Aldersley is a small suburb of Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

, West Midlands

West Midlands (county)

The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis

Tettenhall Regis

Tettenhall Regis is a ward of Wolverhampton City Council, West Midlands.-Geography:It is one of two wards covering the Tettenhall area, the other being Tettenhall Wightwick. It is situated on the western edge of the city, bordering South Staffordshire and the Oxley, St Peter's, Park and Tettenhall...

 ward. Aldersley is a relatively modern part of Wolverhampton, with most of the housing stock - both private and council - dating from after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

The Smestow Valley Leisure Ride

Smestow Valley Leisure Ride

Smestow Valley Leisure Ride is an approximately long cycle path linking Aldersley Leisure Village in Aldersley, Wolverhampton following the route of the disused Wombourne Branchline to the disused Wombourne railway station. From Wombourne station, the route follows the Staffordshire and...

 starts from here and the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....

 passes through the area. It is famous for the Aldersley Stadium - home of the Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club

Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club

Wolverhampton & Bilston Athletics Club was formed in 1967 and has its home ground at Aldersley Leisure Village formally Aldersley Stadium in Aldersley, Wolverhampton, England...

 and Wolverhampton Wheelers Cycling Club, who use it's 450m tarmac banked Velodrome.

History

The name 'Aldersley' is said by topynmists to come from 'Alor' - Old English for Alder as in Alder Tree, and 'lēah' - a woodland clearing, the name likely meaning a clearing in the Alder wood or woodland clearing where there are Alders. On the grounds of Aldersley Leisure Village, many Alder trees grow today, though it is not known if they are descendents of those that gave their name to the place.

Historically, Aldersley was a rural area consisting of the odd farm or house. The coming of the canals changed things somewhat, with Aldersley housing a major canal junction

Aldersley Junction

Aldersley Junction is the name of the canal junction where the Birmingham Main Line Canal terminates and meets the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal near to Oxley, north Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England....

 - that of the Birmingham Mainline Canal and the Staffordshire & Worcestershire

Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal

The Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal is a narrow navigable canal in the English Midlands, passing through the counties of Staffordshire and Worcestershire....

 Canal. A small hamlet was built at this junction for the people who operated it - with lock keepers cottages, a tollkeepers house and so on. Today, only the cellars and some brickwork remain of these historic buildings after they were demolished during the 1960s.
Nearby stood Aldersley farm, close to the current driveway into Aldersley stadium on the Aldersley Road, with Blakeley Green House just a quarter of a mile north along the Aldersley Road.
The next change to the landscape of the area came with the railways, the Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line

Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line

The Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury Line is the railway line from Wolverhampton to Shrewsbury via Wellington; it was originally built by the Shrewsbury and Birmingham Railway. The line is double track throughout, with rarely used relief sidings at Cosford and 4 tracks through Wellington station...

 passing along the northern edge of Aldersley, with the Wombourne Branch Line running off this south, through Aldersley and onto Tettenhall

Tettenhall

Tettenhall is a historic part of the city of Wolverhampton, England. The name Tettenhall is probably derived from Teotta's Halh, Teotta being a person's name and Halh being a sheltered position...

, and eventually Wombourne

Wombourne

Wombourne is a very large village and civil parish located in the district of South Staffordshire, in the county of Staffordshire, 4 miles south-west of Wolverhampton. Local affairs are run by a parish council. At the 2001 census it had a population of 13,691...

 and Stourbridge

Stourbridge

Stourbridge is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, in the West Midlands of England. Historically part of Worcestershire, Stourbridge was a centre of glass making, and today includes the suburbs of Amblecote, Lye, Norton, Oldswinford, Pedmore, Wollaston, Wollescote and Wordsley The...

.

During the mid 20th Century, post World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, extensive housing was built in Aldersley and neighbouring Claregate

Claregate

Claregate is a suburb of Wolverhampton, West Midlands, England. It is north-west of Wolverhampton city centre, within the Tettenhall Regis ward....

