Calne, Wiltshire, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Calne is a town and civil parish in Wiltshire, south-western England, at the north-western extremity of the North Wessex Downs hill range, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Calne is on a small river, the Marden, that rises 2 miles away in the Wessex Downs, and is the only town on that river. It is on the A4 road national route 19 mi east of Bath, 6 mi east of Chippenham, 13 mi west of Marlborough and 16 mi south-west of Swindon. Wiltshire's county town of Trowbridge is 15 mi to the south-west, with London 82 mi due east as the crow flies.

Economy During the late 1990s and early 2000s, Calne saw rapid expansion compared to most other towns in the South West region, with a population which the district council projected to peak at around 19,000 by 2015 but which has since been surpassed. The Lansdowne Park housing development (completed in early 2007) has substantially increased the size of the town, creating a new north-western suburb, including a new primary school, a medical centre and a small shopping area. This area has attracted professional workers from traditionally more expensive areas such as Bath, Bristol, Marlborough and as far afield as the 'silicon valley' towns of central Berkshire. The development's name reflects its proximity to the seat of the Marquess of Lansdowne, whose family have owned the nearby Bowood House country estate since 1784.

The Porte Marsh Industrial Estate on the north side of the town provides the bulk of the town's internal employment, and is home to around 100 companies in predominantly light industries and information technology. The Belgian company Deceuninck has invested considerably in this area and operates two large facilities for production and distribution. Another significant employer is the Exception Group, an electronics manufacturer which, as of 2013, was the town's largest employer with some 220 employees. In 2006, plans to build a cement production plant on the Porte Marsh site were vigorously opposed by local residents and planning permission was refused by the council.

Aside from the completion of Lansdowne Park, smaller pockets of new housing were built. A £900,000 Football Foundation outdoor facility at Beversbrook, on Calne's northern edge, opened in April 2009.

Retail Calne has Sainsbury's, Tesco and Iceland supermarkets, and an intermediate-sized Tesco store on the northern edge of the town. As part of the New Heart of Calne initiative, a section of the Phelps Parade was redeveloped in 2009, using part Cotswold stone and part red brick, a new glass roof section and roof lining.

Arts and tourism Tourism is described in nearby places of interest below, with details of the surrounding historic and landscape attractions. Within the town the annual Calne Music & Arts Festival was established in 1975.

In 2014 the town entered the South West in Bloom area of the Britain in Bloom competition and won a Gold Award for the first time. The award is judged on both the town council's floral displays and those of the community projects whose groups have entered in the 'It's Your Neighbourhood' category of the awards.

Landmarks Notable buildings in the town include St Mary's Church, an array of houses on The Green and Calne Town Hall. An inn in the centre of the town – now the Lansdowne Hotel – is a Grade II* listed building, dating in part from the 17th century and re-fronted in the 18th.

Of particular note is Calne Library which has won awards for its innovative design and was opened by the Queen in 2001.

Since the demolition of the Harris pork factory and the completion of the first phase of redevelopment/regeneration in 2001, Calne has seen Cotswold stone, similar to local limestone, being used together with smart red brickwork, formerly reserved for fine historical buildings.

Transport and infrastructure The town centre suffers traffic congestion, with the A4 through the town close to gridlock during rush hour, due to single-file traffic between Curzon Street and Wood Street, with eastbound traffic having priority. A northern bypass road (a re-routing of the A3102) was completed in 2000.

Calne is equidistant (12 mi or 19 km) from the M4 motorway at Junction 16 (Wootton Bassett/Swindon West) to the north-east of Calne, and the westbound M4 junction 17 just north of Chippenham to the northwest. The nearest main passenger airport is Bristol, 38 mi (61 km) to the southwest. The nearest railway stations are Chippenham, Melksham and Pewsey. Bus operators Stagecoach West, Faresaver and Swindon's Buses provide services to towns and cities such as Chippenham, Devizes, Marlborough, Swindon and Bath.