Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
—  London borough
Royal borough  —

Coat of arms
Council logo
Kensington and Chelsea shown within Greater London
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region London
Ceremonial county Greater London
Status London borough
Royal borough
Admin HQ Kensington
Incorporated 1 April 1965
Government
 - Type London borough council
 - Body Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council
 - Leadership Leader & Cabinet (Conservative)
 - Mayor Cllr Timothy Coleridge
 - MPs Greg Hands (Con)
Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Con)
 - London Assembly Kit Malthouse (Con) AM for West Central
 - EU Parliament London
Area
 - Total 4.7 sq mi (12.13 km2)
Area rank 325th (of 326)
Population (2008 est.)
 - Total 180,300
 - Rank 92nd (of 326)
 - Density 38,497.5/sq mi (14,864/km2)
 - Ethnicity[1] 50.2% White British
2.7% White Irish
24.2% Other White
0.8% White & Black Caribbean
0.6% White & Black African
1.2% White & Asian
1.4% Other Mixed
3.0% Indian
1.1% Pakistani
0.9% Bangladeshi
1.4% Other Asian
2.2% Black Caribbean
3.5% Black African
0.6% Other Black
2.7% Chinese
3.6% Other
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 - Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Postcodes {{{postcode_areas}}}
Police force Metropolitan Police
Website rbkc.gov.uk

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often abbreviated to RBKC, usually pronounced 'RBK and C') is a central London borough in the west side of central London, England.

It is an urban area and was named in the 2001 census as the most densely populated local authority in the United Kingdom, with a population of 158,919 at 13,244 per square kilometre (the land area is approximately 12 square kilometres).

The borough is immediately to the west of the City of Westminster, which is at the heart of modern London, and to the east of Hammersmith & Fulham, and itself contains a substantial number of city centre facilities such as major museums and universities (in "Albertopolis"), department stores like Harrods, is home to the Notting Hill Carnival , Europe's largest carnival, and several Embassies in its Belgravian and Knightsbridge district. It also contains many of the most exclusive residential districts in London, which are also some of the most expensive in the world.

Contents

History

It was created in 1965 from the former boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea. Kensington's Royal Borough status was inherited by the new borough. The new borough was originally to be called just 'Kensington' - the inclusion of Chelsea was locally supported.[2]

Districts in Kensington and Chelsea

The borough includes the areas of:

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the borough has a population of 158,919. It is 79% white, 4% Black African and 3% Black Caribbean. 44% of households are owner–occupiers. As of October 2004, statistics released[3] by the Office for National Statistics show that life expectancy at birth for females in Kensington and Chelsea was 84.8 years in 2001-2003, the highest in the United Kingdom. Male life expectancy at birth for the same period was 79.8 years, third highest in the UK. The figures for Kensington and Chelsea during 1991-1993 were significantly lower: 73.0 years for males (ranking 301st in the nation) and 80.0 for females (ranking 129th). Further investigation, however, indicates a 12 year gap in life expectancy between the affluent wards of Chelsea (Royal Hospital, Hans Town) and the most northerly wards of North Kensington (Golborne, Dalgarno) which are categorised by high levels of social housing and poverty.

Kensington and Chelsea's affluence is demonstrated by the fact that it has the largest number of high-earners (over £60,000) of any local government district in the country — 16.6%.[4] It has the highest number of workers in the financial sector and the lowest number working in the retail sector.

In December 2006, Sport England published a survey which revealed that residents of Kensington and Chelsea were the fourth most active in England in sports and other fitness activities. 27.9% of the population participate at least three times a week for 30 minutes.[5]

Politics

Originally two separate metropolitan boroughs with their own town halls and administrations, it has today a single united local government authority, the Kensington & Chelsea London Borough Council, based in Kensington. One of its more notable (and controversial) Leaders was Nicholas Freeman, who was Leader from 1977 until 1989. The present Leader of the Council is Sir Merrick Cockell. He was elected in April 2000. Currently there are 45 Conservative councillors, 8 Labour and 1 Liberal Democrat.

The borough is divided between two constituencies represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom:

A London Underground train departing from Earl's Court station in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London.

