Belle Vale, Liverpool

infobox UK place
country = England
latitude= 53.3951
longitude= -2.861
official_name= Belle Vale
population=
metropolitan_borough= Liverpool
metropolitan_county= Merseyside
region= North West England
constituency_westminster= Liverpool Garston
post_town= LIVERPOOL
postcode_district = L25
postcode_area= L
dial_code= 0151
os_grid_reference= SJ337927
map_type= Merseyside

Belle Vale is a district of south-east Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward.

Description

Belle Vale area shares borders with Huyton, Netherley, Gateacre and Childwall. The main road in Belle Vale is Childwall Valley Road (B5178) running from Childwall through to Netherley. The old North Liverpool Extension Line (loop line) at the back of Hartsbourne Avenue divides Belle Vale and Gateacre.

Belle Vale "District Centre" has a number of amenities including a fire station, police station, health centre, large shopping centre [ [http://www.bizwiki.co.uk/shopping-centres/1344628/belle-vale-shopping-centre.htm Belle Vale Shopping Centre] ] [ [http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.geograph.org.uk/photos/04/61/046169_df01123a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/46169&h=480&w=640&sz=60&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=BHDC1BxhN2TsoM:&tbnh=103&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbelle%2Bvale%2Barea,%2BLiverpool%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3DSUNA,SUNA:2006-49,SUNA:en%26sa%3DN photograph of shopping centre] ] , junior football league and also Belle Vale Park.

As a small district, it is often misrepresented as Childwall or Gateacre, which are larger and more affluent neighbouring suburbs. Liverpool City Council have also left the Belle Vale area in somewhat of a quandary, as from 2005 onwards signs to identify the districts in the city were put up on Childwall Valley Road saying Gateacre (towards the Shopping centre and Netherley) and Childwall (towards Childwall) and none saying Belle Vale. Despite Belle Vale's amenities and established centres bearing it's name, the city council, in their wisdom, refuse to acknowledge the Belle Vale area's existence with local signs.

The postcode for Belle Vale is L25, which is also the postcode for nearby Woolton.

History

Over one-thousand prefabricated homes were erected in Belle Vale between the years 1945-1947 in order to provide affordable rented accommodation for people whose homes were destroyed in bombing raids on the city during World War II, making it one of the largest Prefab communities in the country. [citeweb|url=http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.183|title=Port Cities: Post War housing in Liverpool|work=E. Chambré Hardman Archive|accessdate=13 August|accessyear=2007]

Its most famous ex-resident is Sir Terry Leahy, chief executive of Tesco, the UK's biggest supermarket chain. Leahy is also President of the Belle Vale Prefab Project. [citeweb|url=http://bellevaleprefabs.com/newsletter.php|title=Belle Vale Prefab Project|accessdate=13 August|accessyear=2007]

Education

Schools in Belle Vale include Childwall Valley Primary School, Belle Vale Community Primary School, Our Lady of The Assumption Primary School and Belle Vale Sure Start. Plans are currently afoot to relocate Gateacre Comprehensive on part of the Reggie Smith Playing Fields in Belle Vale with work to start in December 2008. The football pitches will be relocated to a new soccer centre on open land at nearby Caldway Drive, Netherley.

Transport

Belle Vale has its own mini bus interchange next to the shopping centre on Hedgefield Road connecting to among other areas, Huyton and St Helens eastbound and Woolton and Speke southbound with the main (Liverpool) city centre route on Childwall Valley Road.

References

External links

* [http://liverpoolstreetgallery.com/thumbnails.php?album=28 Liverpool Street Gallery - Liverpool 25 (Belle Vale)]
* [http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Images/tcm21-29244.pdf Liverpool City Council: Ward Profile]
* [http://www.liverpool.gov.uk/Leisure_and_culture/Libraries/How_to_find_us/Lee_Valley_Library/index.asp Lee Valley Library]
* [http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?search_word=belle+and+vale&change=SearchResults Port Cities] Illustrated History of Belle Vale
* [http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=conMediaFile.25355 Childwall Valley Road]