London Borough of Newham

London Borough of Newham
—  London Borough  —

Coat of arms
Council logo
Newham shown within Greater London
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region London
Ceremonial county Greater London
Status London Borough
Admin HQ East Ham
Incorporated 1 April 1965
Government
 - Type London borough council
 - Body Newham London Borough Council
 - Leadership Mayor & Cabinet (Labour)
 - Mayor Sir Robin Wales
 - MPs Lyn Brown
Stephen Timms
 - London Assembly John Biggs AM for City and East
 - EU Parliament London
Area
 - Total 14 sq mi (36.22 km2)
Area rank 298th (of 326)
Population (2008 est.)
 - Total 249,500
 - Rank 51st (of 326)
 - Density 17,841/sq mi (6,888.5/km2)
 - Ethnicity[1] 32.6% White British
1.1% White Irish
5.4% Other White
1.2% White & Black Caribbean
0.8% White & Black African
0.8% White & Asian
0.9% Other Mixed
12.1% Indian
8.7% Pakistani
9.0% Bangladeshi
12.7% Other Asian
6.7% Black Caribbean
12.7% Black African
1.1% Other Black
1.4% Chinese
2.4% Other
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 - Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Postcodes {{{postcode_areas}}}
Police force Metropolitan Police
Website newham.gov.uk

The London Borough of Newham (pronounced /ˈnjuː.əm/ ( listen)) is a London borough in east London, within Greater London.

It is situated 5 miles (8 km) east of the City of London, and is north of the River Thames. According to 2006 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the districts in the country, with no particular ethnic group dominating.

Contents

History

The borough was formed by merging the former area of the Essex county borough of East Ham and the county borough of West Ham as a borough of the newly formed Greater London, on 1 April 1965. Green Street marks the former boundary between the two. North Woolwich also became part of the borough (previously being in the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, in the County of London) along with a small area west of the River Roding which had previously been part of the Municipal Borough of Barking. Newham was devised for the borough as an entirely new name.[2]

Governance

Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly-elected mayor, Since 2002, one of the councillors has been appointed as the "civic ambassador", and has performed the civic and ceremonial role previously carried out by the mayor but this post was discontinued in 2009.[3]

Although statistically counted as part of Inner London, the borough is still considered part of Outer London for purposes such as funding. This is because the majority of Newham was not part of the 1889-1965 County of London. However, much of the borough has historically formed part of London's built-up area and economically it is one of the more deprived districts. The council is actively campaigning to have Newham officially considered part of Inner London for all purposes in order to increase its level of government grant by £60 million. Newham is a challenging borough in a number of ways and currently has the second lowest recycling rate in the United Kingdom.[4]

At the borough elections held on 6 May 2010 the Labour Party won all 60 of the seats on the Council. Sir Robin Wales was re-elected as the borough's Executive Mayor with 68% of the first preference votes cast.

Demography

Population
Year Pop.  %±
1801 8,875 —
1811 11,166 25.8%
1821 13,005 16.5%
1831 15,553 19.6%
1841 17,758 14.2%
1851 24,875 40.1%
1861 69,355 178.8%
1871 113,835 64.1%
1881 158,314 39.1%
1891 259,155 63.7%
1901 338,506 30.6%
1911 442,158 30.6%
1921 448,081 1.3%
1931 454,096 1.3%
1941 377,508 −16.9%
1951 313,837 −16.9%
1961 271,858 −13.4%
1971 235,496 −13.4%
1981 209,131 −11.2%
1991 221,146 5.7%
2001 243,737 10.2%
Source: A Vision of Britain through time, citing Census population

Newham has the highest young population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country according to the 2001 Census. The borough has the second highest percentage of Muslims in Britain (24.3%).

When using Simpson's Diversity Index on 10 aggregated ethnic groups, the 2001 census identified Newham as the most ethnically diverse district in England and Wales, with 9 wards in the top 15.[5] However, when using the 16 ethnic categories in the Census so that White Irish and White Other ethnic minorities are also included in the analysis, Newham becomes the 2nd most ethnically diverse borough[6] with 6 out of the top 15 wards, behind Brent with 7 out of the top 15 wards.

The main ethnic groups are whites and Asians. Based on 2006 estimates by the Office for National Statistics, over 39% of the population is white, of which 32.6% are British, 1.1% are Irish, and 5% are from other white backgrounds. Approximately 38% of the population is Asian, of which 12.2% are Indian, 10% are Bangladeshi, 8.9% are Pakistani, and 5.1% are from other Asian backgrounds. Approximately 20% of the population is black, of which 6.5% are Caribbean, 12.4% are African, and 1.1% are from other black backgrounds. In addition, 1.6% of the population is Chinese, and 2.6% are from other ethnic groups.[7]

Notable local residents

Trade Unionist Vic Turner who was jailed as the leader of the Pentonville 5. A former Communist Party member, after his retirement in 1994 Vic joined the Labour Party just in time to be elected as a Councillor for the former Bemersyde Ward in the Municipal elections of that year. Later in his term as a Councillor Vic was elected by Labour Group (and therefore the Council) as a Ceremonial Mayor of Newham. This largely ceremonial post (now known as the "Civic Ambassador") is of course not to be confused with the far more significant one of Elected Mayor, whereby the incumbent (who has serious and useful political power) is elected by far wider electorate of the whole Borough.

