Waterside A Study in Suburban Development – IELTS Reading

The Waterside A Study in Suburban Development is an IELTS Academic Reading passage that has appeared in an IELTS Test. Since questions get repeated in the IELTS exam, these passages are ideal for practice. If you want more practice, try taking an IELTS reading practice test.

Since IELTS Reading is considered the second easiest module of the exam after IELTS Listening, try to solve and review Waterside A Study in Suburban Development Reading passage and similar passages to ensure that your reading skills are up to the mark.

The question types found in Waterside A Study in Suburban Development passage are:

• Matching information (Q. 1-7)
• Short Answer Type Question (Q. 8-11)
• Yes, No, Not Given (Q. 12-14)

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Reading Passage

Waterside A Study in Suburban Development

A Since the 1950s there has been an increasing trend for extended housing and commercial expansion to take the form of rapid suburban rather than urban growth. There are several factors influencing the location and spread of such development, but an increase in economic activity is the trigger.

B The area to the west of Southampton Water, now known as Waterside, exemplifies several factors impacting the shape and nature of recent development. Up until the early 1950s this area, occupying a narrow strip of predominantly rural land approximately twenty kilometres long by five kilometres wide between Southampton Water and the New Forest, was relatively sparsely populated. There were a number of small villages, including Hythe, Fawlcy, Holbury, Dibden and Marchwood; communications were poor, and farming and associated industries were the main sources of employment.

C The main town in the region, Southampton, was and still is one of the major UK ports. In the early part of the twentieth century, Southampton boomed as the growth in passenger numbers on transatlantic liners reached its peak. The main waterway leading to Southampto
n, Southampton Water, enjoys a long stretch of deep water channel suitable for large ocean-going vessels and also benefits from an extended period of high tide because of its position in relation to the Isle of Wight. Existing settlement on the east side of the waterway made further expansion problematic, so a site was chosen on the west side to build a large oil refinery capable of handling the crude oil imported in the cargo holds of the enormous oil tankers than being built. The new oil refinery was built in the mid 1950s between Fawley and the coastal hamlet of Calshot.

D The effects on the Waterside area were dramatic. Firstly, a major road was built linking the new Fawley refinery to the road network around Southampton. Also, a number of ancillary chemicals and plastics industries developed, dependent on by-products of the refining process. Work opportunities expanded and the population began to grow rapidly as workers and their families moved into the area. House-building took off.

E The first areas to expand were around Fawlcy village, close to the refinery, and Hythe, the largest of the existing villages, with a ferry link to Southampton. However, although expansion in house-building was rapid, the development of a new commercial centre with a range of services and the provision of an expanded range of educational and health services or entertainment and sporting facilities did not initially take place. Partly, this was due to the proximity of Southampton, with its large range of facilities, now easily accessible through improved road links.

F But there was another constraint on growth: the limited availability of land. Bordered on the east by Southampton Water, on the south by the sea, and limited to the north by the large village of Totton, almost a suburb of Southampton, there was only one direction expansion could go — westwards.

G There were, however, limits here too. West of Southampton Water lies the New Forest, an area of ancient woodland and open heath, soon to be designated a National Park. Although it occupies a relatively small area, about 160 square kilometres, the New Forest is a complex and diverse ecosystem supporting a wide variety of plants and animals, many of which are found only in this area or are under threat in other parts of the country. There are stringent planning restrictions on all new building or construction of any kind. Moreover, these restrictions are supported by the local population living within the Forest, who are determined to preserve the unspoilt character of their villages and whose income is increasingly dependent on providing services for the growing tourist industry exploiting the Forest as a leisure resource. In short, development was channelled along a relatively narrow corridor parallel to Southampton Water. The space between existing villages was progressively filled with housing until they coalesced. Little farming land now exists between Dibden and Fawley; housing estates have taken almost all the land. The area around Marchwood, further from Fawley, remains more rural, but some development has taken place here too. Nor has any nucleated commercial centre emerged, though the existing village centres now have more shops, offices and a greater range of public facilities.

H There is little room for further residential expansion in Waterside except in the area around Dibden Bay. Pressure for new housing development is now less, economic expansion has slowed considerably, and residents in the area are keen to preserve the bay area as a green open space with pleasant waterside views. But there is now a threat from another quarter. While passenger numbers using Southampton have declined, freight container traffic has continued to expand. The port area of Southampton has reached capacity. So the port authorities are looking with speculative eyes at the one as yet undeveloped shoreline of Southampton Water with relatively easy access to deep water for large container ships – Dibden Bay.

