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| Telford | |
|---|---|
 .jpg)     From top, left to right: Telford centre's skyline, Southwater, Town Park,Telford Centre, Lawn Central andThomas Telford Sculpture | |
  Telford Location withinShropshire | |
| Population | 155,570 (2021 Census)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SJ698088 |
| • London | 140 mi (230 km) SE |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Areas of the town | List
|
| Post town | TELFORD |
| Postcode district | TF1–5, TF7 |
| Dialling code | 01952 |
| Police | West Mercia |
| Fire | Shropshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
| |
Telford (/ˈtɛlfərd/ ⓘ) is a town in theTelford and Wrekinborough inShropshire, England. The wider borough covers the town, its suburbs and surrounding towns and villages. The town is close to the county's eastern boundary, and near theRiver Severn. The notable hill near the town calledThe Wrekin is part of theShropshire Hills, anArea of Outstanding Natural Beauty. To the south of the town is theIronbridge Gorge, aUNESCO World Heritage Site. Places around the Ironbridge Gorge area, which were developed into the town itself, are internationally recognised as being "The Birthplace of Industry" being to a large extent constructed during theIndustrial Revolution on the Shropshire Coalfield. The town is the main administrative centre forTelford and Wrekin Council.
TheM54 motorway was completed in 1983, improving the town's road links with theWest Midlands conurbation,Wolverhampton is 19 miles (31 km) south east andBirmingham is 28 miles (45 km) in the same direction. In the 2011 census, the town had a population of 142,723[2] while in 2017, the wider borough had an estimated population of 175,271.[3] It is the most populous settlement in Shropshire,Shrewsbury is second and is 15 miles (24 km) to the west of the town. It is nearStaffordshire:Stafford is 21 miles (34 km) to the east andStoke-on-Trent is 25 miles (40 km) north east from the town.
The town is polycentric, having been designated under theNew Towns Acts in 1963 and 1968 anddeveloped between the 1960s to the 1970s. Centred ona shopping centre anda public park, the new town is named afterThomas Telford, acivil engineer on many road, canal and rail projects in the county.[4] It was originally designated under the nameDawley New Town. As well as multiple villages and Dawley, the other constituent towns areCoalbrookdale,Dawley,Madeley,Newport,Oakengates andWellington.
Early settlement in the area was thought to be on the land that sloped up from theWeald Moors (an area north of the town centre) towards the line along which the RomanWatling Street was built. Farmland surrounded three large estates in the 10th century, namelyWellington,Wrockwardine andLilleshall.[5]
From the 13th century there was urban development in Wellington andMadeley, whereWenlock Priory founded a new town. Six monastic houses, founded in the 11th and 12th centuries, had large interests in the area's economic growth. They collectively acquired almost half of the area and profited from coal and ironstone mines and iron smithies on their estates.[5]
The area was the site of the 1821Cinderloo Uprising, which saw 3,000 people protest against the lowering of wages for those working in the local coal industry. The protests resulted in the deaths of three striking colliers.[6]
The New Town was first designated on 16 January 1963 by theConservative administration asDawley New Town, covering 9,100 acres (37 km2) ofDawley,Wenlock,Oakengates,Wellington Rural District andShifnal Rural District.[7] Development started, guided by the Dawley New Town Development Corporation, with the first homes on the new Sutton Hill housing estate being occupied in 1967. Initial planning and design concepts for Dawley New Town were produced by the Birmingham-basedJohn Madin Design Group.
The Minister proposed an extension of 12,000 acres (4,900 ha) in 1968 (taking in the historic area ofIronbridge Gorge). TheDawley New Town (Designation) Amendment (Telford) Order was made on 29 November 1968, extending the New Town area by 10,143 acres (4,105 ha) of "land lying within the urban districts of Oakengates and Wellington and the rural districts of Shifnal and Wellington".[8] The Order also renamed the new town Telford, after the Scottish-born civil engineerThomas Telford, who in 1787 became Surveyor of Public Works for Shropshire. Other suggested names at the time were Dawelloak and Wrekin Forest City.
Most of the infrastructure was constructed from the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, with the major housing and commercial development occurring over three decades up to the early 1990s when the Development Corporation was wound up to be replaced by theCommission for New Towns, later English Partnerships, and most of the property was handed over to the then Wrekin District Council. Telford was now 25 years old and was firmly established as one of the most important towns in the region. There is a Retail Park calledWrekin Retail Park in Wellington.