Education

Schools and colleges

The Borough is the education authority for the district providing education in a mix of Foundation, community and voluntary aided schools.[8] The borough also owns and operates Debden House, a residential adult education college in Loughton, Essex.

University

The University of East London has two campuses in Newham:

Birkbeck Stratford is a collaboration between Birkbeck, University of London and UEL to increase participation in adult learning. This is currently based on the UEL Stratford campus, but is planned to move to its own facilities.

The University of East London has formed a partnership will the United States Olympic Committee which will result in the United States Olympic Team using University of East London campuses as training bases during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games[9].

Places of interest

Newham Town Hall in East Ham (E6)

Community

Libraries

Newham has ten libraries (Beckton, Canning Town, Custom House, East Ham, Green Street, Manor Park, North Woolwich, Plaistow, Stratford and Forest Gate) and a mobile library.

Canning Town Library was first opened in 1893 and still operates in the original building on Barking Road (albeit with repairs and a reconstructed interior following damage from air raids in 1940 and 1941). Its opening hours are Monday, Tuesday and Saturday: 9:30am–5:30pm, Wednesday and Sunday: Closed, Thursday-Friday: 7:00am–6:00pm.[10]

Museums

Markets

There are a number of local markets in the Borough, including Queens Market, which the Council is controversially seeking to redevelop. These proposals are being fought by Friends of Queens Market.

Parks and open spaces

Performance

Vibrant Green Street where the population is predominantly South Asian

Shopping and exhibitions

Sport

Newspapers

The local newspaper is the Newham Recorder[12] and is edited by Colin Grainger.

Districts

Logo on the roadside at sunset

Transport

Transport in Newham is undergoing a major upgrade, with the completed Docklands Light Railway and Jubilee Line Extension, with new or improved stations at Canning Town, West Ham and Stratford. Stratford International station on High Speed 1 opened in late 2009. The Crossrail scheme will also improve rail connections to several stations in the borough. The Docklands Light Railway was extended to serve London City Airport.

List of stations

International services

Bus routes

London Buses routes 5, 25, 58, 69, 86, 101, 104, 108, 115, 147, 158, 173, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 300, 308, 309, 323, 325, 330, 366, 376, 425, 473, 474, 488, D8, W19, School buses route 678 and Night route N8, N15, N86, N550 and N551.

See also

References and notes

  1. ↑ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
  2. ↑ Mills, A. Oxford Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001)
  3. ↑ The Civic Ambassador London Borough of Newham, accessed 13 December 2006
  4. ↑ Other Stories we Liked, The Times. 22 November 2005.
  5. ↑ Simpson's diversity indices by ward 1991 and 2001 - GLA Data Management and Analysis Group (page 11, Table 3) Greater London Authority, January 2006), accessed 13 December 2006
  6. ↑ Focus on Newham 2006 - local people and local conditions - London Borough of Newham, Corporate Research Unit (chapter 2, page 24) (2006) date accessed 31 Mar 2007
  7. ↑ "Ethnic Group (Jun 06)". Neigbourhood Statistics 2006 estimates. Office for National Statistics. http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=276767&c=E6+1LA&d=13&e=13&g=343065&i=1001x1003x1004&o=1&m=0&r=0&s=1237988258800&enc=1&dsFamilyId=1812. Retrieved 31 May 2008. 
  8. ↑ Education and Learning London Borough of Newham, accessed 24 March 2008
  9. ↑ "University of East London Olympic Partnerships". http://www.uel.ac.uk/2012/office/partners.htm. 
  10. ↑ Cherry, Bridget et al. London 5: East: the Buildings of England, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2005
  11. ↑ Green Street London E7
  12. ↑ Newham news, sport, leisure, property, jobs and motors Newham Recorder

External links

London Borough of Newham
Districts
Beckton · Canning Town · Custom House · Cyprus · East Ham · Forest Gate · Little Ilford · Manor Park · Maryland · North Woolwich · Plaistow · Silvertown · Stratford · Upton Park · West Ham
 Location of the London Borough of Newham in Greater London
Attractions
Brick Lane Music Hall · ExCeL · London City Airport · Royal Docks · Stratford Circus · Thames Barrier · Theatre Royal · West Ham United F.C.
Markets
East Ham · Queens Road · Rathbone Market · Stratford Shopping
Constituencies
East Ham · West Ham
Other topics
People · Public art · Schools
Parks and open spaces in Newham