Yorkley * Pillowell * Oldcroft * Viney Hill * Parkend * Whitecroft

References

External links

Forest of Dean District Council: Parish Councils
{{authority control Forest of Dean Villages in Gloucestershire Civil parishes in Gloucestershire