In 1983, after fierce opposition and three public enquiries,[9] theM54 motorway was completed, connecting the town to theM6 and thence the rest of the UK's motorway network. Other major roads are theA5,A518 andA442, which is commonly known as the Eastern Primary orEP, and is officially brandedQueensway.
Many of the new town's residents were originally from theWest Midlandsconurbation, which includesWolverhampton, Birmingham,Dudley andWalsall. A majority of thecouncil house tenants in Telford were rehoused from inner-city Birmingham. The rehousing affected existing communities, who were sometimes resentful of the changes.[10] As a result some individuals still refuse to put Telford in their address, instead using the original local name (such asWellington or Dawley) and often citing the existence of town Councils as support for the argument "you can't live in a town in a town", e.g. Wellington (Town) Telford (Town). The new town's residents who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s earned the unwanted nickname 'overspill' from people living in the existing towns and villages.
In 2007 a £250 million regeneration plan for the town centre was announced, which includes the pedestrianisation of the road surrounding the shopping centre and the creation of new cafés, bars and shops which would lead to 1,750 new jobs.[11] The reason for the expansion is that the original 'centre' was only ever a shopping place with no real heart. As the 'centre' closed early in the evening there was no nightlife at all in the area, the only major local entertainment areas being in Oakengates and Wellington.
The first phase of the town-centre development, named Southwater, was completed in 2014.[12] The official opening ceremony, on 18 October 2014, included live music and fireworks. The area includes a refurbished library, various chain restaurants,Cineworld IMAX Cinema, a bowling alley/arcade and a new multi-storey car park.[13]
Telford town centre lies about 16 miles (26 km)east/south-east ofShrewsbury and 20 miles (32 km)north-west ofWolverhampton. The town covers 7,803 hectares (30.13 square miles) and its southern and eastern parts, between theSevern Gorge andDonnington Wood, include the East Shropshire coalfield. North and north-west Telford lie beyond the coalfield's boundary fault onsandstone beds which, along with otherTriassic formations, prevail over much of theNorth Shropshire plain. The town centre stands on a watershed, with land to the south draining towards theRiver Severn and to the north sloping gently down towards the Weald Moors. The town is dominated by theWrekin, a large hill of 407 m (1335 ft),[14] south-west of Wellington, straddling the border with the unitaryShropshire Council (before the latter's creation in 2009 the borough ofShrewsbury and Atcham).[5]
Within the borough ofTelford & Wrekin, the town is entirelyparished. Telford has no single town council because of this. The town is also divided into Wards, within theTelford and Wrekin borough. These are used for electoral purposes and demographic surveys. Telford was created politically – but its attempts to make a cohesive town from the fusion of other independent towns:Wellington,Madeley,Hadley,Oakengates,Dawley,Ironbridge andDonnington have largely been successful. Despite this, the town has much clearer divisions than in other older towns, such as nearby Shrewsbury, which have developed into one consolidated urban area over time. Some small settlements to the south such as a part ofIronbridge andBroseley, while part of the Telford Urban Area, are administered byShropshire Council.
Telford is the only settlement within theTelford parliamentary constituency, which was held byLabour from its creation in 1997 until the2015 general election. It was then held byLucy Allen who stood down ahead of the2024 general election after defecting to theReform UK party. The current MP since the election isShaun Davies (Labour). Some suburbs, such as Wellington, are located inThe Wrekin, which also has varying support between theConservatives and Labour. ConservativeMark Pritchard was reelected as the latter seat's MP in 2024, and has now held the seat continuously since 2005. Telford is administratively part of theWest Midlands region.
In 1963 Dawley new town was intended to take 50,000 people from theWest Midlands conurbation[15] and so to grow to a town of 70,000 or more. By 1968 Telford was intended to take an additional 50,000 and grow to a town of 220,000 or more by 1991. By 1983, however, Telford's population was just under 108,000, and it was generally thought that it might not reach 120,000 by the late 1980s.[5]
The population of Telford's built-up area was 147,980 according to the2011 census.[16] At the 2001 census, the urban area had 138,241 people.[17] The built-up area includesBroseley which lies outside the Borough ofTelford and Wrekin and also includes the towns ofDawley,Oakengates,Wellington andMadeley.[16]
Telford has a younger than average population, and a higher rate of teenage pregnancy than the national average, as well as relatively high levels of income deprivation with 15% of residents living in low income households. In addition the level of statutorily homeless households in 2004/05 was above average for England.[18] TheTelford and Wrekin area is a popular commuter zone, containing some relatively rural areas in the North and West of the borough. These are popular with commuters to theWest Midlands conurbation, due to the good transport links provided by theA5/M54.
