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 The
name Woodspring was taken from the local government district created
in 1974 which has since been abolished. The main towns of Clevedon
and Portishead serve as resorts on the Bristol Channel coast and
boast large proportions of retired residents. The other main centres
of population, such as Nailsea and the Gordano Valley, are communities
based largely on farming.
This seat is
largely rural and accounts for some 58% of the population of the
North Somerset Council area. The Victorian town of Clevedon is Woodspring’s
largest town. Its economy is largely dependent on commuters, with
a large proportion working in Bristol and with its position on the
M5 it has become a centre for distribution and light industry.
Nailsea was
at the centre of the North Somerset coalfield in the 19th century
and was also famous for its glass. Sinking into rural tranquillity
at the end of the 1800s the then village was identified by Somerset
County Council as the site of a dormer town for Bristol in the 1950s.
The town has since grown from a small village of a few thousand
to a town of 18,000.
Scottish Thatcherite
Dr Liam Fox succeeded Conservative Sir Paul Dean as MP for Woodspring
in 1992.
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