. Aldersley Stadium was also developed in the 1950s on land that previously belonged to Aldersley Farm. In the late 1990s, the stadium was rebuilt, and renamed 'Aldersley Leisure Village'.

Today

Today Aldersley is most known for its modern Leisure Village. Aldersley Leisure Village has astroturf football and hockey pitches, the National Indoor Shooting venue, a banked 458 m velodrome for cyclists as well as an athletics track, sports hall and gym. Wolverhampton Wanderers academy also have a 'dome' with an indoor pitch on the Leisure Village grounds.

In January 2011, police seized £60,000 worth of the drug amphetamine

Amphetamine

Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...

, when intercepting an alleged drug deal outside The Pilot pub in Aldersley.

Age

The 2001 Population Census recorded a total of 4,156 residents in Aldersley. 33.1% of the population was within the 25-44 age band, compared for 28.2% for Wolverhampton as a whole. The 45-59 age band was the second largest at 16.6% and the 5-15 age band was the third largest at 14.3%.

Ethnicity and religion

Aldersley is a predominantly white neighbourhood with 85.9% of Aldersley being British White, 1.1% Irish and 1.8% Other. This is above the city average of 75.4%, 1.0% and 1.4%, respectively. The Asian population was below that of the city average. 5.7% were identified as being Indian, below the city average of 12.3%; 0.8% are Pakistani, below the city average of 1.2%; and 0.3% were Other compared to the city average of 0.7%. There were no Bangladeshi residents, compared to the city average of 0.1%. The black population was also below that of the city average. Afro-Caribbeans made up a total of 2.4% of the population, compared with the city average of 3.9%. African residents made up 0.2%, compared with the city average of 0.3%. Chinese residents made up a total of 0.2% of the population, below the city average of 0.4%.

Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

 was the predominant religion in Aldersley, with 76.9% of the population stating that they were Christians. The second most dominant religion was Sikhism

Sikhism

Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...

, with 3.0% of Aldersley being Sikhs, although this is below the city average of 7.6%. 9.3% stated that they had no religion and 7.8% did not state a religion.

Households

There are a total of 1,750 households in Aldersley. 81.8% of households are owner-occupied, above the city average of 60.5%. 7.5% of properties are council house

Council house

A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...

s, 1.6% were owned housing association

Housing association

Housing associations in the United Kingdom are independent not-for-profit bodies that provide low-cost "social housing" for people in housing need. Any trading surplus is used to maintain existing homes and to help finance new ones...

-owned and 7% were owned by a private landlord.

10.7% of houses are without central heating

Central heating

A central heating system provides warmth to the whole interior of a building from one point to multiple rooms. When combined with other systems in order to control the building climate, the whole system may be a HVAC system.Central heating differs from local heating in that the heat generation...

and 0.2% are without sole use of a bath or toilet. 3.3% of houses are classed as being overcrowded, below the city average of 6.8%. 23.7% of households have no car, 46.1% have one car and 30.3% have two or more cars.

Employment

Aldersley has an unemployment rate of 3.8%, below the city average of 5.3%. Although, the percentage of Aldersley who were unemployed but economically active was 5.2%.

Primary

Claregate Primary School is the principal provider of primary schooling for the Aldersley area.

Secondary

Aldersley High School is a declining school, both in terms of pupil numbers and exam results which is currently under the ofsted inspection of good after it being branded inadequate 12 months ago . It is under threat from a new academy which comes online in 2011.

Leisure

Aldersley Stadium is a major leisure facility, located within the suburb of Aldersley, and provides training and competition facilities for athletics, cycling and target shooting.

Claregate playing fields have tennis courts, a large grass pitch area used for football and cricket, a pavilion with changing facilities and a children's play area.

Public houses in the area include The Claregate on Codsall Road, The Pilot on Green Lane and The Swan Hotel on Lower Street.

There is also a local Brownie unit (1st Aldersley Brownies) which is held at the Christ the King Church hall located on Pendeford avenue.