32-655: Oldland Common is a village in the far south region of South Gloucestershire , England, on the outskirts of Bristol . It is in the civil parish of Bitton , approximately 8 miles between the centres of cities Bristol and Bath . Oldland Common is the birthplace of the famous astronomer Sir Bernard Lovell , and is home to the Sir Bernard Lovell secondary school , a designated language college opened by Lovell himself in 1972, once attended by England cricketer Marcus Trescothick and Millwall FC manager, and former Bristol Rovers FC player, Ian Holloway . Other schools in
64-553: A combined population of 40,734 in 2011, with a largely white British population. Women in Kingswood had the fourth lowest life expectancy at birth, 74.3 years, of any ward in England and Wales in 2016. Kingswood High Street is situated around 3 miles (5 km) south of the M4 and 2.5 miles (4 km) east of Lawrence Hill railway station . Buses connect the town to surrounding areas including
96-522: Is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire , South West England . Towns in the area include Yate , Chipping Sodbury , Kingswood , Thornbury , Filton , Patchway and Bradley Stoke . The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol . South Gloucestershire was created in 1996 to replace the Northavon district of
128-518: Is a rural area, Borough is an urban area. Kingswood, South Gloucestershire Kingswood is a town and civil parish in the South Gloucestershire district of the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire , England. The town is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east-northeast of Bristol . Broadly speaking, Kingswood spans the area from John Cabot Academy in the west to the A4174 ring road in
160-501: Is adjacent to the villages of Bitton and Bridgeyate . Oldland Common was first mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. As was common in the surrounding area, the village was involved in the coal mining industry and had its own pit on Cowhorn Hill during the 1800s. The largest employment in the late C18 and early C19 was felt hat-making - half the working population at the time of the 1841 census. The largest place of worship in
192-405: Is technically no longer Kingswood 'proper', locals often consider the shops and residential areas that fringe the road named 'Two Mile Hill' (located within the area of the same name ) to be a continuation of Kingswood. In 2011 it had a population of 40,734. In 1894 Kingswood became an urban district . On 1 April 1974 the urban district and civil parish were abolished, when the town became part of
224-580: Is the national average. In 2005, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer recognised the City of Bristol's ties to science and technology by naming it one of six "science cities", and promising funding for further development of science in the city, with a £300 million science park planned at Emersons Green , in South Gloucestershire. The area is served by BBC West and ITV West Country broadcasting from
256-566: The A38 and M32 ) and to Bath , as well as westward to South Wales and Cardiff via the two Severn bridges . The M5 and M4 motorways provide access to Gloucester and London. Bristol's northern and eastern ring road, the A4174 , passes through South Gloucestershire. The Metrobus express bus network extends from Bristol into South Gloucestershire, and is supported by the district council. The area also has an important and well used railway network, with many direct routes to towns and cities across
288-559: The Kingswood district of Avon . In 1996, Kingswood became part of the South Gloucestershire district. The Kingswood civil parish was recreated on 1 April 2023. In Saxon times, The 'King's Wood' was a royal hunting estate which surrounded Bristol , extending as far as Filwood in South Bristol. "From early days the Constable of Bristol Castle, the king's officer in the area, was also
320-460: The Mendip TV transmitter. Radio stations for the area are: The River Severn forms the north-western edge of the area, with a wide coastal plain terminated by an escarpment. East of this is the wide River Frome Valley drainage area. Further east is another escarpment running roughly north–south, passing between Yate and Chipping Sodbury and west of Pucklechurch. The Cotswolds Escarpment forms
352-614: The county of Avon , forming the districts of Kingswood and Northavon . In 1996, the county of Avon was abolished, and South Gloucestershire was created as a unitary authority area comprising the former districts of Kingswood and Northavon. The area borders the city and county of Bristol , the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority area, and the shire counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. The geographic area currently known as South Gloucestershire should not be confused with Southern Gloucestershire. Nor should organisations or bodies in
