Freshbrook

Freshbrook

Freshbrook

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Freshbrook is a suburb in the west of Swindon, England, close to junction 16 of the M4 motorway. Most houses in the area are found in culs-de-sac, except for those on the few main roads. The suburb is served by the shops of a small "village centre" and has a primary school.

Adjacent areas are Grange Park to the north and west, Toothill to the east, Blagrove industrial estate to the south, and Windmill Hill business park to the west.

History

Freshbrook was built in the early 1980s as part of the 'West Swindon' urban extension of Swindon. A large housing development, Wichelstowe, was built southeast of Freshbrook, from 2009; it is separated from Freshbrook by Great Western Way and the main railway line.

Education

Freshbrook has one school, Millbrook Primary School,[1] which had 329 pupils in July 2022.[2] From 1988 a second primary school, Windmill Hill, was housed in a prefabricated building; as the local birth rate fell, in 2008 the building was closed and the school was merged with the school previously called Freshbrook School to form Millbrook.[3] The Windmill Hill school building was destroyed by fire in 2011 in a suspected arson.[citation needed] A Church of England primary school, Oliver Tomkins, is nearby in Toothill.[4]

For secondary education, pupils from Freshbrook can attend Lydiard Park Academy (in nearby Grange Park), Bradon Forest School at Purton, or the Ridgeway School and Sixth Form College at Wroughton.

Leisure and recreation

The West Swindon district centre in Westlea is just north-east of Freshbrook. On the site are the Link Centre which has a swimming pool, national-size ice rink, other sports facilities and a library; also an Asda supermarket and other retail outlets.

Governance

Freshbrook is within West Swindon parish. Along with Grange Park and part of Toothill, the area elects three councillors for the Lydiard and Freshbrook ward of Swindon Borough Council, a unitary authority.[5] Freshbrook forms part of the parliamentary constituency of South Swindon.

At the 2011 census, the population of the electoral ward (then called Freshbrook and Grange Park, with slightly different boundaries) was 9,889.[6]

References

  1. [1]
    "Millbrook Primary". Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Millbrook Primary School". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. [3]
    Ogle, Roger (30 April 2020). "Housing plan for former Windmill Hill Primary School site, Freshbrook". swindonlink.com. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Oliver Tomkins CofE VA Infant, Nursery and Junior Schools". Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  5. [5]
    "Your Councillors". Swindon Borough Council. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Freshbrook and Grange Park ward 2011". ukcensusdata.com. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

51.556°N 01.838°W / 51.556; -01.838
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