Brookside is a housing estate and borough and parish council ward in
Telford
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an estim ...
,
Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...
,
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 ...
. The original settlement of Brookside is a
Radburn estate
Radburn design housing (also called Radburn housing, Radburn design'', ''Radburn principle, or Radburn concept) is a concept for planned housing estates, based on a design that was originally used in Radburn, New Jersey, United States.
History ...
built in the early 1970s as part of the development of
Telford New Town
Telford () is a town in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England, about east of Shrewsbury, south west of Stafford, north west of Wolverhampton and from Birmingham in the same direction. With an estim ...
and is entirely within the confines of Brookside Avenue, a 1.7 mile ring road. Significant development has taken place around the outside of Brookside Avenue since the estate was built, the majority of which is part of
Stirchley Park Stirchley may refer to:
*Stirchley, Shropshire, one of the constituents of Telford
*Stirchley, West Midlands
Stirchley is in south-west Birmingham, England.
The River Rea, which flows through the area and once powered mills at Lifford, Hazelwe ...
but falls within the Brookside ward for both
Telford and Wrekin Council
Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The district of Telford and Wrekin was grant ...
and
Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council Stirchley may refer to:
*Stirchley, Shropshire, one of the constituents of Telford
*Stirchley, West Midlands
Stirchley is in south-west Birmingham, England.
The River Rea, which flows through the area and once powered mills at Lifford, Hazelwe ...
.
History
There is little recorded history of Brookside given its relative unimportance compared to neighbouring
Stirchley with its ancient manor and historic church. The Brookside area was farm land prior to development of the Brookside estate. In the 1970s a housing estate was built on the farm land which was named Brookside, a reference to it being situated alongside the Mad Brook (more accurately, Made Brook which gives the nearby town of
Madeley its name).
A deserted medieval settlement named Oulmeyre was recorded in the 13th century near Holmer Lake which was part of the Brookside parish council ward until boundary changes in 2015 created a new Holmer Lake ward.
Regeneration
Following decades of underinvestment in maintaining the fabric of the estate, a regeneration programme was started for the Brookside Local Centre which by June 2014 had seen the local shops relocated to a new building and work started on the renovation and expansion of the community centre. Running alongside the physical regeneration is a lottery-funded, resident-led social regeneration programme called Brookside Big Local.
Local Government
On the Brookside estate, all the roads leading off Brookside Avenue (except Mount Pleasant Drive which is part of the parish of
Little Dawley
Dawley Hamlets is a civil parish in Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England.
The parish covers Horsehay
Horsehay is a suburban village on the western outskirts of Dawley, which, along with several other towns and villages, now forms part of ...
), Stirchley Park and most of Stirchley Village are part of the Brookside ward for both
Telford and Wrekin Council
Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The district of Telford and Wrekin was grant ...
and
Stirchley and Brookside Parish Council Stirchley may refer to:
*Stirchley, Shropshire, one of the constituents of Telford
*Stirchley, West Midlands
Stirchley is in south-west Birmingham, England.
The River Rea, which flows through the area and once powered mills at Lifford, Hazelwe ...
. Following a review of local government boundaries, a new single member ward for Holmer Lake for the parish council was created in 2015.
There are currently 7 parish councillors representing Brookside ward and 2 borough councillors, both of whom were also elected as parish councillors in the 2015 local election.
Community Groups
A number of community groups operate in Brookside, almost all of them confined to the parts of the ward inside Brookside Avenue. The Brookside (Telford) Community Interest Company which was originally formed to run the Brookside Community Café (currently suspended whilst regeneration of the community centre takes place) has assisted the formation of some local groups by providing public liability insurance and limited funding. Further support and motivation for the formation of community groups has been provided by the ''Locality'' Community Organiser for Brookside.
Brookside Improvement Group
Brookside Improvement Group (BIG) was the first residents' group in Brookside and is recognised by
Telford and Wrekin Council
Telford and Wrekin Council is the local authority of Telford and Wrekin in Shropshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. The district of Telford and Wrekin was grant ...
as the representative group of the residents of Brookside. BIG is represented on the Brookside Co-operative Board, the pilot scheme for Telford & Wrekin Council's ''Co-operative Council'' policy. BIG runs the Street Champions scheme in Brookside in conjunction with the borough council and a BIG Juniors group is organised by one of the two primary schools in Brookside,
Windmill Primary School.
Brookside Big Local
Brookside Big Local is the name for the lottery-funded social regeneration programme run by a steering group made up of Brookside residents which will oversee the spending of £1m of seed funding over 10 years once its plan is approved and adopted. The group has already made a small number of grants in advance of the main £1m funding pot becoming available.
Brookside Events Group
Brookside Events Group (BEG) was set up in 2013 by local mums who were motivated by a lack of events for local youngsters to form a group to put on events primarily for the benefit of local children but also for other residents. As of 2014, BEG have organised a coffee morning, children's Halloween party, an Easter party and a
ladies night
A ladies' night is a promotional event, often at a bar or nightclub, where female patrons pay less than male patrons for the cover charge or drinks. In the United States, state courts in California, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin ha ...
and are organising a summer fair for July 2014.
Telford Bikes
Telford Bikes is a social enterprise set up to recycle bikes which are sold at low cost or donated to local residents with the objective of helping them reduce their reliance on public transport and private car journeys. The group also provide training and coaching on bike maintenance to local residents
and have used the profits to support events in the area.
References
{{Shropshire
Telford
Radburn design housing estates