At the previous General Election in 2005, the borough was divided differently:

Evolution of Parliamentary constituencies in Kensington and Chelsea
From 1885 From Feb 1974 From 1997 From 2010
Kensington North Kensington Part of Regent's Park and Kensington North Kensington
Kensington South Kensington and Chelsea
Chelsea Part of Chelsea and Fulham

Transportation

Underground

Kensington and Chelsea is served by 12 tube stations, and 5 of the 12 Underground lines:

Kensington and Chelsea is served by tube stations situated at South Kensington, Gloucester Road, Kensington High Street, Earl's Court, Sloane Square, West Brompton, Olympia, Notting Hill Gate, Holland Park, Latimer Road, Knightsbridge, Westbourne Park, Ladbroke Grove, and partly Kensal Green.

The Chelsea area (SW3, SW10 and partly SW1) has noticeably much less Underground access than Kensington, the only station within Chelsea being Sloane Square. There are long-term plans for the Chelsea-Hackney line to come to fruition. This would provide a station in the King's Road near Chelsea Old Town Hall, and possibly another at Sloane Square. Its estimated completion is 2022.

National Rail and Overground

Kensington & Chelsea does not have any major London railway termini stations within its borough boundary, Paddington and Victoria being the nearest, but national railway stations in the borough are Kensington (Olympia) and West Brompton, and partly Kensal Green both served by the London Overground.

Buses

Many London bus routes pass through the borough, most of them running along King's Road, Fulham Road, Kensington High Street and Ladbroke Grove.

Religion

A typical mews in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.

The Royal Borough has a number of notable Christian churches, including:

It is also home to a small Spanish and Portuguese synagogue, several mosques and the Sikh Central Gurudwara in Holland Park.

Featured Places

Within the borough there are several of London's tourist attractions and landmarks:

Education

Social services transport provided by the Borough

Within the council, the education department finances state-operated schools in the borough.[6] Some of them are:

Primary schools

Lycee Français Charles de Gaulle, a primary and secondary school

Secondary schools

Kensington and Chelsea College (Hortensia Centre) in Chelsea
  • Kensington and Chelsea Pupil Referral Unit
  • Ashbourne Independent Sixth Form College
  • Holland Park School
  • Sion-Manning RC School for Girls
  • St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College
  • St Thomas More RC Language College
  • Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
  • Chelsea Children's Hospital School
  • Lycee Français Charles de Gaulle
  • Collingham Sixth Form College
  • Kensington and Chelsea College

Universities

Public libraries

Libraries include the Kensington Central Library, Chelsea Library, Kensal Library, Brompton Library, North Kensington Library and the Notting Hill Gate Library.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Data Management and Analysis Group, Greater London Authority, Demography Update October 2007, (2007)
  2. ↑ Chelsea Name Retained: New Decisions on Three Boroughs. The Times. 3 January 1963
  3. ↑ http://www.statistics.gov.uk/statbase/Product.asp?vlnk=8841 statistics.gov.uk
  4. ↑ http://money.guardian.co.uk/print/0%2C3858%2C4965695-110144%2C00.html money.guardian.co.uk
  5. ↑ http://www.sportengland.org/index/get_resources/research/active_people/active_people_survey_headline_results.htm sportengland.org
  6. ↑ http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/az/az.asp?searchletter=F&orgid=1372 rbkc.gov.uk
  7. ↑ http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/leisureandlibraries.aspx Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Retrieved on 13 January 2009.

External links

Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Districts
Belgravia · Brompton · Chelsea · Earls Court · Holland Park · Kensington · Kensal Town · Knightsbridge · Ladbroke Grove · North Kensington · Notting Hill · South Kensington · West Brompton · World's End
 Location of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in Greater London
Attractions
Albert Memorial · Chelsea Physic Garden · Holland House · Kensal Green Cemetery · Kensington Palace · National Army Museum  · Natural History Museum · Olympia · Royal Albert Hall · Science Museum · Victoria & Albert Museum
Theatres
Chelsea Theatre · Finborough Theatre · Gate Theatre · Royal Court Theatre
Royal Parks
Brompton Cemetery · Kensington Gardens
Street markets
Portobello Road Market
Constituencies
Kensington · Westminster North
Squares and streets
Belgrave Square · Cadogan Square · Chester Square · Hans Place · Lowndes Square · Pembroke Square · Powis Square · Redcliffe Square · Sloane Square · Sloane Street · Thurloe Square · Wilton Crescent
Other topics
People · Public art · Schools