Benchill is a district of the city of Manchester, England, part of the massive Wythenshawe council estate, approximately eight miles (c. 12 km) south of Manchester City Centre.
In 2000, Benchill was named in the Index of Multiple Deprivation as the most deprived ward out of 8414 in England (the Index is a governmental measure of local employment, income, health, education, housing, child poverty, and availability of local services). Since the release of the index, several schemes have been set up to assist the residents of Benchill.
The estate was built initially without shops, amenities or services, and there was very little employment directly to hand: people wanting to buy household supplies had to "wait until the mobile shop came round, or go to Northenden". Various residents' associations were set up to address these problems, but progress was very slow.
Wythenshawe eventually expanded, and businesses were attracted to the area with the creation of the Sharston Industrial Estate and, later, the Moss Nook and Roundthorn industrial complexes.
Wythenshawe gradually acquired all the amenities and facilities that the original planners had neglected to include, such as schools, shops, pubs and churches. The area also got its own hospital, and Wythenshawe Hospital grew out of the earlier Baguley Hospital after the Second World War in 1948.
The largest shopping area was constructed in the 1960s in the town centre (known locally as the Wythenshawe Civic Centre), which has been expanded further since its initial construction. In 1971, the Wythenshawe Forum was opened, which included a library, a swimming pool and a theatre.
Following a review by the Boundary Committee for England, Benchill was disestablished as a local government ward in 2003, and the area was divided between the neighbouring wards of Sharston, Woodhouse Park, and Northenden.
The area also gained national media attention in February 2007 when Conservative Party leader David Cameron visited the estate, only to be targeted by a group of youths, one of whom made a gun gesture with his hand towards him that was caught on film.[1]
Benchill is policed by the Wythenshawe Neighbourhood Policing Team (based at Wythenshawe Police Station on Poundswick Lane), part of the South Manchester Division of Greater Manchester Police.
Many houses previously owned by the council are now under the control of local housing associations, such as Willow Park in Benchill and Parkway Green in Baguley.
Information Care of wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment