Bletchley and Fenny Stratford | |
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Bletchley and Fenny Stratford shown within Buckinghamshire | |
Population | 15,313 (2011 Census) |
OS grid reference | SP868338 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | MILTON KEYNES |
Postcode district | MK2 |
Dialling code | 01908 |
Police | Thames Valley |
Fire | Buckinghamshire |
Ambulance | South Central |
EU Parliament | South East England |
UK Parliament | |
Bletchley and Fenny Stratford is a civil parish with a town council, in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It was formed in 2001 from the unparished area of Milton Keynes, and according to the 2011 census had a population of 15,313.
The parish includes Brickfields (includes the Blue Lagoon), Central Bletchley (that is, Bletchley east of the West Coast Main Line), Denbigh (Denbigh North, Denbigh East and Denbigh West), Fenny Stratford, Fenny Lock, Granby, Mount Farm and Water Eaton (includes "Lakes Estate").
Originally, Bletchley was exclusively west of the railway line and was centred on St. Mary's (Church of England), Bletchley Park, and the Freeman Memorial Methodist chapel on Buckingham Road. This area is now known as Old Bletchley and is the reason why the station faces that way. However, as Bletchley developed, a new centre grew up around Bletchley Road (the road from Fenny Stratford to [Old] Bletchley. In 1966, after a Royal Visit, Bletchley Urban District Council renamed the street as "Queensway".
Central Bletchley is bordered by the West Coast Main Line to the west, the Water Eaton Brook and Water Eaton Road to the south, North Street and Bletchley Leisure Centre to the North and Knowles School/Leon Recreational Ground to the East.
For many years, Denbigh has been an important employment area: perhaps its most famous resident is Marshall Amplification.
In 2005, large commercial developments occurred on the immediate outskirts of Bletchley, although still in the civil parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. The supermarket chain Asda-Wal-Mart and the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA built and opened large stores at Denbigh North, northeast of the town centre on Watling Street, and Tesco responded by expanding its Fenny Stratford store (also on Watling Street). Whether or not these new developments accelerate the decline of the town centre remains to be seen.