Chorleywood
Administration
District:	Three Rivers
County:	Hertfordshire
Region:	East of England
Nation:	England
Other
Ceremonial County:	Hertfordshire
Traditional County:	Hertfordshire
Postal County:	Hertfordshire

Chorleywood is a town in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, with a population of around 9,500 people. The town lies in the far south-west of Hertfordshire, on the historic border with Buckinghamshire. Chorleywood is in the heart of the wealthy London commuter belt to the north-west of London.

Chorleywood Common is a tract of 200 acres (0.8 km²) of wooded common land. The common is a County Heritage Site, and is home to significant biodiversity. Since cattle grazing ended soon after the First World War, the land has been used for recreational purposes. Chorleywood Golf Club maintains a nine-hole golf course on the Common. In the 19th Century, the MCC established a cricket pitch on the Common, which is used by senior and junior teams to this day.

In a 2004 survey of neighbourhoods carried out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, Chorleywood West was found to be the parish in England with the highest quality of life. Of the 32,482 neighbourhoods surveyed, Chorleywood West came out top using thirty-seven criteria.

In the early 1960's, researchers at the British Baking Industries Research Association in Chorleywood improved upon an earlier American bread making process. This resulted in the Chorleywood Bread Process, which is now used in over 80% of commercial bread production throughout the world.

Contents

1 Politics 2 Demographics 2.1 Ethnicity 2.2 Religion 3 Transport 4 External link

Politics

The Hertfordshire County Council is controlled by the Conservatives. At the County Council, Chorleywood is represented by Eleanor Clark, of the Liberal Democrats.

The local council, Three Rivers District Council, is controlled by the Liberal Democrats. At the District Council, Chorleywood is represented by three Liberal Democrats (Harry Davies, Chris Brearley, and Martin Trevett) and two Conservatives (Chris Hayward and Leonard Spencer).

Chorleywood is a part of the parliamentary constituency of Hertfordshire Southwest , a 'safe' Conservative seat, currently occupied by Richard Page. The major perennial political issues in Chorleywood are conservation of the Common, planning and the preservation of the Green Belt, and education.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, Chorleywood has a resident population of 9,215, of whom:

• 19.8% are under 16 years of age (cf. 20.2% for England and Wales)
• 10.0% are over 75 years of age (cf. 7.6%)

• 64.5% are married (cf. 50.9%)
• 4.5% are divorced (cf. 8.2%)

• 1.8% are unemployed (cf. 3.4%)
• 4.8% are full-time students over 16 years of age (cf. 5.1%)

Ethnicity

• 92.3% are White (cf. 92.3%)
• 1.4% are Irish (cf. 1.3%)
• 4.2% are Indian or British Indian (cf. 2.1%)
• 1.0% are Other Asian or Other British Asian (cf. 2.5%)
• 0.4% are Black or Black British (cf. 2.1%)
• 0.8% are Chinese or of another race (cf. 0.9%)
• 1.3% refused to categorise themselves or are of mixed race (cf. 1.3%)

Religion

• 71.1% are Christian (cf. 71.8%)
• 3.3% are Jewish (cf. 0.5%)
• 3.2% are Hindu (cf. 1.1%)
• 1.3% are Muslim (cf. 3.0%)
• 0.9% are of another religion (cf. 1.1%)
• 13.7% are of no religion (cf. 14.8%)
• 6.5% refused to categorise themselves (cf. 7.7%)

The results of the Census emphasised the affluence of the town:

• 37.6% of residents have degrees or a better educational qualification (cf. 19.8%)
• 88.3% of homes are owned by the occupant (cf. 68.9%)
• 56.82% of households own two or more cars (cf. 29.4%)
• The average number of rooms per house is 7.0 (cf. 5.3)

Transport

The town has grown remarkably in the past seventy years, thanks primarily to the extension of the Metropolitan line of the London Underground. Junction 18 of the M25 motorway, with the A404, is in Chorleywood.

Chorleywood station is in Zone B on the Metropolitan line, situated between Chalfont and Latimer and Rickmansworth. The majority of trains passing through Chorleywood are operated by London Underground, but the station is also a stop for Chiltern Railways services running between Marylebone and Aylesbury stations.

External link

• "Suburbs score in quality of life", BBC News, 6th May 2004