In 2011, the town was 91.9% white (88.5% White British), 4.7% Asian, 1.2% Black, 1.9% Mixed race and 0.2% other.[19] At the same census the population of the town was 142,723 and had an area of 46.2 kilometers with the population estimated to be 147,105 in 2016.
| Population and Employment[20] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Population | No. of Jobs | % of Jobs on Ind. Estates |
| 1968 | 74,750 | 35,671 | 1.4 |
| 1969 | 76,200 | 35,710 | 2.4 |
| 1970 | 78,200 | 35,948 | 5.1 |
| 1971 | 80,800 | 36,191 | 7.2 |
| 1972 | 84,200 | 36,743 | 9.3 |
| 1973 | 87,100 | 39,861 | 11.4 |
| 1974 | 89,000 | 40,928 | 13.2 |
| 1975 | 90,000 | 40,986 | 12.3 |
| 1976 | 93,980 | 42,036 | 14.9 |
| 1977 | 97,900 | 43,637 | 15.4 |
| 1978 | 100,300 | 44,681 | 16.8 |
| 1979 | 102,000 | 44,247 | 18.2 |
| 1980 | 104,200 | 42,397 | 18.3 |
| 1981 | 104,200 | 39,414 | 16.8 |
| 1982 | 106,600 | 38,852 | 18.2 |
| 1983 | 107,700 | 39,037 | 19.9 |
During the economic crisis of the late 1960s (with unemployment doubling nationally during the second half of the decade), unemployment in the then-new town was initially high.
However, in 1967Halesfield Industrial Estate was founded on the south-eastern edge of the town – the first real answer to Telford's unemployment problems. Other large estates followed, in 1973 withStafford Park just east of thetown centre and in 1979 withHortonwood, to the north, helping ease the unemployment crisis in a decade which saw an almost unbroken rise in unemployment.
In total, half a million square metres of factory space were provided between 1968 and 1983, making Telford an attractive investment area.[21]
By 1976, Telford had begun to recruit industry from the US, Europe, andJapan. The foreign firms required larger factories, and they began to be built at Stafford Park. By 1983 over 2,000 jobs in Telford were provided by around 40 (mostly American) foreign companies.[22] In contrast to industry in theBlack Country at the time, these new companies focused on high-technology industries rather than the heavy and metal-finishing industries.[23]
The new arrivals included the American companyUnimation and three firms from Japan:Nikon UK Ltd., which opened a warehouse at Halesfield in 1983;[24] video-tape manufacturersHitachi Maxell at Apley Castle in 1983;[25] and office equipment manufacturersRicoh, who took a 22-acre (89,000 m2) site for a factory atPriorslee next to theM54, and formed the first in Telford's new enterprise zone.[26][27]
Consequently, from the later 1970s, Telford began to attract high-technology firms and to diversify its industry, and the promotion of the Service industry also began to prosper, in theTelford Town Centre area. However, a deepening national recession meant that, despite the creation of new jobs, there were net job losses from 1979. Unemployment grew from 3.4 per cent in 1969 to over 8 per cent in 1972 and 22.3 per cent (almost double the national average) in 1983; long-term unemployment rose even faster. Nevertheless, the rate of increase in unemployment was slowing down by 1983 and was making some progress against national and regional trends.[28]
Unemployment in Telford was still around the 20% mark – nearly double the national average at the time – as late as 1986. TheLawson Boom of the next three years saw that figure fall dramatically by the end of the decade, only for it to rise to a similarly high figure again by 1992 as a result of theearly 1990s recession.[29] In recent years the local economy has matured, the median gross weekly earnings for full-time workers who work in Telford and Wrekin was£563 in 2019 (West Midlands£552.50 and England£591.40).
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Telford has attracted several large IT services companies, includingEDS who support the MOD contract from the Euston Park site, as well as a vast array of clients across the world from the Plaza building. AlsoCapgemini andFujitsu employ a significant number of staff in the area, mainly supporting theirgovernmental client,HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The expansion in these job sectors provided a great asset to Telford's economic recovery after 1992. By August 2007, the success story of Telford's economy had seen unemployment shrink to 3.3% – a fraction of its peak 15 years earlier.[30]
However, thesubsequent recession meant that unemployment in the area had risen to 5% by February 2011, although this was still well below the national average.[31]
TheShropshire Star evening newspaper was based in Ketley.[32] There is a free local paper theTelford Journal which is also published by the Shropshire Star. However, the building was demolished in 2023, and moved to Telford Town Centre.