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#1732891410963384-484: The 2021 Census, Kingswood was separated out from the administrative area of Bristol and is now recognised as a settlement in its own right by the Office of National Statistics; this has resulted in Kingswood, when combined with Fishponds, becoming the largest built up area by population in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire. Kingswood is made up of three wards: Woodstock, New Cheltenham and Kingswood Wards. These wards had
416-782: The Chief Ranger of the Kingswood Forest and the first of these recorded is Ella who died in 920. At the edge of the forest, to the north of the River Froom , lay the little hamlet of Stapleton, the name of which is Saxon in origin, being held to mean 'The farm, homestead or croft - by or near the Stapol, post or pillar.'" Up to the 2011 Census, Kingswood was considered by ONS as part of Bristol, being within its urban subdivision. This meant that Kingswood wasn't recognised as an individual settlement either statistically or administratively. However, in
448-616: The City Centre, Southmead Hospital , Keynsham and Cribbs Causeway. Six national rail stations currently exist within South Gloucestershire. However, they are all concentrated around the highly developed North Fringe area which encompasses Filton and Bradley Stoke . However, Bristol mayor Marvin Rees' proposals for a 'Bristol Underground' envisage a line serving the East Fringe of Bristol. The Kingswood area first came into industrial prominence in
480-642: The M4/M5 Almondsbury Interchange . Employers with sites in this area include EE and the RAC . South Gloucestershire is home to 99 primary schools, 16 secondary schools, and post-16 colleges and centres. There is one university, the University of the West of England , which was a former polytechnic. In 2008, DCSF figures revealed that there was a 6.6% overall absence in the district's secondary schools, whilst 7.4%
512-658: The South and London, and Bristol Temple Meads railway station , allowing connections to the South West, London, the South Coast, Wales, the Midlands, Northern England, and Scotland. An electoral ward in the name ‘Bitton and Oldland common’ exists. This stretches north from Oldland Common to Bitton and had a population of 7685 at the time of the 2011 census . Oldland is home to the non-League football clubs Oldland Abbotonians F.C. in
544-574: The UK to return to a Committee System , abolishing the single party Cabinet, as allowed under the Localism Act . This was later reverted to a leader and cabinet system in 2017 during the Conservative majority. For Westminster elections, the area is covered by three constituencies , all lying within the authority boundary. These are: County/Borough is a legal term denoting the type of constituency. County
576-621: The UK. This includes eastward to London and westward through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff and the rest of South Wales. There are also routes to the South-West counties and north to England's second city, Birmingham . Many routes cross in Stoke Gifford at Bristol Parkway station . There are six stations within the district, mainly located near the border with Bristol in the west of the district. The Conservatives held an overall majority on
608-638: The Western Football League and Crown & Horseshoe F.C. in the Bath and District League. The village has two public houses : The Crown and Horseshoe , and The Dolphin . The village previously had three, the third being The Cherry Tree , which is now being converted into flats. Oldland Common also has a Village Club. Shops in Oldland Common include a newsagent, a post office and several takeaways. South Gloucestershire South Gloucestershire
640-636: The abolished county of Avon . It is separate from Gloucestershire County Council , but is part of the ceremonial county and shares Gloucestershire's Lord Lieutenant (the Sovereign's representative to the county). Because of its history as part of the county of Avon, South Gloucestershire works closely with the other unitary authorities that took over when that county was abolished, including shared services such as Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Avon and Somerset Police , together with co-operation in planning strategy for transport, roads and housing. Prior to
672-532: The council from 2015 until 2023; previously no party had overall control, except for 1999–2003 when the Liberal Democrats had a majority. After the 2023 elections, Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed a coalition which took control of the council, this being Labour's first time in control and the Liberal Democrats for the first time in twenty years. In 2012, it became one of the first authorities in
