London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
—  London borough  —

Coat of arms
Council logo
Richmond shown within Greater London
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region London
Ceremonial county Greater London
Status London borough
Admin HQ Twickenham
Incorporated 1 April 1965
Government
 - Type London borough council
 - Body Richmond London Borough Council
 - Leadership Leader Cllr Nicholas True (Conservative)
 - Mayor Cllr David Marlow
 - MPs Vince Cable (Lib Dem)
Zac Goldsmith (Con)
 - London Assembly Tony Arbour (Con) AM for South West
 - EU Parliament London
Area
 - Total 22.2 sq mi (57.41 km2)
Area rank 262nd (of 326)
Population (2008 est.)
 - Total 180,100
 - Rank 93rd (of 326)
 - Density 8,125/sq mi (3,137.1/km2)
 - Ethnicity[1] 75.7% White British
2.6% White Irish
10.6% Other White
0.5% White & Black Caribbean
0.3% White & Black African
1.0% White & Asian
0.7% Other Mixed
2.8% Indian
0.7% Pakistani
0.4% Bangladeshi
0.8% Other Asian
0.8% Black Caribbean
0.7% Black African
0.2% Other Black
0.9% Chinese
1.3% Other
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 - Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Postcodes {{{postcode_areas}}}
Police force Metropolitan Police
Website richmond.gov.uk

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (pronunciation) is a London borough in south west London, UK, which forms part of Outer London.

Contents

Settlement

It can been seen from a map that the borough is not entirely urbanised - there are some large areas of open space within the borough boundaries, including the largest urban park in Europe, Richmond Park. The borough is residential and home to some of the most affluent districts of London such as Barnes, Richmond and East Sheen. The main suburban developments are Hampton and Teddington in the south, Twickenham, St Margarets and Whitton in the central area west of the River Thames, with the more central districts of Richmond, Kew, Mortlake and Barnes following the loop of the river. It is the only London borough to straddle the Thames with districts on both sides of the river.

List of districts

Attractions, parks and open spaces

Hampton Court Palace
A view from Richmond Hill over the Terraced Gardens.

Parks take up a great deal of the borough and include Richmond Park, Bushy Park, Kew Gardens, and Hampton Court Park. There are over 100 parks and open spaces within its boundary and 21 miles (34 km) of river frontage - five times more green and open space than any other London borough.

The borough is also home to the National Physical Laboratory and the attractions of Hampton Court Palace, Twickenham Stadium and the WWT London Wetlands Centre draw both domestic and international tourism.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Richmond upon Thames were the 2nd most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 29.8% of the population participate at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes.[2]

History

The borough was formed in 1965 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Twickenham from Middlesex with the Municipal Borough of Richmond and the Municipal Borough of Barnes from Surrey; council offices were centred at York House in Twickenham. The name 'Richmond upon Thames' was coined at that time; it is now commonly but inaccurately used to refer to Richmond only.

The borough is twinned with Konstanz in Germany, Fontainebleau in France and Richmond, Virginia, USA.

Politics

Overall control Conservative Lib Dem Labour Others
2010 Conservative 30 24 - -
2006 Liberal Democrat 19 35 - -
2002 Conservative 39 15 - -
1998 Liberal Democrat 14 34 4 -
1994 Liberal Democrat 7 43 2 -
1990 Liberal Democrat 4 48 - -
1986 Liberal/SDP Alliance 3 49 - -
1982 Conservative (minority) 26 26 - -
1978 Conservative 34 18 - -
1974 Conservative 36 10 8 -
1971 Conservative 37 3 14 -
1968 Conservative 54 - - -
1964 Conservative 41 - 12 1

Transport

The borough is connected to central London by the National Rail services of South West Trains. The London Underground, District Line, serves Richmond and Kew Gardens stations: both are also served by Overground trains on the North London Line.

List of stations

The other stations are:

Buses

London bus routes 33, 65, 72, 110, 111, 190, 209, 216, 265, 267, 281, 283, 285, 290, 337, 371, 391, 411, 419, 430, 465, 481, 485, 490, 493, H22, H37, R68, R70, X26 and night routes N9 and N22.

Education

Richmond upon Thames is the local education authority for the borough, and has responsibility for 52 schools.

Sister cities

Richmond has three sister cities, as designated by the Sister Cities International, Inc.:[3]

References

  1. ↑ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
  2. ↑ http://www.sportengland.org/research/active_people_survey/active_people_survey_1.aspx sportengland.org
  3. ↑ Sister Cities information obtained from the Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI)." Retrieved on June 28, 2007.

External links

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames
Districts
Castelnau · Barnes · East Sheen · Ham · Hampton · Kew · Mortlake · North Sheen · Richmond · St Margarets · Teddington · Twickenham · Whitton
 Location of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London
Attractions
All Hallows Church · Bushy Park · Ham House · Hampton Court Palace · Kew Bridge Steam Museum · London Wetlands Centre · Marble Hill House · National Archives · Kew Gardens · Richmond Park · Richmond Theatre · Syon House · Twickenham Stadium · York House · The Wick House  · Downe House, Richmond Hill · The Wick · Chapel House, Twickenham
Constituencies
Richmond Park · Twickenham
Other topics
People · Public art · Schools
Parks and open spaces in Richmond upon Thames