Eaglestone: A different kind of estate - Sharon McGill

Eaglestone: A different kind of estate   by Sharon McGill, May 2016

Map of Eaglestone

There are not many roads in Eaglestone

Eaglestone is just a stone’s throw from the Milton Keynes University Hospital and a few stones’ throws from both the city centre and Milton Keynes Central Rail station.  It is surrounded by trees and bushes and nestles between the grid blocks Chaffron Way (H7), Standing Way (H8), Saxon Street (V7) and Marlborough Street (V8).

Sharon

My husband Neil and I moved to Eaglestone nearly six years ago.  We came to Milton Keynes from South Africa two years earlier, living in Bletchley at first.  We enjoy living on Eaglestone, where there are lovely walks through the extensive park.  Our house looks out onto one of the greens, with the trees of the park in the background. There are just over 1 000 housing units in Eaglestone.  The Milton Keynes University Hospital and several private hospitals are in Eaglestone West, along with hospital housing and a residential complex and nursing home for senior citizens.

A few minutes’ walk takes you to the Woughton Leisure Centre in Leadenhall.  The Grand Union Canal and the Milton Keynes Marina are close to the east of the estate.

 

The estate has been planned so that most of the housing is clustered together in short terraces, with a great variety of conformations.  Garaging and parking are found in blocks near the houses.  A ring round (Harrier Drive and Golden Drive) surrounds the estate so that one can enter from three grid roads but one cannot drive across the estate.  This lack of traffic means that there are lovely natural areas for children to play and dogs to be walked.  The streets on the estate are named after fields and birds of prey.Playground near houses

Many closes and short cul-de-sacs lead off the ring road, and the housing units are largely situated on pedestrian paths.    Near to the activity centre and shops there is a block of apartments, Harrier Court.  The Everglade Sheltered Housing is also centrally situated.

 

Eaglestone park

Eaglestone park

In the middle of the estate there is a large park surrounded by tall trees.  There is play equipment for children as well as gym machines for adults.  There are several other smaller play areas and greens between the houses.  A basketball court and a football pitch are near the park and the shops.

A friendly Premier supermarket, The Eagle, is well stocked with all your needs.  It has recently been expanded, and there is a free automatic teller machine just outside the shop.


The Eagle pub is opposite the supermarket.  There is also a 

Supermarket

hair dressing salon and the very popular fish and chips shop, The Brothers Fish Bar.  A newly opened takeaway, Eagles Jerk & Grill, serves Caribbean food.  The Activity Centre houses a nursery school and also contains a squash court. 

Falconhurst Combined School is situated on Eaglestone, close to the shops, and caters for about 400 pupils.  Two secondary schools are close by on Leadenhall: pupils reach The Milton Keynes Academy by crossing one of two pedestrian bridges over Saxon Street, and St Paul’s Catholic School is not much further away.  Leadenhall also houses the Woughton Campus of Milton Keynes College, including a Sixth Form section.

The estate is well served by a number of frequent bus services on Saxon Street and Marlborough Street, as well as a bus that passes through the estate and also stops in the hospital grounds.  The Central Milton Keynes Rail Station is two miles away, just a few minutes’ drive.The estate has recently had a makeover by having the overgrown shrubs cut down by the Woughton Council, and the Residents’ Association is seeking to renew the estate’s plantings with the help of volunteers. After a period of inactivity, this association has recently been relaunched.  A keen core of interested persons of all ages are planning a street party in the summer to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.  

For further information on the layout and architecture of Eaglestone, please see the article https://iqbalaalam.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/early-grids-of-milton-keynes-

eaglestone-and-netherfield-ii-built-forms-and-aging-process/  

A local green

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