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#1732891410963704-455: The east. Some areas which are in close proximity to Kingswood, such as Two Mile Hill and St George East (both located within the City of Bristol ) and parts of Hanham and Warmley Hill are often considered to be part of Kingswood by locals. The border between South Gloucestershire and the City of Bristol is situated at the western end of Kingswood's High Street. Although anything beyond this point
736-559: The eastern edge of South Gloucestershire, while the western half is mainly urbanised. A small part of the Cotswolds and the National Trust site of Dyrham Park are also in the district. South of the motorways are suburbs of Bristol while areas north are rural. Some of the inner green belts have been taken away by developments like the new town of Bradley Stoke. Many areas of South Gloucestershire have easy commuting access to Bristol (via
768-617: The heavily developed area between the northern edge of Bristol and the M5 motorway , an area sometimes described as the North Fringe of Bristol . This includes the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre , comprising The Mall regional shopping centre and the surrounding retail parks. East of Patchway are the Aztec West and Almondsbury business parks either side of the A38 , extending to Bradley Stoke and
800-523: The implementation of the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, the area that now forms South Gloucestershire formed part of the shire county of Gloucestershire , comprising the urban districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield and the Rural Districts of Warmley , Sodbury and Thornbury . However, under the terms of that act, the area was removed from Gloucestershire, and became part of
832-638: The late 17th century, because of coal mining . Typical of these were coal fields in the Easton and Coalpit Heath/Yate areas. The coal mining history still affects the town with gardens occasionally opening up. The local MP has petitioned in Parliament for full surveys of the coal mines under the town. There is an annual procession held on the morning of the Whit Bank Holiday. Its origins are uncertain, but it appears to have taken place at least since 1939. The walk
864-637: The local authority with 9,500 people and the Ministry of Defence Headquarters for Defence Procurement and the Naval Support Command with 7,000 employees. Other key employers include Airbus , Rolls-Royce and the Royal Mail , which dominates the Filton - Patchway area of South Gloucestershire. Friends Provident and Hewlett-Packard also have major offices in nearby Stoke Gifford . Many employers operate in
896-421: The past titled 'South Gloucestershire' (meaning Southern Gloucestershire) be confused with the area covered by the unitary authority. At the 2001 census , the population of South Gloucestershire was 245,641. At the 2011 census, the population had increased to 262,767. At the 2021 census , the population estimate for South Gloucestershire is 290,400. According to the 2001 census estimates, 97.6 percent of
928-510: The population was described as white, 0.8 percent as dual heritage, 0.7 percent as Asian or Asian British, 0.4 percent as Black or Black British and 0.5 percent as Chinese or other. Much of the population is in towns that form the 'suburbs' to the north and east of Bristol. There are also the large towns of Yate and its neighbour Chipping Sodbury , Thornbury , the large villages of Winterbourne and Frampton Cotterell , Wickwar , Alveston , Olveston and Tockington . The main employers are
960-483: The village are St. Anne's Church of England Primary School (built in 1837 & initially called Oldland National School) and Redfield Edge Primary School. The village lies on the Avon Valley Railway , a three-mile long heritage railway, where it is served by Oldland Common railway station . It is part of the civil parish of Bitton which has a population of approx. 9,000 (according to the 2011 Census). The village
992-598: The village is St Anne's Church of England church. Its grounds contain a separate social area, the Orchard Rooms. Other local churches include the Oldland Methodist Church (shown in photograph above) and the small United Reformed Church. The village is home to the 54th Kingswood (St Anne's) Scout Group. On 30 October 2012, mobile phone operator EE launched their 4G signal for superfast internet in Bristol, meaning
Oldland Common - Misplaced Pages Continue
1024-496: The village of Oldland Common is now connected to 4G. The 4G signal mast is situated at Redfield Hill in the village. 4G from Three, Vodafone and O2 is also now available in Oldland Common. Oldland Common is served by bus company First West of England , which operates the following services through the village; The nearest rail station is Keynsham railway station , which is 2.5 miles from the village. Direct services are available to Bath Spa railway station , allowing connections to
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