South Gloucestershire facts for kids

Quick facts for kids South Gloucestershire
Unitary authority area
Yate Shopping Centre, in Yate which is the administrative centre of South Gloucestershire.
Shown within Gloucestershire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South West England
Ceremonial County	Gloucestershire
Combined authority	West of England
Admin HQ	Yate
Government
• Type	Unitary authority
• Body	South Gloucestershire Council
Area
• Total	191.87 sq mi (496.94 km2)
Area rank	92nd (of 326)
Population  (2020)
• Total	285,093
• Rank	50th (of 326)
• Density	1,485.868/sq mi (573.697/km2)
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	00HD (ONS) E06000025 (GSS)
OS grid reference	ST735757
Police	Avon and Somerset
Fire	Avon
Ambulance	South Western

South Gloucestershire is a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire, South West England. South Gloucestershire was created in 1996 from the northern section of the county of Avon, which was abolished at that time.

Towns in the unitary authority area include Yate, Chipping Sodbury, Thornbury, Filton, Patchway and Bradley Stoke, the latter three forming part of the northern Bristol suburbs. The unitary authority also covers many outlying villages and hamlets. The southern part of its area falls within the Greater Bristol urban area surrounding the city of Bristol.

South Gloucestershire took its title for historic reasons, but as a unitary authority it is separate from Gloucestershire County Council. It is, however, part of the ceremonial county and shares Gloucestershire's Lord Lieutenant (the Sovereign's representative to the county). Because of its history as part of the county of Avon, South Gloucestershire works closely with the other unitary authorities that took over when that county was abolished, including shared services such as Avon Fire and Rescue Service and Avon and Somerset Police, together with co-operation in planning strategy for transport, roads and housing.

History

Prior to the implementation of the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, the area that now forms South Gloucestershire formed part of the shire county of Gloucestershire, comprising the urban districts of Kingswood and Mangotsfield and the Rural Districts of Warmley, Sodbury and Thornbury. However, under the terms of that act, the area was removed from Gloucestershire, and became part of the county of Avon, forming the districts of Kingswood and Northavon.

In 1996, the county of Avon was abolished, and South Gloucestershire was created as a unitary authority comprising the former districts of Kingswood and Northavon. The area borders the city and county of Bristol, the Bath and North East Somerset unitary authority, plus the shire county of Gloucestershire.

The geographic area currently known as South Gloucestershire should not be confused with Southern Gloucestershire. Nor should organisations or bodies in the past titled 'South Gloucestershire', (meaning Southern Gloucestershire), be confused with the area covered by the unitary authority.

Demographic

At the 2001 census, the population of South Gloucestershire was 245,641. At the 2011 census, this had increased to 262,767.

According to these estimates, 97.6 percent of the population was described as white, 0.8 percent as dual heritage, 0.7 percent as Asian or Asian British, 0.4 percent as Black or Black British and 0.5 percent as Chinese or other.

Much of the population is in towns that form the 'suburbs' to the north and east of Bristol. There are also the large towns of Yate and Thornbury, along with Chipping Sodbury, the population centres of Winterbourne, and the Frampton Cotterell area.

Geography

The River Severn forms the north-western edge of the area, with a wide coastal plain terminated by an escarpment. East of this is the wide River Frome Valley drainage area. Further east is another escarpment running roughly north-south, passing between Yate and Chipping Sodbury and west of Pucklechurch. The Cotswolds Escarpment forms the eastern edge of South Gloucestershire.

A small part of the Cotswolds and the National Trust site of Dyrham Park are also in the district. South of the motorways are suburbs of Bristol while areas north are rural areas. Some of the inner green belt has been taken away by developments like the new town of Bradley Stoke.

Transport

Map of South Gloucestershire; the blue lines are motorways.

South Gloucestershire is a major transport hub with many areas of South Gloucestershire having easy commuting access to Bristol (via A38 and M32), Bath to the east, as well as westward to South Wales and Cardiff via the two Severn bridges. The M5 and M4 motorways provide access to Gloucester and London. Bristol's northern and eastern ring road, the A4174, passes through South Gloucestershire.

This network of roads is of paramount importance to the industries and distribution centres in the area, as well as to the regional shopping centres – which give it a prime location.

South Gloucestershire is working with the City and County of Bristol in developing a large Metrobus system.

The area also has an important and well used railway network, with many direct routes to towns and cities across the UK. This includes eastward to London and westward through the Severn Tunnel to Cardiff and the rest of South Wales. There are also routes down to the South-West counties and north to England's second city, Birmingham. Many routes cross in Stoke Gifford at the Bristol Parkway railway station. There are six stations within the district, mainly located near the border with Bristol in the west of the district.

