Freshbrook is a suburb in the west of Swindon, England, located close to junction 16 of the M4 motorway (51.54°N 01.84°W / 51.54; -01.84). Most houses in the area are found in cul-de-sacs, except for those on the few main roads Freshbrook has. The suburb is served by a "village centre" known colloquially as Freshbrook Shops.
Contents
- Post grad feat freshbrook pt i
- History
- Transport
- Education
- Leisure and recreation
- Representatives
- References
Adjacent areas are Grange Park to the north, Toothill to the east, Blagrove Industrial Estate to the south, and Windmill Hill Business Park to the west. A new housing development, Wichelstowe, was built southeast of Freshbrook, commencing in 2009. However, this is separated from Freshbrook by Great Western Way and the main railway line.
The Swindon ward is called Freshbrook and Grange Park. The population of this ward taken at the 2011 census was 9,889.
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History
Freshbrook was built during the early 1980s as part of the 'West Swindon' urban extension of Swindon.
Transport
Main roads are Gainsborough Way, Worsley Road, Rowton Heath Way, and Liskeard Way.
Freshbrook is currently served by Stagecoach Bus in the form of 2 routes; The main one: Service 10 which goes in 2 directions around Freshbrook, one way to the nearby Link Centre at West Swindon, and the other direction towards Toothill, Town Centre, Gorse Hill and Kingsdown. It runs every 10 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime and every 30 minutes Sundays. This has been since November 2016.
In the evenings and on Sundays, Service 10 is supplemented with the 55A, a diversion of the 55, which links Swindon, Wooton Bassett, Lyneham, Calne and Chippenham. The 55A misses out the dual carriageway, and serves Freshbrook Centre and Freshbrook Way.
Prior to service 10, Freshbrook's buses were 8: to Link Centre, Town Centre, GW Hospital and Chiseldon and 9/9A/9B: to Link Centre, Town Centre, Wroughton and Thorney Park. Together these routes provided the 10 minute frequency (each was every 20 minutes). This was a popular service and as a result, punctuality became poor, resulting in a need to change the service.
From Early 2007 until 2010, a 54 service also ran through Freshbrook from Wootton Bassett through the town centre and on to Wroughton, every 20 minutes. However this was stopped due to Council cutbacks.
Freshbrook is also served by Thamesdown Transport. Thamesdown operate a service for schoolchildren to travel to Ridgeway School in Wroughton. This is the No.154 which has one journey in each direction on school days.
Education
The area has one school, Millbrook Primary School. Freshbrook had two primary schools, Freshbrook and Windmill Hill, but due to an ageing population these were merged to form Millbrook (an amalgamation of the two previous school names), on the site of Freshbrook School.
For secondary education, pupils from Freshbrook can attend Lydiard Park Academy, Bradon Forest, or Ridgeway School & Sixth Form College.
Leisure and recreation
The Link Centre lies to one side of Freshbrook and provides entertainment such as a library, ice rink and wall climbing facilities. On the same complex are several local shops and an Asda supermarket.
Representatives
Freshbrook, along with Grange Park and part of Toothill, is served by three local councillors in the Lydiard & Freshbrook ward. It forms part of the parliamentary constituency of South Swindon.