West Drayton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
West Drayton | |
Location | |
---|---|
OS grid reference: | TQ065795 |
Latitude: | 51.504344° |
Longitude: | -0.464645° |
Administration | |
London borough: | Hillingdon |
County level: | Greater London |
Region: | London |
Constituent country: | England |
Sovereign state: | United Kingdom |
Other | |
Ceremonial county: | Greater London |
Historic county: | Middlesex |
Services | |
Police force: | Metropolitan Police |
Fire brigade: | London Fire Brigade |
Ambulance service: | London Ambulance |
Post office and telephone | |
Post town: | WEST DRAYTON |
Postal district: | UB7 |
Dialling code: | 01895 |
Politics | |
UK Parliament: | |
London Assembly: | Ealing and Hillingdon |
European Parliament: | London |
London | List of places in London |
West Drayton is a place in the London Borough of Hillingdon to the west of central London.
It is split by the Great Western Railway and the Grand Union Canal, which both run east-west. West Drayton can be said to be south of this divide and Yiewsley to the north.
Historically employment was connected to the railway and canal and to some extent still is. It is becoming more of a commuter town due to its proximity to M25, M4, M40 and M3 motorways, Heathrow Airport and Stockley Business Park.
West Drayton railway station provides rail links on the First Great Western Link service from London Paddington to Reading and Bristol.
West Drayton also incorporates a conservation area, The Green. Around The Green are a number of listed buildings, both residential and business.
RAF West Drayton hosts the military air traffic control centre co-located with the civil London Terminal Control Centre. (Formerly known as the London Area and Terminal Control Centre, but the area function has now moved to the London Area Control Centre at Swanwick). The unit provides a vital link between civil and military flying and airspace requirements.
Locals sometimes make West Drayton the butt of jokes implying that it's a particularly bad place to live. The high populations of students, due to the proximity of Brunel University, and "Irish Travellers" probably contribute to this.