Bracknell is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles (18 km) to the east of Reading, 9 miles (14 km) North of Maidenhead, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Windsor and 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. Originally a market village and part of the Windsor Great Forest, Bracknell experienced a period of huge growth during the mid-20th Century when it was declared a New Town. Planned at first for a population of 25,000, Bracknell New Town was further expanded in the late 1960s to accommodate a population of 60,000. As part of this expansion, Bracknell absorbed many of the surrounding hamlets including Easthampstead, Ramslade and Old Bracknell. As of 2018, Bracknell has an estimated population of around 84,000. It is a commercial centre and the UK headquarters for several technology companies. The town is surrounded, on the east and south, by Swinley Woods and Crowthorne Woods. The urban area has absorbed parts of many local outlying areas including Ascot, Warfield, Winkfield and Binfield.