Welcome to the Beenham Parish website, which is intended primarily as a source of useful and up-to-date information for those living in the community – although we also hope that those from further afield will find it interesting.
The Parish of Beenham has many clubs and activities and a number of businesses, large and small. There is a primary school, a church, a village hall, a couple of pubs, several farms and a parish council.
A brief introduction to the Parish
Beenham is a small rural parish midway between Newbury and Reading. It covers about 5 square miles and has some 1,200 inhabitants.
The main village lies on the escarpment to the north of the Kennet Valley, spreading for over a mile along the ridge. Most of the houses here enjoy views over the rolling farmland of the North Wessex Downs, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. In the centre of the village are the Primary School, the Village Hall and adjoining Beenham Club, the recreation ground and the Six Bells pub. A little way down Church Lane, on the border between village and farmland, is St. Mary’s Church.
Cottages and more substantial houses straggle southwards down Beenham Hill and the lanes running down to the Kennet Valley. The A4 trunk road, the railway line, the Kennet and Avon Canal and the River Kennet run along the valley. Here can be found the other main residential part of the community, the attractive new development at Aldermaston Wharf, with its combination of houses and flats.
Between the two main parts of the Parish lies a busy industrial estate. The main businesses are the Marley tile manufacturing plant and the Grundon waste facility. There is a wide variety of other smaller businesses.
Gravel and sand extraction in Beenham Several sites in the Beenham Parish have been designated as Preferred Areas for extraction in the consultation papers prepared by the Joint Strategic Planning Unit (JSPU) for the Berkshire Councils, including West Berks. This is the first stage of the required statutory process to put in place a new Minerals and Waste Plan for Berkshire. For more information about how the Parish Council and the Beenham Action Group are approaching this on your behalf, read this document.
Beenham Parish Plan We have embarked upon a major project to produce a Parish Plan. One way or another, this will involve the whole community. Click here to find out what’s in store, and how you can help out.