There have been job losses, with the movement of 500Defence Logistics Organisation (DLO) jobs at the MoD base atSapphire House, Telford town centre, toBristol.[33] The sugar beet factory atAllscott closed in 2007.
In 2019 a joint venture calledRheinmetall BAE Systems Land installed itself in Telford, not far fromBabcock DSG. Together they are responsible for theChallenger 2 Life Extension Project.[34]
Aqueduct,Brookside,Dawley Bank,Doseley,Hollinswood, Heath Hill,Horsehay,Lawley, Lawley Bank,Lightmoor,Little Dawley,Malinslee,Newdale, Old Park,Overdale,Randlay,Stirchley, Sutton Hill, The Rock, Tweedale,Woodside.
Arleston,Donnington,Donnington Wood,Hadley, Hartshill, Haybridge,Ketley, Ketley Bank, Ketleybrook, Ketleyhill,Leegomery,Muxton,Priorslee,Priorslee, Red Lake,Snedshill,St Georges,Trench, Trench Lock,Wombridge,Wrockwardine Wood.
Blists Hill,Coalbrookdale,Coalport,Dawley,Ironbridge,Jackfield,Madeley,Newport,Oakengates,Wellington,Admaston,Bratton,Dothill andShawbirch.
Hadley Castle, Halesfield, Hortonwood, Stafford Park
The commercial centre of the town is Telford Town Centre, located off Junction 5 of theM54 motorway, completed in the 1980s. It is home to the administrative headquarters of Telford & Wrekin Council, which are now based at Addenbrook House on Ironmasters Way, after moving from the old Civic Offices (dating from the mid-1970s) in December 2012.[35] The large Telford Shopping Centre (and the accompanyingTown Park), various office blocks, such as the blue office towers (Telford Plaza), and theWindsor Life building.The Forge retail park and a largeOdeon Cinema are also located in the area. Telford also houses one of the Midlands' few ice skating rinks near the Telford International Centre (TIC). The TIC comprises a number of exhibition halls and event spaces. It holds parties, conferences, concerts and was formerly the venue of the UK Snooker Championship.[36]
A major Shropshire landmark, also now part of Telford, isThe Iron Bridge, located inIronbridge. It was the first bridge of its size in the world made out ofcast iron. In the same area is theIronbridge Gorge, aUNESCO World Heritage Site. The most important landmark in the area isThe Wrekin hill. There is also theLilleshall Monument erected on Lilleshall Hill to the north-east, to the1st Duke of Sutherland.
Telford has a number of primary and secondary schools. These range from academies such as theTelford Langley School toCity Technology Colleges like theThomas Telford School. 8 miles (13 km) to the north areAdams' Grammar School andNewport Girls High School selective schools located in nearbyNewport.[37][38]Wrekin College, an independent co-educational boarding and day school, is located in the Wellington area of Telford.
Further education was handled byTelford College of Arts and Technology (TCAT) andTelford New College, a sixth-form college located inWellington. In September 2017 the two colleges merged to formTelford College.[39] There are four othersixth forms located atHaberdashers' Abraham Darby,Holy Trinity Academy,Madeley Academy andThomas Telford School.
Telford is home toHarper Adams University digital skills hub, based at The Quad. Specialising in food, animal and sustainable education, the university's main campus is also located 9.5 miles to the northeast atEdgmond, near Newport.
Local news and television programmes are provided byBBC West Midlands andITV Central. Television signals are received from the nearbyWrekin TV transmitter situated south east of Telford.[40] Local radio stations areBBC Radio Shropshire,Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire,Greatest Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire andCapital North West & Wales. TheShropshire Star is the town's local weekly newspaper.[41]
Telford is situated at the terminus of theM54 motorway, a spur of theM6 linking the town withWolverhampton and theWest Midlands, and on theA5 road betweenShrewsbury andCannock.
Telford Central railway station is situated on theShrewsbury to Wolverhampton Line. The town also hasOakengates railway station andWellington railway station on the same line. All three stations are serviced by trains fromTransport for Wales Rail,West Midlands Railway, andAvanti West Coast.
In May 1998,Virgin Trains West Coast introduced a service fromShrewsbury toLondon Euston.[42] It was withdrawn in 2000. A service toWalsall was introduced from Wellington viaWolverhampton but proved to be unprofitable and was withdrawn byLondon Midland in December 2008. A new service fromWrexham General toLondon Marylebone was launched byWrexham & Shropshire in 2008. The venture however proved unprofitable and ceased to operate on 28 January 2011,[43] leaving Shropshire as the only English county without a direct train link to London. Virgin Trains re-launched a direct Shrewsbury to London Euston service in December 2014.[44] In addition, there are three further stations isolated from the national network, Spring Village, Lawley and Horsehay & Dawley, atTelford Steam Railway, situated atHorsehay.
