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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2012}}
{{Infobox UK place
|country=
|static_image_name= Holy Trinity Church, Blacon (1).JPG
|coordinates= {{coord|53.2052|-2.9275|display=inline,title}}
|official_name= Blacon
|map_type=
|population=
|population_ref= ([[United Kingdom Census 2011|2011 Census]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukcensusdata.com/blacon-e05008662#sthash.Mq3XYfXX.dpbshttp|title=Ward population 2011|accessdate=27 May 2015}}</ref>
|unitary_england=
|lieutenancy_england= [[Cheshire]]
|region= North West England
|post_town=
|postcode_district= CH1
|postcode_area=
|dial_code= 01244
|constituency_westminster= [[City of Chester (UK Parliament constituency)|City of Chester]]
}}
<!--start of article-->
'''Blacon''' is a suburb that is predominately a council estate on the outskirts of [[Chester]], [[England]]. It was once one of the largest council housing estates in Europe.<ref>[http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/CRC38%20Chester%20Rural%20Art%20Project,%20Chester.pdf "Making Best Practice Stick"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070711235809/http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/files/CRC38%20Chester%20Rural%20Art%20Project%2C%20Chester.pdf |date=11 July 2007 }}, Commission for Rural Communities, CRC 38 / December 2006</ref>
==Geography==
[[File:Chester Cathederal viewed from Blacon.JPG|thumb|left|250px|Chester Cathedral viewed from Blacon]]
Blacon is next to the [[England–Wales border|Welsh border]], on a hill one mile north-west of and overlooking Chester. The village is built on what was previously farmland and is surrounded by open countryside. Blacon has views across to the city centre of Chester and to the Welsh hills twenty miles to the west.
Other nearby places include [[Upton-by-Chester]] to the north, [[Saughall]] and [[Mollington, Cheshire|Mollington]] to the north-west, [[Newtown, Chester|Newtown]] to the north-east and the [[border town]] of [[Saltney]] to the south. Blacon also has a close proximity to [[the Wirral]], being 6.5 miles from the village of [[Overpool]].<ref>[https://maps.google.com/maps?key=abqiaaaai7fqv1onmpufpwr-xf2zibs7aq1psctt6lzqg5jqjqrr3ls1gxt4gdsxjnilhd4fhsncieb6cfgb_a&ie=utf8&om=0&z=13&ll=53.20048,-2.907944&spn=0.031774,0.076904 Map of Blacon]</ref>
{{clear}}
==History==
===North Blacon (Blacon Hall)===
[[File:ParadeBlacon.JPG|right|thumb|250px|The Parade Shops in Blacon]]
Blacon was originally known as ''Blakon Hill'' and was owned by the [[Marquess of Crewe]].<ref>Page 4 The 'Blacon Voice' December 2006 Issue #42</ref>
The Parish of Blacon cum Crabwall was formed in 1923, and on 1 April 1936, under the Cheshire County Review Order, 1936, most of the parish was transferred to Chester County Borough.<ref>[http://archive.cheshire.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?&dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=2&dsqSearch=((text)='blacon') "Blacon cum Crabwall Parish Council"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004534/http://archive.cheshire.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?&dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=2&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27blacon%27%29 |date=27 September 2007 }}, 1894-1936</ref>
===Blacon Camp (Blacon Lodge)===
[[File:Target Dossier for Blacon Point, Chestershire, England - DPLA - f86b692bbf44157b33f85ae6a1cedde1 (page 1).jpg|thumb|right|Blacon Camp on a target dossier of the German [[Luftwaffe]], July 1941]]
The [[British Army]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cheshireregiment.org/ |title=The 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment |access-date=8 December 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061208224645/http://www.cheshireregiment.org/ |archive-date=8 December 2006 |url-status=dead }}</ref> maintained an army camp in south Blacon, from just before, to just after, the [[Second World War]]. A mixture of wooden and '[[Nissen hut|Nissen]]' huts were occupied by soldiers until the late 1950s; and the army firing range was still in evidence until the Chester City Council 'tower block' buildings of the mid-1960s. Blacon Camp housed various military operations, containing aircraft and war prisoners at the time. This part of (South) Blacon is referred to as 'The Camp' by local residents.
