| Blythe Bridge | |
|---|---|
  Blythe Bridge Location within Staffordshire | |
| Population | 5,931 (2011)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SJ953414 |
| Civil parish |
|
| District | |
| Shire county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | STOKE-ON-TRENT |
| Postcode district | ST11 |
| Dialling code | 01782 |
| Police | Staffordshire |
| Fire | Staffordshire |
| Ambulance | West Midlands |
| UK Parliament | |
Blythe Bridge (/blaɪð brɪdʒ/) is a village in Staffordshire, England, south-east of Stoke-on-Trent.
Blythe Bridge is so called as it is built around the site of a bridge over the River Blithe (spelt differently from the name of the village itself), a small river which passes directly through the village.
It has a high school and sixth form, library, as well as a public house, The Black Cock on Uttoxeter Road. The Smithfield and The White Cock were demolished due to the construction of two housing estates and The Duke of Wellington is now a Tesco Express. The village also has a bakery, mortgage shop, betting shop, newsagents, motor garage, GP surgery, a few hairdressers and some fast-food outlets. The library is joined to Blythe Bridge High School and Blythe Bridge Youth Centre. The Duke of Wellington is now a Tesco Express after its closure as a pub in early 2013.
The local housing has gained somewhat of a level of notoriety for the increase in extensions (no matter how bodged by the home owner) and a reputation for the increase in installations of hot tubs. The philosophy of evolution not revolution is born out with these home improvements as opposed to home sales and moving out of the Blythe Bridge area.
Recent popularity of inflatable La-Z-y type hot tub spas contrary to the national trend has not gone down well in the Blythe Bridge area, it has been proposed that a local hot tub oversight committee is started to oversee the standard of hot tubs installed.
Blythe Bridge is covered by The Blythe and Forsbrook Times, a weekly newspaper. It is produced by Times, Echo and Life Publications (established 1896), which publish the only independent family owned and run newspapers in North Staffordshire.
Train services are available at Blythe Bridge railway station, which was opened by the North Staffordshire Railway on 7 August 1848, on the Crewe to Derby railway line. The station buildings and signal box have been demolished.
A Heritage railway, Foxfield Light Railway operate north of the village, with the southern terminus, Caverswall Road, being 0.5 miles (0.80 km) north of the main line station along Blythe Bridge Road.
The Uttoxeter Road, a former major motorway link route (M1 to M6) was partially relieved by the A50 dual-carriageway. The bypass road opened in 1975, and then the section to Uttoxeter in 1985.
The nearby Meir Aerodrome closed in 1973 and the land was used to build the large Meir Park housing estate.
