Belmont, County Durham
| Belmont | |
|---|---|
  Belmont Location within County Durham | |
| Population | 8,881 (2011) |
| OS grid reference | NZ305435 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | DURHAM |
| Postcode district | DH1 |
| Dialling code | 0191 |
| Police | Durham |
| Fire | County Durham and Darlington |
| Ambulance | North East |
| UK Parliament | |
Belmont is a suburb of the city of Durham and civil parish in the County Durham district, in the county of Durham, England. It was formerly a separate village. It was initially a coal mining village and is situated to the north-east of the city centre, just east of the A1(M) motorway. The flats at Minster Court (at the south side of Buckinghamshire Road) were built on land formerly belonging to Ravensflatt Farm. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 8,939, decreasing to 8,881 at the 2011 Census.[1]
The parish covers a number of settlements:
The civil parish was created in 1894 from the northern and eastern parts of Durham's St. Giles Parish and extends down to Kepier in the west. There were minor boundary changes in 1896, 1935 and 1958.
For electoral purposes the parish is divided into three wards, each electing five members of the parish council:
- Belmont (Population (2011) 6,159)[2]
- Carrville
- Gilesgate Moor
The Parish Council is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats, who gained control from Labour in the 2003 local elections taking 14 of the 15 seats.
The Council has offices at the Belmont Community Centre, Sunderland Road, Gilesgate Moor.
Facilities
The secondary school located here Belmont Community School was originally planned to be turned into an academy. However, a large portion of the staff & local people, including parents, protested against this, causing the school to stay the same.[citation needed]
The village is on the bus route from Sunderland to Durham. There is now just one pub (The Belmont, formerly the Sportsmans), two school sites and a church, St Mary Magdalene. It also contains Cheveley Park shopping centre which includes shops such as Sainsburys Cooplands and other food establishments.
Sport
Since 2014 Belmont has been the site of New Ferens Park, home of FA Women's Championship club Durham Women's F.C..
On the site of present day housing south of Broomside Lane and on the east side of the cemetery was Belmont Stadium, which existed as a greyhound racing stadium from 1940 until 1969.[3]
In popular culture
- Get Carter - the house "Beechcroft" situated on Broomside Lane was used as a location in the 1971 film as the home of character Cliff Brumby. It was here that Michael Caine as Jack Carter delivered the oft-quoted line "You’re a big man, but you’re out of shape."[4] Despite a sustained campaign to preserve it, the house was demolished in December 2008.[5]
- Belmont Stadium was used in the 1954 film The Gay Dog.[6]
References
- ^ "Parish population 2011". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ^ Barnes, Julia (1988). Daily Mirror Greyhound Fact File. Ringpress Books. ISBN 0-948955-15-5.
- ^ "The fight for Get Carter house". Retrieved 7 July 2008.
- ^ "Get Carter house demolished". Sunderland Echo. 19 December 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2009.
- ^ "Remember When - 1954". Greyhound Star. 2013.
External links
Media related to Belmont at Wikimedia Commons