| Sheerwater | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Boats on the Basingstoke Canal | |
.jpg) A small part of Albert Drive with high pines, long-established in the soil type, seeBagshot Formation. | |
  Sheerwater Location withinSurrey | |
| Population | 3,603 [1] |
| OS grid reference | TQ0260 |
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Woking |
| Postcode district | GU21 |
| Dialling code | 01932 |
| Police | Surrey |
| Fire | Surrey |
| Ambulance | South East Coast |
| UK Parliament | |
| 51°19′48″N0°31′48″W / 51.330°N 0.530°W /51.330; -0.530 | |
Sheerwater is a residential neighbourhood or small suburb ofWoking, in theWoking district in Surrey, England, occasionally described as avillage, betweenWest Byfleet andHorsell.[2] Its border is defined to the north by a gently winding part of theBasingstoke Canal and to the south by theSouth West Main Line which passes fromcutting level to that of anembankment. The neighbourhood has a business park and light industry at its south-western end. The whole area islinear, includes diverse green spaces to north and south, and covers 92 hectares (230 acres).
Sheerwater was also spelt Sherewater until about 1900. Since theNorman Conquest it was a high sandyheath with a notable pond:[3][4] Sherewater Pond, on the borders of Pyrford andChertsey parishes, was an extensive mere on the highBagshot Sand, drained and planted at the time of itsenclosure, 29 September 1815. On enclosure it was allocated into private hands from publiccommon land; a farm was created.John Aubrey thenEdward Brayley, confused Sherewater with a pond by the Guildford road (A3) onWisley Common, drained byPeter King, 7th Baron King, theWhig politician and writer, rather earlier. Sherewater Pond is marked onJohn Rocque's map (an 18th-century cartographer).[5]
Sheerwater's farm became divided from Woodham by theBasingstoke Canal in about 1790 and from Pyrford by theSouth West Main Line in about 1838. Sherewater or Sheerwater Farm was approximately where the pond stood in 1911, just north of the railway.[5]
To the east the area is bounded by thestraight road, Sheerwater Road, and to the west the boundary is Monument Road.
Sheerwater is alinear settlement. Albert Drive is the through road of the neighbourhood. Elevations range between 35mabove sea level in the central area and 30m at Sheerwater Bridge on the eastern boundary.
The Basingstoke Canal and the Rive Ditch are the only water features in the neighbourhood. There is just one lock on the Sheerwater section of the canal, just west of Sheerwater Road. The Rive Ditch enters Sheerwater at Monument Road and leaves at Sheerwater Road, it roughly follows the path of Albert Drive but has been routed completely underground since the area was developed in the 1950s.
Sheerwater was designed as a new neighbourhood by theLondon County Council and approved by the local Urban District Council, allowing nearly 1,300 homes to be built in the early 1950s and over 5,000 people to settle in the neighbourhood.
In April 2017 Woking Borough Council approved the first phase of the redevelopment of the central part of Sheerwater. The first phase will comprise the construction of a leisure centre in the grounds of the Bishop David Brown School and the construction of a number of new homes on the land currently occupied by the athletics track.
Dartmouth Avenue is the mainparade of shops which include two convenience stores, several fast food outlets, a cafe, a post office, a pharmacy and a glass/glazing business.[6]
A largeAsda superstore opened on Albert Drive in October 2014.
There is a church, St Michael's, on Dartmouth Avenue. It is shared byMethodist andChurch of England congregations.[7][8] There was also a Catholic church situated between Albert Drive and Dartmouth Avenue, but this closed in 1995. A small mosque opened in June 2017, also on Dartmouth Avenue.
Sheerwater had onepub,The Birch and Pines.[9] This closed in April 2017.
Bishop David Brown School is a secondary school supported by theAnglican community in Sheerwater. Notable former Sheerwater residents and pupils werePaul Weller,Bruce Foxton andRick Buckler[10] who together with other pupils of the then Sheerwater Comprehensive School formedThe Jam.
There is anallotment between Albert Drive and theSouth West Main Line.
There are nolisted buildings in the neighbourhood.[11]
Sheerwater Recreation Ground was created as part of the development of the area byLondon County Council in the 1950s. Ownership was transferred to the Urban District Council of Woking (nowWoking Borough Council) on 26 September 1961 with the covenant that the land be used only as a recreation ground, children's playground or public open space. Part of the area is now an international size oval running track, home to Woking Athletics Club.[12]
Sheerwater has aNon-League football clubSheerwater F.C. who play on the Sheerwater Recreation Ground.
Sheerwater has a Scout group[13][14] and a Gardening Association.[15]
The towpath of theBasingstoke canal is on the Sheerwater side, which provides a traffic-free pedestrian and cycle route to Woking town centre in one direction and to West Byfleet in the other.
Three teenage residents formed the bandThe Jam in the 1970s while attending Sheerwater's secondary school includingPaul Weller – the remainder of the band he led also attended the school.
.jpg)
The Kingswey Business Park has been split into Optimum and Genesis Parks and others. Equally Woking Business Park adjoins the Oriental Road part of centralWoking, at the north of Maybury and these fall within the neat boundaries of the Sheerwater suburb. Their businesses generally simplify their address to thepost town of Woking, which has significant trade, distribution, professional services, scientific research and industry in medium-size business parks.
Sheerwater was award ofWoking Borough Council, electing a councillor in 2001; this was replaced before the2011 census bySheerwater and Maybury, electing one councillor, like most wards of the borough.[16] The current councillor is of theLabour Party, Tahir Aziz, shared with Maybury. He is the only Labour councillor in the borough.
AtSurrey County Council, one of the 81 representatives represents the area within theWoking North division.[17]
| Election | Member[16] | Ward | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011[18] | Muzaffar Abdullah Ali | Maybury and Sheerwater | |
| 2015[19] | Tahir Aziz | Maybury and Sheerwater | |
| Election | Member[20] | Electoral Division | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Ben Carasco | Woking North | |
In 2001 Sheerwater's population was 3,522 living in 1,420 households.
TheUnited Kingdom Census 2011, reflecting the local authority's expansion of theward, at its most detailed reporting level split a new version of Sheerwater in two between local authority 'super output areas' 004E and 004F, the north-west and south-east respectively. The new definition excludes Arnold Road and Eve Road as well as cul-de-sacs next to these, instead being placed within Maybury's super output area.
Sheerwater is an ethnically diverse area, with around 57% in 004E and 52% in 004F coming from a White British background. The proportion of households in the two divisions of Sheerwater who owned their home outright was 10% above and 23% below the national average respectively. The proportion who owned their home with a loan was within 3% of the national average in both areas. The data showed in the second area a higher proportion than average of rented residential property and ofsocial housing relative to theSurrey and national averages.
| Output area | Population | Households | % Owned outright | % Owned with a loan | hectares[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 004E | 2,038 | 694 | 20.5 | 35.4[1] | 50.3 |
| 004F | 1,565 | 627 | 7.2 | 20.9 | 31.4[1] |
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