The vast majority of Popley was built in the 1960’s and 1970’s, home to many from the London overspill. In recent years Popley has benefitted from redevelopment, with the new Everest Park being built off Popley Way and Marnel Park between Popley and the village of Sherborne St John. Once again, this is an ever expanding area with the latest development being called Strawberry Fields. In 2007 the Everest Community College was built, to help educate the local children.
Marnel Community Infant School – www.marnel-inf.hants.sch.uk
Marnel Junior School – www.marneljuniorschool.com
St Bede’s Catholic Primary School – www.stbedesprimary.co.uk
Everest Community Academy (Secondary) – www.everestcommunityacademy.org
The Vyne Community School (Secondary) – www.vyne.hants.sch.uk
The area offers easy access to the Chineham shopping centre, which provides a number of amenities including supermarkets, fast food outlets, a coffee shop, Greggs bakery, a post office, a petrol station and clothing shops. You can find a full list of the facilities available for the centre at www.chinehamshopping.co.uk. There are some smaller local shops available throughout the estates, including a Tesco express and takeaways.
The area is serviced by many takeaway restaurants that offer delivery. Locally the Young’s Fish Bar is high regarded.
There are various play parks dotted around the residential areas. A woodland park provides fantastic walks and places for youngsters to explore the local wildlife. Basingstoke Town Centre is approximately 2 miles away and provides a shopping centre and cinema. Slightly further afield is the Leisure Park where families can enjoy swimming, ice skating, bowling, fast food and another cinema.
Situated on the North of Basingstoke and provides good access to the A33 which runs to Reading and the A339 routes to Newbury. The M3 is easily accessible and provides direct access to London and the South Coast. There are regular bus routes servicing the area and the mainline train line is approximately 2 miles away which allows access to London Waterloo in approximately 45 minutes.
