Canford Heath
Encyclopedia
Canford Heath is a suburb and area of heathland in Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...

, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...

 with a population of just under 14,500.

Geography

Canford Heath has also given its name to a housing development built on the heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...

 during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Now an established part of Poole
Poole
Poole is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester, and Bournemouth adjoins Poole to the east. The Borough of Poole was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council...

, Canford Heath has grown its own community life with two public houses (The Haymoor & The Pilot), a selection of churches, two supermarkets (Asda
Asda
Asda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...

 and Somerfield
Somerfield
Somerfield was a chain of small to medium sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company was taken over by the Co-operative Group on 2 March 2009 in a £1.57 billion deal, creating the UK's fifth largest food retailer. The name is currently being phased out and replaced by the...

), five schools and a range of social activities for young people. The Tower Park
Tower Park
Tower Park is a leisure destination in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind when it opened in 1989, and it still continues to attract thousands of people from throughout the area. It is named after the large concrete water tower that sits at the top of the hill on...

 leisure complex is nearby.

Heathland

Much of the remaining heathland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and part of the Dorset Heathlands Special Protection Area
Special Protection Area
A Special Protection Area or SPA is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds.Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and certain particularly threatened birds.Together with Special...

. It is home to the smooth snake, the sand lizard
Sand Lizard
The sand lizard is a lacertid lizard distributed across most of Europe and eastwards to Mongolia. It does not occur in the Iberian peninsula or European Turkey. Its distribution is often patchy....

 and the Dartford warbler
Dartford Warbler
The Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Its breeding range lies west of a line from southern England to the heel of Italy...

.

On 19 March 2006 a large fire swept across part of the heathland requiring almost 170 firefighters to extinguish. Approximately 100 people were forced to leave their homes temporarily.

To maintain the heathland and its unique wildlife a Canford Heath Nature Reserve Management Plan (2010-2020) has been prepared, integrating the Council's duties to provide a safe and welcoming open space with the responsibilities of the national and international conservation designations in place to protect it.

Schools

There are two primary schools in Canford Heath (Ad Astra First School and Canford Heath First School), two middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

s (Haymoor Middle School and Canford Heath Middle School) and two secondary schools; Ashdown Technology College
Ashdown Technology College
Ashdown Technology College is a secondary school in Poole, Dorset, England. It is a fusion of two previous schools, Ashley Cross Girls School and Seldown Boys School. It was opened on July 7, 1989. The headteacher is Mrs. L. Jones....

 and Poole Grammar School
Poole Grammar School
Poole Grammar School is a selective, all boys grammar school in Poole, on the south coast of England.-Admissions:...

. There is also a special educational needs school (Longspee School & Service).

External links


Churches

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