South Gloucestershire is home to the eastern ends of the two Severn Bridges, which are the main arterial routes by road to and from South Wales.

Major Towns of South Gloucestershire, and their population

• Kingswood 40,734
• Yate 35,000
• Bradley Stoke 27,805
• Thornbury 12,342
• Stoke Gifford 11,509
• Patchway 10,465
• Filton 9,861

Other towns and villages

• Abson, Acton Turville, Almondsbury, Alveston, Aust, Awkley
• Badminton, Bagstone, Beach, Bitton, Bridgeyate
• Cadbury Heath, Catbrain, Charfield, Cheswick, Charlton (former village), Charlton Hayes, Chipping Sodbury, Churchend, Coalpit Heath, Codrington, Cold Ashton, Compton Greenfield, Conham, Cowhill, Cromhall
• Dodington, Downend, Doynton, Duckhole, Dunkirk, Dyrham
• Earthcott, Easter Compton, Elberton, Emersons Green, Engine Common
• Falfield, Frampton Cotterell, Frenchay
• Gaunt's Earthcott
• Hallen, Hambrook, Hanham, Harry Stoke, Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Upton, Hill, Hinton, Horton
• Ingst, Iron Acton, Itchington
• Latteridge, Little Badminton, Little Sodbury, Little Stoke, Littleton-upon-Severn, Longwell Green
• Mangotsfield, Marshfield, Milbury Heath, Upper and Lower Morton
• Nibley, Northwick
• Oldbury Naite, Oldbury-on-Severn, Old Down, Oldland, Oldland Common, Old Sodbury, Olveston, Over
• Pilning, Pennsylvania, Petty France, Pucklechurch
• Rangeworthy, Redwick, Rockhampton, Rudgeway
• Severn Beach, Shepperdine, Siston, Soundwell, Staple Hill, Swineford
• Thornbury, Tockington, Tormarton, Tortworth, Tytherington
• Upton Cheyney
• Wapley, Warmley, West Littleton, Westerleigh, Whitfield, Wick, Wickwar, Willsbridge, Winterbourne, Yate

Places of interest

• Avon Valley Railway
• Cribbs Causeway and The Mall
• Filton Airfield (With museums for Concorde & the Bristol Aero Collection due).
• Severn Way
• The Severn crossings
• Thornbury Castle

Democracy

Whilst the Liberal Democrats held an overall majority on the council 1999-2003, it has been no overall control for the rest of its existence. In 2012, it became one of the first authorities in the UK to return to a Committee System, abolishing the single party Cabinet, as allowed under the Localism Act

Under the Boundary Commission proposals, which took effect at the 2010 general election, the authority has been divided between three new constituencies, all lying within the authority boundary. These are:

• Thornbury and Yate (County – 63,320 electorate)
• Filton and Bradley Stoke (County – 62,299 electorate)
• Kingswood (Borough – 60,936 electorate)

County/Borough is a legal term denoting the type of constituency. County is a rural area, Borough is an urban area.

Economy

The main employers are the local authority with 9,500 people and the Ministry of Defence Headquarters for Defence Procurement and the Naval Support Command with 7,000 employees. Other key employers include Airbus, Rolls Royce and the Royal Mail, which dominates the Filton-Patchway area of South Gloucestershire. Friends Provident and Hewlett Packard also have major offices in nearby Stoke Gifford.

Many employers operate in the heavily developed area between the northern edge of Bristol and the M5 motorway, an area sometimes described as the North Fringe of Bristol. This includes the Cribbs Causeway shopping centre, comprising The Mall regional shopping centre and the surrounding retail parks. East of Patchway are the Aztec West and Almondsbury business parks either side of the A38, extending to Bradley Stoke and the M4/M5 Almondsbury Interchange. Employers with sites in this area include EE and the RAC.

Education

South Gloucestershire is home to 99 primary schools, 16 secondary schools, and post-16 colleges and centres. There is one university, the University of the West of England, which was a former polytechnic. In 2008, DCSF figures revealed that there was a 6.6% overall absence in the district's secondary schools, whilst 7.4% is the national average.

In 2005, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer recognised the City of Bristol's ties to science and technology by naming it one of six "science cities", and promising funding for further development of science in the city, with a £300 million science park planned at Emerson's Green, in South Gloucestershire.

See also

In Spanish: South Gloucestershire para niños