Bishopton, Renfrewshire
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Coordinates: 55°54′30″N 4°30′19″W / 55.90838°N 4.50518°W
| Bishopton | |
| Scottish Gaelic: Baile an Easbaig | |
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  Bishopton shown within Scotland |
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| Population | 5,157[1] (2001 census) est. 4,960[2] (2006) |
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| OS grid reference | |
| Council area | Renfrewshire |
| Constituent country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BISHOPTON |
| Postcode district | PA7 xxx |
| Dialling code | 01505 |
| Police | Strathclyde |
| Fire | Strathclyde |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| European Parliament | Scotland |
| List of places: UK • Scotland | |
Bishopton (Baile an Easbaig in Scottish Gaelic) is a large village in Renfrewshire, Scotland, a few miles west of Erskine.
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[edit] Transport Links
Bishopton sits a couple of miles from the southern end of the Erskine Bridge, which spans the River Clyde between Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire. Part way along the B815 road is a computer factory; which was built in the late 1980s by Compaq Computers. Compaq merged with Hewlett-Packard in 2002. However, this factory is considered to be a part of larger town Erskine. A chain ferry transported vehicles across the River Clyde before the bridge was built. The former Ferry Master's house still survives on the south side of the Clyde.
Bishopton is served by the, double track, electrified, Inverclyde railway line, (former Caledonian Railway), Gourock and Wemyss Bay branches; with frequent train services in both directions. The ROF Bishopton railway sidings joined the railway line just west of Bishopton railway station; but they have been closed for some years.
The A8 passes through Bishopton; and the M8 motorway runs parallel to the A8, with access to Bishopton from both junctions 30 and 31.
[edit] The former ROF Bishopton site
A very large Explosive-manufacturing Royal Ordnance Factory, ROF Bishopton, was built in World War II on farm land, acquired by compulsory purchase, on the other side of the railway line. Over 2,000 acres (8 km²) of land from up to seven farms was used to build this factory. The land included Dargavel House, which still survives. The ROF was privatised in 1984, being sold to British Aerospace (now BAE Systems) and has now closed down.
After privatisation the Ministry of Defence Police (MOD Police) moved out and the former MOD Police Social Club at Holm Park, and its adjoining sports field, became part of Bishopton. The former MOD Police houses at both Holm Park and Rossland were sold off to private buyers. Bishopton's Medical Centre was built in a corner of this sports field, opposite the shops.
BAE Systems and Redrow have submitted controversial proposals to use a large part of this site for building new housing which would, at least, double the size of Bishopton. Local residents have indicated their concern at the proposals by voting in a local referendum, held on the 4 April 2005, organised by local action groups and council. The results showed that out of the 1485 who voted, 100 (6.7%) were for the development, 1361 (91.6%) were against it, 19 (1.3%) were not concerned and there were 5 (0.3%) spoiled votes. The major concerns they have are with the size of the expansion - with the associated knock-on effects to the local infrastructure - and fears of the high levels of contamination that are likely to be found on the site.
In December 2008 Renfrewshire Council granted outline planning consent for the development and detailed planning consent for a related motorway junction off the A8/M8.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ "Comparative Population Profile: Bishopton Locality". Scotland's Census Results Online. 2001-04-29. http://www.scrol.gov.uk/scrol/browser/profile.jsp?profile=Population&mainArea=bishopton&mainLevel=Locality. Retrieved on 2008-08-31.
- ^ http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data
- ^ "Munitions site plan gets go ahead". BBC News (BBC). 2008-12-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7784474.stm. Retrieved on 13 March 2009.
[edit] External links
Bishopton's Community Web Site InBishopton.org.uk
Bishopton Broncos Basketball Club bishoptonbroncos.com
