Beechwood, Merseyside

Geography

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.

Government

Beechwood is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside. The estate is part of the parliamentary constituency of Birkenhead. The current Member of Parliament is Frank Field, a Labour representative. He has been the MP since 1979 and currently holds a majority of 15,395.

The area is also part of a local government ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, this being Bidston and St. James Ward. Beechwood is represented on Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council by three councillors. These are Jim Crabtree, Ann McLachlan and Harry Smith, who are all Labour councillors. Ann McLachlan is also the deputy leader of the council. The most recent local elections took place on 22 May 2014.

The electorate numbered 9,932, there was a turnout of 26.6% and the majority is 1,161. The result was declared at 11:57.

Local amenities

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 5 public houses, Seven Stiles (name changed to the Fender, after closure became a Jack & Gill nursery), Windmill, Buccaneer (renamed the Fender - now closed and demolished), One O'clock Gun (now closed) and Corsair. The Windmill is the only remaining public house on the estate, which is named after the nearby windmill on Bidston Hill. The Corsair pub, was situated towards Bidston, though has recently been demolished, after being closed for a number of years and then damaged in a fire. The Windmill pub is now demolished.

There are two churches, the modern Roman Catholic church, which is St. Paul's, and the small, modern Beechwood Chapel which is a Church of England building.

Education

Beechwood Primary School is situated at the end of Beechwood Drive. St Paul's Primary School is a Catholic school situated on Farmfield Drive. Manor Primary School and St. Paul's Roman Catholic Primary School.

Roads

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

Until deregulation of the bus services, in 1986, the area was served by both the forerunner to Merseytravel, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (MPTE) and the separate operator, Crosville.

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.

Railways

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.

Cycling

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.