The concrete diving board at Coate, built 1935

Coate Water (grid reference SU188820) is a country park in the south-east of Swindon, near Junction 15 of the M4. It takes its name from the main feature, a reservoir originally built to provide water for the Wilts and Berks Canal. The British national grid reference system is a system of geographic grid references commonly used in Great Britain, different from using latitude or longitude. ... A country park is an area designated for people to visit and enjoy recreation in a countryside environment. ... For other places with the same name, see Swindon (disambiguation). ... The M4 motorway is a motorway in Great Britain linking London with Wales. ... The Wilts and Berks Canal is a canal, originally in Wiltshire and Berkshire, England. ...

Coate is the site of a 70-acre lake, built in 1822 and formed by diverting the River Cole. Its primary purpose was to provide water for the Canals and it remained outside the borough until expansion in 1928.^[1] In 1914, with the canal abandoned, Coate became a Pleasure Park. Changing rooms and a wooden diving board were added, the board since replaced with today's 33ft concrete one in 1935. Now named officially named Coate Water Country Park, it is both a leisure facility and a nature reserve. Coate Farm, with the Richard Jefferies museum, is contained within its environs. A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is an area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. ... John Richard Jefferies John Richard Jefferies (November 6, 1848 - August 14, 1887 ) was an English nature writer, essayist and journalist. ...

Primarily for its breeding bird populations, an area of 51.1 hectares of the lake and its margins has been notified as a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest, notification originally taking place in 1971.^[2] A hectare (symbol ha) is a unit of area, equal to 10 000 square metres, commonly used for measuring land area. ... A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ... A Site of Special Scientific Interest or SSSI is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom. ...

Development

In 2004, Swindon Borough Council and the University of Bath published plans to develop land within the park and its environs as a new campus. Swindon Civic Trust opposed this move and local residents began a Save Coate campaign with the support of Friends of the Earth. The proposal would see The Swindon Gateway Partnership creating a university campus, expand Great Western Hospital and build hundreds of new homes on land on the site.^[3][4] The University of Bath is a campus university located near Bath, England. ... Friends of the Earth is an international network of environmental organizations in 70 countries. ... Great Western Hospital is a large hospital situated in Swindon, Wiltshire, England, next to junction 15 of the M4 motorway. ...

The campaigners note that -

"Coate boasts a host of Bronze Age, Romano-British and Medieval history that spans a period of up to about 3000 years. The oldest known ancient monuments at Coate are the Neolithic Stone Circle and the Bronze age burial mound along Day House Lane. However, no less than six Stone Circles have been recorded in the Coate area linked up, in part, by avenues of large Sarsen stones. The remains of one of the stone circles probably still lies at the bottom of the lake at Coate Water whilst other ancient finds are dotted around the area that include evidence of Medieval settlements."^[5]

and point out that is in conflict with several of Swindon Borough Council's own environmental policies.^[6]

A buffer zone around the park was proposed in late 2006,^[4] although campaigners and local residents do not think this is enough -

"In a poll, just 20 per cent of readers said they believed that the new plans would help to protect Coate Water." Swindon Advertiser^[4] ...

The issue was further compounded when Coate Water was voted "Swindon's Favourite Place" by the local population,^[7] in a competition organised by the Swindon Civic Trust.

Protests, including the 2004 "Hands around Coate Water" event,^[8] have heightened awareness of the Trust's campaign. Revised plans for the development are to be submitted in the first quarter of 2007.^[9]

References

1. ^ Mark Child [2002]. Swindon : An Illustrated History. United Kingdom: Breedon Books Publishing. ISBN 1-85983-322-5. 
2. ^ SSSI citation sheet at English Nature's website
3. ^ DPDS Consulting Group. Outline of Proposals. Swindon Gateway Partnership. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Anthony Osborne (2006). 'Coate Water buffer zone is in wrong place'. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
5. ^ Campaigners call for conservation area at Coate. Save Coate. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
6. ^ What Else is Wrong with the Plan?. Save Coate. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
7. ^ Swindon's Favourite Place. Swindon Report. swindonweb.com (2003). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
8. ^ Hands around Coate Water. Indymedia UK (2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-30.
9. ^ Lyndsay Scanlan (2006). New hope for Coate Water. Swindon Advertiser. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.

2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Independent Media Center, also called Indymedia or the IMC, is a loose network of amateur or alternative media organizations and journalists who organize into decentralized collectives, normally around geographic locations. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• English Nature (SSSI information)
• SSSI boundary at English Nature's "Nature on the Map" website
• Coate Water — Swindon Council's guide to the country park.
• Richard Jefferies Museum — Dedicated to the memory of one of England's most individual writers on nature and the countryside, this small museum is a short walk from Coate Water.
• Save Coate - Campaign website
• Swindon Gateway - Developer proposals

Coordinates: 51.53659° N 1.73034° W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...