Chafford Hundred

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Not to be confused with Hundred of Chafford.

Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred, Thurrock, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 22332.jpg
Housing in Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred is located in Essex
Chafford Hundred
Chafford Hundred
Location within Essex
Population16,420 (Mid-2019) Ward-level population estimates (Experimental Statistics) [1]
OS grid referenceTQ595795
• London18.5 mi (29.8 km) W
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townGRAYS
Postcode districtRM16
Dialling code01375
PoliceEssex
FireEssex
AmbulanceEast of England
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Essex
51°29′17″N 0°18′00″E / 51.488°N 0.300°E / 51.488; 0.300Coordinates: 51°29′17″N 0°18′00″E / 51.488°N 0.300°E / 51.488; 0.300

Chafford Hundred is an affluent turn of the 21st century built settlement north-west of Grays, and south-east of South Ockendon in the Borough of Thurrock in the ceremonial county of Essex. Its station also serves, to its western side, Lakeside Shopping Centre in the largely retail and distribution-dominated area of West Thurrock. It is located in the Chafford and North Stifford, and South Chafford wards in the unitary authority of Thurrock.[2] Chafford Hundred was built on parts of the historical parishes of Stifford and West Thurrock, Mill Lane being the border of the respective historical parishes.[3]

History[]

Built on an area of 600 acres, northwest of Grays town centre. Two-thirds of the site was previously used as a chalk quarry, the rest was agricultural land. Approximately 5,600 houses and flats have been built since 1989 on 353 acres of brownfield housing land. These areas have a variety of housing types which includes private sector housing as well as housing associations and retirement homes.[4] Chafford Hundred railway station serves the local area, and was built expressly for the settlement. It opened in 1993, and currently sees a twice hourly service connecting it to London, Grays and Southend.[5] The name is re-used from the historic Hundred of Chafford, which covered a much larger area including parts of present-day Thurrock in Essex and the London Borough of Havering in Greater London.[6]

The area has seen large growth since its inception, with many City workers living there due to the relatively easy commute into central London. In 2012, it was reported in the national press, that more than half the flats (in the estate) were repossessed during the early 1990s housing slump, impacting it so significantly that prices fell by half.[7] Housing ranges from one or two bedroom apartments up to five / six bedroom large houses and therefore the area caters for many, although property prices grew rapidly during the late 1990s – The Evening Standard article, "the most coveted address in Britain" by Nick Curtis in 2001 included properties in the new village.[8] This is not due to the architecture of the houses (mostly all very similar starter homes), but because it provides relatively affordable housing with public and recreation areas, as well as generally large private gardens, well connected to many jobs.[9]

There are four elected councillors representing Chafford Hundred, currently Cllr Mark Coxshall and Cllr Garry Hague for Chafford and North Stifford Ward, and Cllr Abbie Akinbohun and Cllr Suzanne Hooper for South Chafford Ward.[10] The area's Member of Parliament is Jackie Doyle Price. Although there were initially no facilities, they managed to raise funds to build a youth park which was launched last year.[11] In terms of other facilities, it has one GP surgery,[12] a Church,[13] a gym[14] and 2 main pubs[15][16]

Schools[]

Chafford Hundred currently has four primary schools and one secondary school.

  • Tudor Court Primary School
  • Warren Primary School
  • Harris Primary Academy Chafford Hundred
  • Harris Primary Academy Mayflower
  • Harris Academy Chafford Hundred (secondary, formerly Chafford Hundred Campus Business and Enterprise College)[17]

Geography[]

The land is on very gentle slopes (ranging from 18 to 34m AOD) and the area also has included a number of park and recreational areas. The largest area is of special environmental and scientific interest, Chafford Gorges Nature Park; its management was taken over by Essex Wildlife Trust on 9 June 2005.

References[]

  1. ^ "Ward-level population estimates (Experimental Statistics) - Office for National Statistics".
  2. ^ 2010 post-revision map non-metropolitan areas and unitary authorities of England Archived 14 July 2013 at WebCite
  3. ^ "Parishes: West Thurrock | British History Online".
  4. ^ "Chafford Hundred Station Travel Plan" (PDF). Government of the United Kingdom. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2013. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  5. ^ "Network Rail Winter 2016/7 Working Timetable" (PDF). p. 28. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Chafford hundred: Introduction | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  7. ^ Clark, Ross (11 December 2002). "Who will survive a crash?". The telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  8. ^ Curtis, Nick (11 December 2002). "The Most Coveted Address in Britain". The telegraph. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  9. ^ Moran, Joe (2005). Reading the Everyday. Routledge. p. 207. ISBN 978-1-134-37215-7.
  10. ^ "Current councillors | Thurrock Council". Government of the United Kingdom. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
  11. ^ "The Enquirer :: First anniversary for Chafford Hundred youth park".
  12. ^ "Chafford Hundred Medical Centre – GP Surgery Website. All about your doctors surgery, the opening times, making appointments, ordering your repeats, health information and more".
  13. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 October 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2013.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  14. ^ "Chafford Hundred – Bannatyne Spa".
  15. ^ "Chafford Hundred".
  16. ^ "HERE Maps – City and Country Maps – Driving Directions – Satellite Views – Routes".
  17. ^ Shepherd, Jessica (13 January 2010). "School created five years ago is 'most improved'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
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