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Wixams (or The Wixams) is a new town and civil parish located in Bedfordshire, England, which has been under construction since early 2007. It is expected to become the third largest settlement in the Borough of Bedford after Bedford itself and Kempston, and one of the largest new settlements founded in England since the British new towns movement of the first twenty five years after World War II. Part of the site is also in Central Bedfordshire. ==History== The 750 acre (3 km²) brownfield site for the Wixams development is located just to the south of Bedford, and was formerly known as the Elstow Storage Depot; and in World War II, as ROF Elstow. The provisional name of the development during the early planning stages was Elstow Garden Villages, (Elstow is a nearby village famous for its association with John Bunyan). The name 'Wixams'〔( "Naming the New Settlement", ). Accessed 25 June 2008.〕 derives from Wixamtree, an ancient hundred near to where the new town is situated. (It is actually in the ancient hundred of Redbournestoke.) Wixams is planned to ultimately consist of four "villages", each with its own centre, built around a town centre. It is expected to have 4,500 homes, and is likely to provide housing capacity for people who work in Bedford, Milton Keynes and London. In addition, there is an intention to develop employment in Wixams itself. Facilities which are scheduled to be constructed include: * Over a million square feet of office space * Three lower schools (ages 5–9), two middle schools (9-13) and one upper school (13-18)- on hold due to Bedford Borough most likely moving to two tier. * A primary healthcare centre- on hold until when resident numbers reach 15,000 to 20,000. * A town park- likely to include an Asda * A range of shops * A library * A sports hall * Over of parkland and public open space, featuring a series of lakes, water bodies and wetland areas. These are a legacy of the former open cast mineral extraction on the site, which lies within the Forest of Marston Vale, a brickmaking and gravel extraction area with many exhausted pits. (Gallagher Estates ) is the master development company for the whole of Wixams. The first area or village under development is known as Lakeview (previously Village One). Developers include Bloor Homes, (Careys New Homes ), (Lagan Homes ), (Leech Homes ), (Miller Homes ) and Taylor Wimpey. The first residents of Lakeview moved into the area in early 2009, but construction work has proceeded more slowly than forecast due to the late 2000s recession and the consequent state of the UK housing market. In August 2009, the first housing association properties were let to residents in Lakeview, with shared-ownership homes also becoming available. The first lower school in Wixams, Lakeview Lower School opened in September 2009. In late summer 2010, the Wixams Community Group was formed from residents who have moved to the new town.〔http://www.wixams.net/?page_id=2〕 Site preparation works for the Village Two and Village Three areas of Wixams commenced in early 2011.〔http://www.wixams.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/Community-Newsletter-8.pdf〕 In February 2011, the Reverend Tim Jackson was appointed as the ecumenical church minister for the new town. He represents the Anglican, Baptist, Methodist and United Reformed Christian denominations. However, there is no church building at present. In January 2012, HRH Sophie, Countess of Wessex made an official visit to Wixams. The princess visited Lakeview Lower School, and met Dave Hodgson (Mayor of Bedford Borough), Andrew Slack (High Sheriff of Bedfordshire), Tony Gallagher (chairman of Gallagher Estates) as well as pupils and staff from the school. Bedford Borough Council reported that over 600 homes were occupied in Lakeview by the end of 2012.〔()〕 A village hall has been constructed in Lakeview and officially opened in April 2013. The hall is managed by members of a local community trust and Company limited by guarantee.〔http://www.wixams.net/wixams_files/newsletters/2012-january.pdf〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Wixams」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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