Fairfield (originally known as Fairfield Park) is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

located in the

Central Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire is a Districts of England, local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. It is administered by Central Bedfordshire Council, a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority. It was created ...

district of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England.

History

The village was established in the early 2000s in the buildings and grounds of Fairfield Hospital, a defunct

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

which closed in 1999. Today the village consists of some 900 Victorian inspired dwellings of different housing types and about 100 apartments in the former hospital building. Fairfield was originally intended to become a new village in its own right, although for the first few years it remained within the civil parish of Stotfold. However, on 1 April 2013 Fairfield became a separate civil parish, and elected its own parish council in May 2013.

Governance

Fairfield Parish council is the local parish council for the village, with seven members elected every four years. The village is within the 'Fairfield and Arlesey' ward for elections to

Central Bedfordshire Council Central Bedfordshire Council is the local authority for Central Bedfordshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functi ...

, with two councillors elected every four years. Fairfield is located within the North East Bedfordshire parliamentary constituency. The elected member is Richard Fuller of the Conservative Party. For the 2024 General Election, Fairfield will move into the newly created Hitchin constituency.

Amenities

Amenities in the village include a

community centre A community centre, community center, or community hall is a public location where members of a community gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may be open for the whole community or for a sp ...

, Fairfield Bowls Club, Fairfield Park Lower School, a

cricket club Club cricket is a mainly amateur, but still formal form of the sport of cricket, usually involving teams playing in competitions at weekends or in the evening. There is a great deal of variation in game format although the Laws of Cricket are obse ...

, a Bannatyne

health club A health club (also known as a fitness club, fitness center, health spa, weight room and commonly referred to as a gym) is a place that houses exercise equipment for the purpose of physical exercise. In recent years, the number of fitness an ...

, The Pavilion

Café A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

, children's parks, a hair salon, a

nursery school A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin c ...

, a Garden House Hospice Care

Charity Shop A charity shop is a retail establishment run by a charitable organization to raise money. Charity shops are a type of social enterprise. They sell mainly used goods such as clothing, books, music albums, shoes, toys, and furniture donated by ...

and a small Tesco Express. Major construction work is now occurring to form more housing on the East side of Hitchin Road. There will be a new school building, however at this stage there are no known plans for any other amenities.

References

External links

Fairfield Parish Council websiteFairfield Park Lower School website
Villages in Bedfordshire Populated places established in 1997 Civil parishes in Bedfordshire Central Bedfordshire District {{Bedfordshire-geo-stub