Questions 1-7

1 Rapid development takes place on the west side of Southampton Water.

2 One factor influencing development on Waterside was the fact that there were few people.

3 The New Forest affects development on Waterside.

4 The site of an oil refinery is dictated by the land available.

5 Various limitations dictate the direction of expansion in Waterside.

6 Facilities like educational and sporting did not expand at the same rate as the housing provision

7 Economic activity is the stimulus for suburban development.

Questions 8-11

8 What is the stimulus for suburban development?

9 What is the area west of Southampton Water called?

10 What were the main job providers in the area west of Southampton Water up until the 1950s?

11 What made building on the east of Southampton Waterway difficult?

Questions 12-14

Example: Since the 1950s there has been an increasing trend for commercial expansion to take place in suburban areas – YES

12 The New Forest has already been made into a National Park.

13 The people living in the New Forest are in favour of the limitations on development in the area.

14 Passengers going through Southampton are attracted by the charms of Dibden Bay.

The Waterside A Study in Suburban Development Reading Answers with Location and Explanation

Check out the answer key for the passage, Waterside A Study in Suburban Development reading answers, with detailed explanations.

1 Answer: D

Question Type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph D

Answer explanation: The information about rapid development on the west side of Southampton Water is found in Paragraph D. This paragraph discusses the effects of the Fawley oil refinery and its impact on the area’s growth.

2 Answer: B

Question Type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph B

Answer explanation: The fact that the area was relatively sparsely populated up until the early 1950s is mentioned in Paragraph B. This paragraph provides background information about the state of the area before development.

3 Answer: G

Question Type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph G

Answer explanation: The impact of the New Forest on development is explained in Paragraph G. It discusses the restrictions on building and construction due to the presence of the New Forest and its status as a National Park.

4 Answer: C

Question Type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph C

Answer explanation: The location of the oil refinery is discussed in Paragraph C. This paragraph explains the choice of the site on the west side of Southampton Water for the oil refinery.

5 Answer: F

Question Type: Matching Information

Answer Location: Paragraph F

Answer explanation: The limitations on expansion and the direction of expansion are described in Paragraph F. It mentions the constraints imposed by the proximity of Southampton Water, the sea, and the New Forest.

Tips for Answering the Question Types in the Waterside A Study in Suburban Development Reading Passage

Let us check out some quick IELTS exam preparation tips to answer the types of questions in the ‘Waterside A Study in Suburban Development’ Reading passage.

Matching Information:

You will be given a list of three to six statements in this type of question, and you will need to match the information in each statement to the corresponding information in a paragraph in the IELTS Reading passage.

• Read the instructions followed by the list of statements - You will get an idea of the main idea of each statement. Also, figure out the keywords from each statement.
• Scan and skim through the passage - Use these reading techniques to go through the text and find out which paragraph or section contains the relevant information of the statements.
• One paragraph will contain information given in a statement - While one statement corresponds to one passage, some passages may not have any answer. Remember this to avoid repetition or wasting your time.
• Identify the answer - Once you identify the keywords and find out the corresponding paragraph that contains the information, follow this process for the others.

Short Answers

IELTS academic reading short answer questions are open-ended and require you to respond in 1 to 3 words based on the reading passage.

• First, read the questions, then the text. Before reading the text, make sure you understand what the questions are asking. You will then be aware of the important topics to keep an eye out for as you skim-read.
• The answers will be listed in chronological order in the text. So, once you’ve answered question 1, you’ll know that question 2 will follow soon after, and so on.
• Don’t exceed the word restriction for your replies, such as ‘NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER.’
• Use only the actual words from the text for your answer. You may need to change the tense of any verbs you use to ensure your answer is grammatically correct.
• Most questions will contain synonyms or paraphrasing of the text, that is, the meaning will be the same but the wording slightly different. So, brush up your IELTS vocabulary.

Yes/No/Not Given:

Unlike True/False/Not Given questions, Yes/No/Not Given questions are based on opinions, views and beliefs of the author of the reading passage. They require you to identify whether a statement is true, false, or not given in the passage.

• Yes statements are statements that are explicitly stated in the passage.
• No statements are statements that are explicitly contradicted in the passage.
• Not Given statements are statements that are neither explicitly stated nor contradicted in the passage

To answer Yes/No/Not Given questions, you need to be able to understand the passage and identify the key information. You also need to be able to distinguish between statements that are explicitly stated, contradicted, and not given.

Great work on attempting to solve the Waterside A Study in Suburban Development IELTS reading passage! To crack your IELTS Reading in the first go, try solving more of the Recent IELTS Reading Passages.

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