==Community initiatives==
The Blacon Together Pathfinder was established in 2001 as part of the first round of Pathfinders<ref>Communities and Local Government, Neighbourhood Management and Social Capital, Research Report 35, Marilyn Taylor 2007</ref> and subsequently the Blacon community took part in many initiatives, led by the government's [[Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder Programme]],<ref>[http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/publications.asp?did=331 "Blacon Together"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610071858/http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/publications.asp?did=331 |date=10 June 2007 }}, Pathfinder Portrait</ref> and a number of projects have been established by, and for, Blacon residents.<ref>[http://www.blacon-together.com/meetings2.html Current Partnerships] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928145615/http://www.blacon-together.com/meetings2.html |date=28 September 2007 }}</ref>
Progress to improve the estate continues apace, with work done by the Blacon Community Trust<ref>[http://www.blacon.org.uk/ Blacon Community Trust]</ref> in partnership with the Chester and District Housing Trust forming 'The Blacon Alliance'.
==
Blacon is home to the new headquarters of the Western Division of the [[Cheshire Constabulary]].<ref>[http://www.cheshire.police.uk/ Cheshire Constabulary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025055424/https://cheshire.police.uk/ |date=25 October 2019 }}, official site</ref>
==Schools==
===Primary===
* Highfield Community Primary School
* J H Godwin Primary School
* Dee Point Primary School
* St Thereas's Catholic Primary School
* The Arches Community Primary School
===Secondary===
* [[Blacon High School]], previously a specialist [[Sports College]] school
===
* Bishop's School
* Charles Kingsley Secondary School for Girls<ref>{{cite web|title=Chester City Council Departments 1958 to 1975|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=017-zd_1&cid=18-3-1-30#18-3-1-30|website=The National Archives London|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=1 June 2014}}</ref>
*Highfield Middle School
*Dee Point Middle School
==Places of worship==
There are several [[Place of worship|places of worship]] in Blacon to cater for Christian and Islamic faiths. Holy Trinity-Without-The-Walls is the [[Church of England]] parish church. St Theresa's is the Roman Catholic Church, erected in 1959 with the support of the local Catholic Community; it is associated with a primary school of the same name and which is located behind the church. The primary school was formed by the combination of the former Our Lady of Mount Carmel Middle School and St Theresa's Junior School which was situated on Blacon Point Road.
The Kingdom Hall of [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] is on Melbourne Road.
There is a Shah Jalal Mosque on Clifton Drive to the south of the suburb.
==
Blacon Cemetery was laid out in 1940, during the Second World War, when two plots, in Sections A and H, were set aside for service burials.<ref name=cwgc>[http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/2096504/CHESTER%20(BLACON)%20CEMETERY] CWGC Cemetery Report. Date accessed 17 June 2013.</ref> The cemetery's first interment took place on 20 December 1941.<ref name=cwcc>[https://www.deceasedonline.com/servlet/GSDOSource?AcctView=Login&SearchView:rce=Contributions&session=CONTRIBUTIONS&ConLists=CHESTER&lang=E&sessional=1708175354]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Chester West & Chester Council website - deceased online page.</ref> The cemetery contains in all the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission|war graves]] of 461 Commonwealth service personnel, including an unidentified [[Royal Air Force]] airman, and 97 war graves of other nationalities (86 of them Polish servicemen from various hospitals in the area) that are maintained by the [[Commonwealth War Graves Commission]]. The plot in Section A was a Royal Air Force regional cemetery for air personnel from bases in Cheshire and neighbouring counties, while members of other armed services were buried in Section H.<ref name=cwgc />
In 1965 Chester Crematorium, built with garden of remembrance adjoining Section A, was opened. The original chapel was replaced with a new larger chapel that was built alongside it and opened in April 2013. The site of the older building, after its demolition, has been utilised as a memorial garden.<ref name=chestchron>[http://www.chesterchronicle.co.uk/chester-news/local-chester-news/2013/04/04/service-marks-opening-of-new-crematorium-in-Blacon-59067-33112050/]''Chester Chronicle'' report, opening of new crematorium, 4 April 2013.</ref>
==Blacon railway station==
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:blaconstn.jpg|eight|thumb|250px|[[Blacon railway station]] in the 1950s looking north-west to [[Shotton, Flintshire|Shotton]] Steelworks]] -->
<!--FAIR USE of blaconstn.jpg: see image description page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:blaconstn.jpg for rationale-->
[[File:blaconstn2006.jpg|thumb|[[Blacon railway station]] in December 2006 showing cycle path/walkway and bridge in distance]]
