Sundon Park is a suburb of north

Luton Luton () is a town and borough in Bedfordshire, England. The borough had a population of 225,262 at the 2021 census. Luton is on the River Lea, about north-west of London. The town's foundation dates to the sixth century as a Saxon settleme ...

, in the

district, in the ceremonial county of

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated ''Beds'') is a Ceremonial County, ceremonial county in the East of England. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Hertfordshire to the south and the south-east, and Buckin ...

, England. The area is roughly bounded by the edge of Luton to the north, Leagrave Park to the south, the

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line (MML), sometimes also spelt Midland Mainline, is a major Rail transport in Great Britain, railway line from London to Sheffield in Yorkshire via the East Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras railway ...

to the west, and Spinney Woods and the footpath from the woods to the edge of town to the east. The name is taken from the nearby villages of

Upper Sundon Upper Sundon is a village located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The village is the largest settlement in the wider Sundon civil parish, though Lower Sundon is presumed to be older, as the parish church (first bu ...

and

Lower Sundon Lower Sundon is a hamlet located in the Central Bedfordshire district of Bedfordshire, England. The settlement was established before 1066. The manor of Sundon is listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The manor was held by the de Clare, Badlesm ...

, and the estate was originally built as a self-contained community serving the

SKF AB SKF (, 'Swedish Ball Bearing Factory') is a Swedish bearing (mechanical), bearing and seal (mechanical), seal manufacturing company founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1907. The company manufactures and supplies bearings, seals, lubrication an ...

ball bearing factory.

Local area

The "official" entrance to Sundon Park is through the "Sundon Arch", the railway bridge which connects Sundon Park Road to Toddington Road. The estate is in two distinct parts, divided by Hill Rise. The older part to the south (known colloquially as "the Avenues") consists of a number of long, straight avenues which are numbered ("Fourth Avenue", etc.). Fourth Avenue was the first to be built in the 1920s, followed by the other Avenues in the 1930s. North of Hill Rise, are the newer houses, built mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Most of the roads here are named after hills and mountains e.g. Grampian Way, Pennine Avenue. These were all built as

owner-occupier Owner-occupancy or home-ownership is a form of housing tenure in which a person, called the owner-occupier, owner-occupant, or home owner, owns the home in which they live. The home can be a house, such as a single-family house, an apartment, co ...

properties. Shopping is provided around the junction of Hill Rise and Sundon Park Road, with a precinct featuring convenience stores, takeaways and a petrol station, and a large Aldi Superstore as well as a community centre. There is also a smaller

parade of shops A shopping parade, also known as a parade of shops, suburban parade, neighbourhood parade, or just a simply a parade is a group of between five and 40 shops in one or more continuous rows, mostly being retail and serving a local customer base; in ...

on Ashwell Avenue. The SKF factory has been largely turned into industrial units, with other large industrial facilities concentrated in the strip between Sundon Park Road and the railway line.

Education

There are two schools in the district. Parklea Primary School, on Cranbrook Drive and Kinross Crescent, caters for 4-11 year olds; and Lealands High School on Sundon Park Road is for 11-16 year olds. Next to Lealands is the City Learning Centre for Luton, elearning@luton.

Politics

Sundon Park is within the Sundon Park ward (of which the southern tip also contains part of

Leagrave Leagrave is a former village and now a suburb of Luton, in the Borough of Luton, Luton district, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England, in the northwest of the town. The current council ward is roughly bounded by Vincent Road, Torqu ...

) and is represented by Cllr Anna Pedersen ( Liberal Democrats) and Cllr Clive Mead ( Liberal Democrats). The ward forms part of the

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

Luton North Luton North is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Sarah Owen, of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Luton North was created in 1983, primarily from the former seat of Luton West. It c ...

and the MP is

Sarah Owen Sarah Mei Li Owen (; born 11 January 1983) is a British Labour Party politician and trade unionist who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Luton North since 2019. She is the first MP of South East Asian descent and the first female MP o ...

(Labour).

Local attractions

Local newspapers

Two weekly newspapers cover Sundon Park, although they are not specific to the area. * ''Herald and Post'' * ''Luton News''''Luton News''
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References

External links

Luton Borough Council
{{Luton Wards of Luton Areas of Luton