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Urmston

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Urmston, pop approx. 38,007 (2001), is a suburb of Manchester (United Kingdom), in the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford, and encompasses the smaller town of Davyhulme and the village of Flixton. It lies 6 miles (10 km) from Manchester City Centre, on the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. Urmston covers an area of 4,799 acres (19 km²). The centre of Urmston is its precinct, a shopping area which dates back to the 1960s. The shopping area is considered by some local residents to be an eyesore and there is a regeneration scheme planned for the area. The successful bid for the regeneration of the town centre was won by [Ask Property Developments] in 2004. Work is expected to commence in August or September 2006.

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History

According to the Trafford Council website, Urmston probably started life as Orme's Easton, or Ormestun - the 'tun' or dwelling of Orme Fitz Seward, whose land passed in the 13th century to Richard de Trafford. The land was lost by the de Traffords, but they won it back after a duel; like most long-lasting aristocratic families they enjoyed a fight.

Davyhulme can be traced back to the 12th century, when it was the seat of John Hulme. It is assumed that 'Davy' was prefixed to Hulme, to distinguish it from Hulme in Manchester.

St Michael's Parish Church, Flixton, is able to trace curacy records back to 1198, and is probably even older than this.

In 1948 the then Minister for Health, Aneurin Bevan, conducted the symbolic inauguration of the National Health Service at Davyhulme's Park Hospital (now Trafford General Hospital).

Until 1974, Urmston was a district of Lancashire, with its own Urmston Urban District Council. In 1974, it became a district of Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council after changes to local administrative units.

Transport and waterways

Junctions 9 and 10 of the M60 orbital motorway connect Urmston to the rest of Greater Manchester and the motorway network. A well known local landmark, opened in 1960, is the Barton High level motorway bridge, which crosses the Manchester Ship Canal.

Urmston is also connected to Liverpool and Manchester by the Manchester-Liverpool Railway, which passes through Warrington, and Garston (for Liverpool Airport). There are two railway stations in Urmston Urmston and Humphrey Park, as well as two stations in Flixton (Chassen Road and Flixton).

The area is well served by bus. Service numbers 15, 253, 256, 258 and 255 connect Urmston with Manchester city centre (Piccadilly Gardens), service 245 with Sale & Altrincham, and service 278 with Lostock, whilst the 22, 23, 23a connect with Stockport, Bolton and The Trafford Centre. Since opening, The Trafford Centre has become a major bus hub, with many services terminating there.

Both the Manchester Ship Canal, and the River Mersey pass close by.

Housing

The average price for a semi-detached home in Urmston is [£155,475], whilst a detached house will cost on average £247,630. Semi-detached prices have more than doubled from an average of £60,000 in 1998, when The Trafford Centre, a regional shopping centre, opened just to the north of Urmston (although house prices in most areas of the country have seen a similar increase). These figures are, however, below the England and Wales average.

Education

Secondary schools in the area include Urmston Grammar School Science College, Flixton High School for Girls, St Antony's Catholic College and [Wellacre High School Technology College for Boys.]Urmston Grammar School has a 99% GCSE pass rate, compared to a national average of 54%.

Leisure & Retail

Public Leisure facilities are managed by the Trafford Community Leisure Trust. Their facilities include: In addition to William Wroe, there are two other Golf Clubs: Davyhulme Park Golf Club, and Flixton Golf Club.

Abbotsfield Park, known colloquially as 'Chassen Park', features a miniature railway, and was the venue for an early Beatles concert, booked before they became famous. When they appeared at Abbotsfield, they were international stars.

Urmston Cricket Club is located on Moorside Road, next to the Lawn Tennis Club. The Curzon Cinema is nearby.

To the north of Urmston is situated The Trafford Centre, a shopping and leisure complex which opened in September 1998 and owned by Peel Holdings. It covers 30 football pitches, has free parking for 10,000 vehicles, and it's covered malls host 3 miles of shop frontage. As well as high street names (Debenhams, Marks and Spencer, BHS, Next etc), the centre features The Orient (with well known fast food chains, and restaurants) and a 20 screen UCI cinema.

The Trafford Centre was a controversial project. Some local residents feel that the Centre has brought traffic pollution and congestion to the town and feel that it has contributed significantly to the decline of Urmton Precinct, where many units are now either closed or 'pound stores.' Much of the Precinct will be demolished when a new schopping precinct and supermarket (Tesco's) are built on the existing site.

Adjacent to The Trafford Centre, is Trafford Quays home to the Trafford Regional Sports Complex. This incorporates a JJB sports soccer dome comprising a gym, swimming pool and 18 indoor football pitches with a David Lloyd health and fitness club nearby. The latest addition to the complex is a £3.5 million state-of-the-art golf driving range - The Playgolf Experience - which is the first in the UK. Proposals were announced in 2006 for Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council to move from their exisiting Town Hall building in Stretford to a purpose built building in this area. Additional proposals include an indoor ski centre 'Chillfactor-E', as well as housing and the BBC Media Zone.

Urmston is also home to the [The Urmston Musical Theatre] (UMT) which was formed as the Urmston Operatic Society in 1911. The well known actor, Matthew Kelly, is their President. Currently UMT perform a main show in October and a Pantomime in January, both at the Urmston Leisure Centre. Their junior section perform a show in May at St Antony's Catholic College, Bradfield Road, Urmston. They have a website which can be found by clicking the following link: [The Urmston Musical Theatre] with full details of their shows and membership.

Urmston on the web

The town has a thriving and popular website [Urmston.net] maintained by a local resident which incorporates a very active residents dicussion forum, as well as listing the many celebrities which were born or live in the area.

Political representation

Stretford and Urmston are currently represented in Parliament by Beverley Hughes MP.

In local elections for Trafford Council, Urmston is split into four wards - Urmston, Davyhulme East, Davyhulme West, and Flixton - each of which elect three councillors on a yearly rotating basis. Currently all 12 of these councillors are Conservative.

Famous people

Famous people to have come from Urmston include the entertainer Matthew Kelly, the author Stephen Leather, musician Jim Noir, former A Certain Ratio and Quando Quango singer Simon Topping Piccadilly Magic 1152 weekend breakfast DJ Dave Ward is also from Urmston. Judy Loe, the actress mother of Kate Beckinsale and wife of the late Richard Beckinsale was also born in Urmston.

Maps/images of Urmston (external links)

External links

 

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