Cobham case study- changing places Flashcards
Introduction
-Cobham is a medium sized settlemet in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey.
-It has recently grown quickly at around 7% annually, initially as a linear settlement, to now being a mixed residential and commercial area, with both TNC chain and independent stores lining the high street.
-Despite its small scale, Cobham is somewhat well know due to its presentation in the media of being the ‘Beverly Hills of Britain’ and the presence of the Chelsea FC trainng ground.
-It is an ideal commuter town, located 17 miles SW of London and 10 miles NE of Guildford. 40 minute train journey to London Waterloo.
Endogenous factors- location
-Cobham is a village in the Borough of Elmbridge, in Surrey England, 17 miles South West of London, 10 miles North East of Guildford.
-The river mole runs on the west side of Cobham.
Average house price in Cobham
-In 2023, the average house price was £1.47 million, with the averaged detached property at £2.16 million, and average semi detached property at £756,000.
-This is well above the surrey average of £630,000 and the UK average of £290,000.
-Stratford average house price is £518,000 in 2023.
Cobham’s presentation in the media
-Cobham was included on the Telegraphs list of Britains 50 most desirable places to live, and the most expensive place on the list, ranked number 2.
Wealth in cobham
-Salary 1.5x national average at £47,000, 45% of population have higher education at least, with the majority of the population working in the tertiary or quaternary service sector.
-Celebrities such as Cliff Richard, Mick Jagger and Andy Murray reside in Cobham, as well as many Chelsea FC players, following the move of the training ground in 2005 to stoke d’abernon.
‘Wags and jags’ Daily Mail article
-claims Cobham to be “Britain’s Beverly Hills’
-wealth has changed from classy old money: ‘gin and jags’ to ‘crystal and wags’- vulgar and ostentatious displays of money
-‘gated mansions’ and ‘blacked out Range Rovers’ signals social segregation in Cobham
Building on greenbelt land
-7700 houses being built in next 10 years, 1000 acres of greenbelt land set to be destroyed
-controversial and can be enacted by simply publishing new regulations to local authorities with no voting nor debates
Endogenous factors- land use and built environment
-Industrial history (Cobham mill)
-Mixture of housing types (traditionally detached, Victorian style homes)
-agricultural and historical past, now a commuter and residential settlement
Endogenous factors- demographic-
- 11,000 population average age 40
-76% born in UK, 91% white British vs 85% uk average
-historically wealthy fame
-unemployment level of 1.2% vs uk 4.9%
-45% have a university degree, average salary £45,000 v uk average £31,000
-mainly tertiary/quaternary sector service jobs, cobham is a commuter town ‘ghost town’
Endogenous factor- infrastructure in the area
-river mole was a trade waterway, Heathrow and Gatwick within 30 miles, motorway M25 and A3 nearby
-Stations close by, offer direct line to London in 30-40 minutes
Exogenous factors- wealth and celebrities moving in
-The biggest influence in dramatically changing Cobham’s sense of place is city traders, celebrities, footballers who display their wealth in Ostentatious ways.
-The movement in of Chelsea FC in 2005 was a catalyst for change.
Exogenous factors- commuters and ‘ghost town’
-59% drive to work and 18% use public transport, creating a ‘ghost town’ feel during the day
Exogenous factors- cobham services, a3 interchange and greenbelt
-Cobham services planning to extend their site further onto the greenbelt to increase capacity.
-Elmbridge council removed greenbelt status on 2 large areas to allow for more housing development, up to 1000 homes on each, leading to urban sprawl.
-M25 and A3 expansion up to 4 lanes to increase capacity, may bring more commuting residents to the area but will increase road traffic, noise, congestion and pollution.
Exogenous factors- housing developers
-Lovely old character homes are destroyed to build modern mansions deemed ‘tasteless’ and ostentatious displays of wealth by long term residents
Positives of A3 Wisley interchange development
-The UK’s first ever ‘heathland’ green bridge is being developed
-This involves planting new woodland and restoring over 22 hectares of heathland
-new routes for pedestrians and cyclists