Telford's rapidly growing population still has a relatively low car ownership. In 2004 Telford & Wrekin council was awarded 'Beacon Status' for improving access to public transport.[45] Being a new town with a planned transport infrastructure, the town features relatively few traffic problems, in comparison to the urban areas ofBirmingham or medieval streets ofShrewsbury.[46] The M54 reduces through-traffic on local roads, and theA442 Queensway acts as a north–south artery road.[47]
The majority of bus services in the area are operated byArriva Midlands from its garage at Stafford Park, which replaced the original Midland Red garage in Wellington. Banga Bus operate service 891 toWolverhampton viaShifnal andTettenhall, replacing the original service operated byMidland Red which was latterly operated byArriva Midlands. Between 1 June 2021 and January 2022,Chaserider launched service X14 to Cannock and theMcArthur GlennWest Midlands Designer Outlet.[48][49] but was withdrawn due to low usage.
A number of council contract services operate under the 'Travel Telford' brand, includingArriva Midlands service 99,Chaserider services 100, 102, 103 and 104 and Select Bus service 101. These were introduced to link local employment opportunities, schools and villages previously without bus services. Notably the 100 (nicknamed 'Express 100') runs seven days a week and on evenings.
Telford is home to a variety of established amateur, semi-pro and professional sports clubs.
The town was represented byTelford United F.C. between 1969 and 2004.[84] Following financial difficulties, the club folded in 2004 and was reformed in the same year asAFC Telford United.[85] Between 2004 and 2020, AFC Telford United's home ground, theNew Bucks Head, was used as the venue for home matches played by the under-23 team ofWolverhampton Wanderers F.C.[86] AFC Telford United have won theShropshire Senior Cup on three occasions in 2009, 2014, and 2017. They won promotion toConference North in 2007, beatingWitton Albion 3–1 in the play-offs. In 2009 they won theSetanta Shield Trophy, beatingForest Green Rovers 3-0 on penalties.[87] AFC Telford United currently play in theSouthern Premier League having been relegated from theConference Premier at the end of the2014–15 season.[88][89] Telford has a Supporters Club following Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C., organising travel to away games and hosting social functions.[90] Other local non league football clubs have begun gaining local support with Shifnal Town, Allscott Heath and Telford Town all attracting significant investment in recent times.
Ice hockey in the town is represented by theTelford Tigers, anEnglish Premier Ice Hockey League (EPL or EPIHL) team originally formed in 1985.[91]Telford Titans, anENL Team, had represented development hockey in the town from 2008 however it folded in 2014.[92]
Ice racing first came to the Telford Ice skating Rink in February 1986 with the Skoal Bandits Trophy being won by Hans Nielsen. In November of the same year Jan andersson won the Ice International trophy and retained the trophy at the next event in 1988. In 1989 The British Open Championship was held and continued every year until 2008. The competition returned in 2011 and 2012. After this time ice racing at Telford discontinued.[93]
American football teams in the town includeShropshire Revolution,Wrekin Giants (1985–1989),Shropshire Giants (1989), andCannock Chase Giants (1989-1993/4).
Telford Raiders are the town'sRugby League club, although there have been other Rugby League Clubs in Telford historically, such as the Telford All Blacks and Shropshire Scorpions.[94]Telford Hornets represent the town atRugby Union.[95]
Shropshire Warriors Basketball Club play at Telford College of Art and Technology (TCAT).[96]
TheTelford International Centre hosted theUK Snooker Championship from 2007 to 2010.[97][98] The championship moved fromYork in 2007 but returned to the refurbishedBarbican Centre in York since 2011.[99]
Telford is home to four golf courses. TheShropshire Golf Centre is located nearMuxton, in the northeast of Telford.[100] Other courses in Telford includeHorsehay Village Golf Club, in Horsehay,The Wrekin Golf Club, in Wellington, andTelford Golf and Country Club, in Madeley.[101][102][103]
There are a number of cricket clubs within Telford competing in local leagues. BothWellington Cricket Club andMadeley Cricket Club currently play in the Premier Division of theShropshire County Cricket League whilst St. George's Cricket Club play in Division One of the Shropshire County Cricket League.[104][105][106]Shropshire County Cricket Club often play atOrleton Park in Wellington andSt George's Cricket Ground in St. George's.
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