{{main|Blacon railway station}}
Blacon station was served from [[Chester Northgate railway station|Chester Northgate Station]], [[Newtown, Chester|Newtown]]; however, the station was closed to passengers on 9 September 1968 as part of the '[[Beeching Axe]]' for the economic modernisation of the British railway network in the mid-1960s.<ref>[[Richard Beeching]]'s report "The Reshaping of British Railways" was published in 1965.</ref> Freight trains ran through Blacon until 20 April 1984, resuming as a single track line on 31 August 1986 before closing again in 1992.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/b/blacon/index.shtml|title=Station Name: Blacon|work=Disused Stations|accessdate=6 October 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Cheshire Railways Remembered|last=Oppitz|first=Leslie|year=1997|publisher=Countryside Books|isbn=1-85306-458-0|page=111}}</ref>
Although the old station and railway line have gone, they have been replaced with a [[Asphalt concrete|tarmac]] road surface, which now provides a cycle path, jogging track and a countryside walkway.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chesterwalls.info/railstroll/rail18.html|title=A Virtual Stroll Along the Mickle Trafford-Shotton Railway}}</ref>
This amenity is accessed from the side of old Blacon station bridge; but its route can also be joined (just off) Chester's 'Fountain' roundabout, travelling via Blacon, and on to the North Wales countryside. Other joined routes can be accessed along the way.
In 2008, a volunteer group headed by Stephen Perry in association with the Blacon Community Trust began to raise support for a major improvement of the Blacon Railway Station site. Improvements to date have included woodland sculptures, clearing and new planting of shrubs and trees and the planting of narcissi with much volunteer involvement from local schools and residents. The site (in November 2009) was undergoing phase 2 of a major development to introduce pathways, fencing and special hard-landscaping features. The community trust placed a large train wheel mosaic consisting of pieces from schools and services local to the Blacon area.
As of July 2015, the Blacon Railway has been refurbished and fully maintained. There are now new stairs and ramps for easy access, signs containing the history of the station (exact contents will be given at a later date), and various landscaping improvements to increase appearance and appeal. There is also a large concrete circle at the centre of the station, which contains various carvings into concrete slabs and pieces arranged into sections. These segments were carved by school children and teenagers from the local schools and projects, and contain each student's particular activity, object or person that they at the time cherished the most.
==Politics==
===Local government changes, April 2009===
{{See|2009 structural changes to local government in England}}
Blacon consisted of two [[Chester City Council]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/city_councillors/your_councillors/councillor_by_ward.aspx |title=Council and Democracy |work=Chester City Council |accessdate=6 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081120012137/http://www.chester.gov.uk/council_and_democracy/city_councillors/your_councillors/councillor_by_ward.aspx |archivedate=20 November 2008 }}</ref> [[Ward (country subdivision)|wards]], each of which elected three councillors. Chester City Council became defunct on 1 April 2009 due to structural changes.
[[Cheshire West and Chester]] (CWAC) is the successor unitary authority area with borough status, in the ceremonial county of Cheshire. It was established in April 2009 as part of the 2009 structural changes to local government in England, by virtue of an order under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.
Population: 7,977 (2001 census)<ref name=2001census-hall>{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=6073288&c=blacon&d=14&e=15&g=427359&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1223295412334&enc=1 |title=2001 Census: Blacon Hall (Ward)|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=6 October 2008}}</ref>
* John Price, Deputy Leader of the council, [[Labour Party (United Kingdom)|Labour]]
*
* Norman Stainthorp, Labour
Population: 5,518 (2001 census)<ref name=2001census-lodge>{{cite web|url=http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadKeyFigures.do?a=3&b=6073289&c=blacon&d=14&e=15&g=427384&i=1001x1003x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1223294785920&enc=1 |title=2001 Census: Blacon Lodge (Ward)|work=Office for National Statistics|accessdate=6 October 2008}}</ref>
* Reggie Jones, Labour
* Marie Nelson, Labour
* Ethel Price, Labour
===Cheshire County Council===
Blacon
===UK Parliament===
Blacon, as part of the [[
==References and notes==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{commons category|Blacon}}
{{Portal|Cheshire}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070930043404/http://www.upmystreet.com/local/my-neighbours/neighbourhood-profile/l/CH1%2B5QT.html Socio-economic profile of Blacon]
{{Cheshire}}
{{authority control}}
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