Ryton-on-Dunsmore

Ryton-on-Dunsmore
Ryton-on-Dunsmore
 Ryton-on-Dunsmore shown within Warwickshire
Population 1,813 (2011)
OS grid referenceSP3874
Civil parishRyton-on-Dunsmore
DistrictRugby
Shire countyWarwickshire
RegionWest Midlands
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town COVENTRY
Postcode district CV8
Dialling code 024
Police Warwickshire
Fire Warwickshire
Ambulance West Midlands
EU Parliament West Midlands
UK ParliamentRugby and Kenilworth
List of places
UK
England
Warwickshire

Coordinates: 52°22′01″N 1°26′04″W / 52.366814°N 1.434499°W / 52.366814; -1.434499

Ryton-on-Dunsmore is a village and civil parish in the Rugby district of Warwickshire, south-east of Coventry, England. The 2001 census recorded a population of 1,672 in the parish,[1] increasing to 1,813 at the 2011 Census.[2] The A45 dual carriageway passes through the village.

Garden Organic, the UK's leading organic-growing charity, has a 10-acre (40,000 m2) demonstration garden dedicated to organic gardening in the village. Ryton Pools Country Park is about a mile south-west of the village.

Car plant

1972 Hillman Avenger saloon built at the Ryton plant
Main article: Ryton plant

The former factory (also known as the Ryton plant) was a key feature of the village for more than 60 years. It was situated between the A45 (on the north-east) and the A423 (on the south-west) in Warwickshire. The south-east of the factory site bordered with Ryton-on-Dunsmore village.

The factory was originally constructed by the Rootes Group in 1940 to build aircraft engines during the Second World War. After the war it became the headquarters of the Rootes Group, but when the organisation entered financial difficulties in the 1960s, the company (in stages) and thus the plant was taken over by the American car-making giant Chrysler. Chrysler itself entered financial difficulties and sold the plant for a symbolic US$1.00 to PSA Peugeot Citroën in 1978, and from this stage all cars produced at the plant were badged as Talbots - reviving an old brand name to replace the Chrysler brand in Britain and the Simca name on the continent.

Peugeot started building its 309 model there on 28 October 1985, and by the end of 1987 it had been joined by the 405. This followed a decision by Peugeot in 1985 to phase out the Talbot brand, but to retain the old Rootes Group and Simca factories for the production of Peugeot-badged cars.

Peugeot 309 production was switched to France in 1989, with the plant briefly becoming a one-model plant for 405 production, but the 306 joined in at the end of 1992 and for a while was the mainstay of production after the 405's demise in the autumn of 1995. The estate model was not axed until 1997, but had always been produced in France, and Peugeot had decided to produce the 405's successor (the 406) in France.

The second production line was revived over the summer of 1998 with the commencement of 206 production, and the 206 was the only car produced at the plant after the end of 306 production in the spring of 2001. Peugeot had also decided to produce the new 307 in France rather than at Ryton.

In April 2006, Peugeot decided that the Ryton plant would close during 2007. In the event, it closed on 12 December 2006 and the 140-acre (0.57 km2) site was sold to developer Trenport Investments Ltd for industrial use in March 2007.[3] Demolition of the plant began on 12 November 2007.[4]

Sports

The Academy of Coventry City F.C., the Sky Blues Lodge, is based on the Leamington Road in the village.[5]

Notable people

The cyborg scientist Kevin Warwick grew up in the village in the 1960s, and attended the local junior school.

Notable organisations

The Association of Chief Police Officers Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service is based in the village. The College of Policing headquarters is based here.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ryton-on-Dunsmore.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.