St Leonards and St Ives is a civil parish in Dorset, England. The parish contains the settlements of Ashley, Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards, which have merged to form a single urban area.
| St Leonards and St Ives | |
|---|---|
 Ashley Heath, one of the main settlements in the parish | |
  St Leonards and St Ives Location within Dorset | |
| Population | 7,905 (Parish, 2021)[1] |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | Ringwood |
| Postcode district | BH24 |
| Dialling code | 01425 |
| Police | Dorset |
| Fire | Dorset and Wiltshire |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
History
editThe parish was created on 1 April 1932, mostly from the part of the ancient parish of Ringwood which lay west of the River Avon, but also gaining a smaller part from the parish of Hurn (which had been created in 1894 from part of Christchurch).[2]
The parish was named after two small hamlets of St Ives and St Leonards, which were both gradually being developed in an area that had been largely undeveloped heath and woodland until the early twentieth century. Much of the heath had been called Ashley Heath, and Ashley Heath Halt railway station was opened in 1927 by the Southern Railway to serve the area. The station subsequently closed in 1964.[3]
The parish was transferred from Hampshire to Dorset in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.[4]
Geography
editThe three formerly separate settlements of Ashley Heath, St Ives and St Leonards have now coalesced into a single built-up area, which the Office for National Statistics calls Ashley Heath. The built-up area had a population at the 2021 census of 7,150,[5] being the significant majority of the overall parish's population of 7,905.[1]
Although administratively separate from Ringwood since 1932 and in a different county to it since 1974, the area continues to have Ringwood as its post town.
Governance
editThere are two tiers of local government covering St Leonards and St Ives, at parish and unitary authority level: St Leonards and St Ives Parish Council and the St Leonards and St Ives ward for Dorset Council. The parish council meets at the village hall on Braeside Road in St Leonards.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b "St Leonards and St Ives, parish". City Population. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England: Volume 1. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 219. ISBN 0901050679.
- ^ Butt, Raymond (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens. p. 20. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7.
- ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
- ^ "Contact us". St Leonards & St Ives Parish Council. Retrieved 12 November 2023.