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South Gloucestershire
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South Gloucestershire is a unitary district in the ceremonial county of Gloucestershire in South West England.
The district was created in 1996, when the county of Avon was abolished, by the merger of former area of the districts of Kingswood and Northavon. The district borders the City and County of Bristol, the Bath and North East Somerset unitary district and the shire counties of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
South Gloucestershire was also from 1950 to 1983 the name of a roughly coterminous Parliamentary constituency, South Gloucestershire. Its MPs were in turn Tony Crosland, Frederick Corfield and John Cope.
Also The 61st Regiment of Foot was classified as The South Gloucestershire Regiment, until 1881 when it merged with the 28th Regiment to form The Gloucestershire Regiment
GeographyThe River Severn forms the north-western edge of the area, with a wide coastal plain terminated by the Severn 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 Bradley Stoke in recent years.
Much of the population is in the northern and eastern suburbs of Bristol, although there are also large population centres in the Yate-Sodbury, Winterbourne-Frampton Cotterell and Thornbury areas. All of the villages are well within the commuting belt for Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Cheltenham and even London.
Aerospace industries dominate the Filton-Patchway area. A former polytechnic, The University of the West of England is nearby. A notable business park is Aztec West, which is adjacent to the M5/A38 and M4/M5 interchanges.
South Gloucestershire is a major transport hub for the West of England where the M4 and M5 motorways meet. Other major routes include the A38, the Avon Ring Road and part of the M32. It also has major connections to the railway network, with major routes from London through the Severn Tunnel to South Wales, and from the South-West to Birmingham and beyond, crossing at Bristol Parkway railway station. It is home to the eastern ends of the two famous Severn bridges, which are the main routes by road to and from South Wales.
Major towns in South Gloucestershire
Other towns and villages- Abson, Acton Turville, Almondsbury, Alveston, Aust, Awkley
- Badminton, Bagstone, Bitton, Bridgeyate
- Cadbury Heath, Catbrain, Charfield, Chipping Sodbury, Churchend, Coalpit Heath, Codrington, Cold Ashton, Cowhill, Cromhall
- Dodington, Downend, Doynton, Duckhole, Dyrham
- Earthcott, Easter Compton, Elberton, Emersons Green, Engine Common
- Falfield, Frampton Cotterell, Frenchay
- Gaunt's Earthcott
- Hawkesbury, Hawkesbury Upton, Hill, Hillesley, Hallen, Hambrook, Hanham, Harry Stoke, 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 Common, Old Sodbury, Olveston, Over
- Pilning, Pennsylvania, Pucklechurch
- Rangeworthy, Redwick, Rockhampton, Rudgeway
- Severn Beach, Shepperdine, Siston, Soundwell, Staple Hill, Stoke Gifford
- Tockington, Tormarton, Tortworth, Tresham, Tytherington
- Upton Cheyney
- Wapley, Warmley, West Littleton, Westerleigh, Whitfield, Wick, Wickwar, Winterbourne
Places of interest
Parliamentary ConstituenciesUnder the current Boundary Commission proposals, which will take effect at the next general election, the authority will be 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.
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