Housing estate in Merseyside, England
Human settlement in England
Beechwood
is a housing estate in the west of
Birkenhead
, on the
Wirral Peninsula
, in
Merseyside
, England. Administratively it is within the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
as part of
Bidston and St James Ward
. The area is bounded by
Bidston
to the north,
Upton
to the west and
Noctorum
to the south. The elevation of
Bidston Hill
is immediately to the east.
The estate was built in the 1960s as the
Ford Estate
and completed in the mid to late 1970s, to house people moving from the North End of Birkenhead and providing a better
standard of living
.
[2]
Most of Beechwood is former council property, bought from
Wirral Borough Council
by local tenants who formed a community
housing association
. Some of the council houses have been sold under the
Right to Buy
scheme. The estate is the most northerly of three housing estates within a mile of each other, the other two being at
Woodchurch
and Noctorum. The estate is now separated into three sections, these being Upper Bidston Village,
[3]
[4]
Beechwood and Greenfields.
[5]
In recent years the estate has seen significant redevelopment of the former wooded area at 6th Avenue and through the demolition of maisonettes, tower blocks, Manor County Middle School and residential care homes (Feltree House and Esher House), with the construction of new affordable homes by private investors.
At the
2011 census
no population figures specific to Beechwood were available. However the total population of Bidston and St James Ward, which includes the estate, was 15,216.
[6]
Geography
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Beechwood is in the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula, less than 3 km (1.9 mi) south-south-east of the
Irish Sea
at
Leasowe
, about 7 km (4.3 mi) east-north-east of the
Dee Estuary
at
West Kirby
and about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) west of the
River Mersey
at
Seacombe
. The area is situated at an elevation of between 8?26 m (26?85 ft) above sea level.
[7]
Governance
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Beechwood is within the parliamentary constituency of
Birkenhead
. The current Member of Parliament is
Mick Whitley
, a
Labour
representative. He has been the MP since 2019.
At
local government
level, the estate is incorporated into the
Bidston and St James
Ward
of the
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral
, in the
metropolitan county
of Merseyside. It is represented on
Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council
by three councillors.
[8]
The most recent
local elections
took place on 6 May 2021.
Local amenities
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Beechwood is served by the
Post Office
, a community library, a recreation centre, a social club, a children's centre and a
health centre
.
The estate has a small shopping area. Beechwood originally had five public houses: 'Seven Stiles' (its name was changed to 'The Fender' and after closure it became a children's nursery), 'The Windmill' (closed and demolished after a fire), 'Buccaneer' (it was renamed 'The Fender' before being closed and demolished), 'One O'clock Gun' (closed and subsequently demolished) and 'The Corsair' (closed and demolished after a fire). 'The Windmill', named after the nearby
Bidston Windmill
on Bidston Hill, was the final public house on the estate to close.
There are two churches, the modern
Roman Catholic
church, which is St. Paul's, and the small, modern Beechwood Chapel
[9]
which is an independent church.
Education
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Manor Primary School is situated at the end of Beechwood Drive (named 6th Avenue until the area was redeveloped). This was previously known as Manor County Primary and Middle Schools. In recent years the buildings of the middle school were demolished and both educational facilities combined, utilising the buildings of the primary school.
St Paul's Primary School is a Catholic school situated on Farmfield Drive (previously named Feltree Way).
Transport
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Roads
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The
M53 motorway
runs along the western side of Beechwood and the nearest junction, Junction 1 of the motorway, is situated north of Beechwood. The
A5027
is situated at the southern side of Beechwood and the
A553
is to the north.
Buses
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Until deregulation of the bus services, in 1986, the area was served by the forerunner to Merseytravel, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE).
Present-day services are run primarily by
Arriva
, and are coordinated by
Merseytravel
.
Beechwood has
bus stops
along Fender Way, the main road through the area. Merseytravel's daily "Saveaway"
Area B
and
All Zones
tickets are valid to use from any bus stop in Beechwood, on the basis of being for the passenger of relevant age, in-date and for use after 9:30am.
[10]
Railways
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Upton
and
Bidston
railway stations
are the nearest to Beechwood, being situated at either end of the estate. These stations are both located on the
Borderlands Line
to
Wrexham
. Meanwhile, Bidston station is also part of
Merseyrail's
Wirral Line
, primarily for travel to
Liverpool
and
Chester
. There is, however, a proposal for the construction of
Beechwood railway station
, which would be more centrally located to the area. This would be situated on the modernised and electrified Borderlands Line.
[11]
Cycling
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National Cycle Route 56
passes along the western side of Beechwood, alongside Fender Way. This route goes from Chester to Liverpool via Leasowe and Seacombe and includes part of the
Wirral Way
, along its course.
References
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External links
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