| Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea |
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| — London borough, Royal borough — | |||
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| 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 James Husband | ||
| • MPs | Greg Hands (Con) Sir Malcolm Rifkind (Con) |
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| • 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 (2010 est.) | |||
| • Total | 169,500 | ||
| • Rank | 102nd (of 326) | ||
| • Density | 36,191.5/sq mi (13,973.6/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 |
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| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) | ||
| Postcodes | NW
, SW , W |
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| Area code(s) | 020 | ||
| Police force | Metropolitan Police | ||
| Website | www.rbkc.gov.uk | ||
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often abbreviated to RBKC) is a central London borough of Royal borough status. After the City of Westminster, it is the wealthiest borough in 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, making it the smallest of the London boroughs, excluding the City of London).
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, Peter Jones and Harvey Nichols, is home to the Notting Hill Carnival, Europe's largest carnival, and several Embassies in its Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Kensington Gardens districts. It also contains many of the most exclusive residential districts in London, which are also some of the most expensive in the world.
The local authority is Kensington and Chelsea London Borough Council. The Royal borough's motto is Quam Bonum in Unum Habitare, which translates approximately as 'How good it is to dwell in unity'.
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The borough 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]
The borough includes the areas of:
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[update], 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]
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 42 Conservative councillors, 9 Labour and 3 Liberal Democrat.
The borough is divided between two constituencies represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom:
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 | ||
Underground
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is served by 12 tube stations, and 6 of the 12 London 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.
Possible new Crossrail station
Kensington and Chelsea Council is pushing for an additional Crossrail station in the north of the Borough at Kensal[6] off Ladbroke Grove & Canal Way. A turn-back facility will have to be built not too far west of Paddington anyway, and siting the turn-back at Kensal, rather than next to Paddington itself, would provide a frequent service to the new station, helping to regenerate the area.[7][8][9] Mayor Boris Johnson stated that a station would be added if it met three tests: it must not delay construction of Crossrail; it must not compromise performance of Crossrail or any other railway; and it must not increase Crossrail's overall cost. In response, Kensington and Chelsea Council agreed to underwrite the projected £33 million cost of a Crossrail station, to the extent that section 106 payments from the promoters of property developments expected near the station do not reach this sum.[10] The Council also funded a consultancy study which concluded that in many scenarios a Kensal station would not compromise Crossrail performance. TfL is conducting a feasibility study on the station. The project is supported by local MPs, the residents of the Borough, National Grid, retailers Sainsbury's and Cath Kidston, and Jenny Jones (Green Party member of the London Assembly).[11] It is also supported by the adjoining London Borough of Brent.[12]
The head office of Daily Mail and General Trust is located in the Northcliffe House in Kensington in the borough.[13][14]
Sonangol Limited, a subsidiary of the Sonangol Group, has its head office in the Merevale House in Kensington in the RBKC.[15]
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.
According to the 2001 Census, 24% of the borough identified themselves as being non-religious, or chose not to state their faith.
Within the borough there are several of London's tourist attractions and landmarks:
Within the council, the education department finances state-operated schools in the borough.[16] Some of them are:
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Libraries include the Kensington Central Library, Chelsea Library, Kensal Library, Brompton Library, North Kensington Library and the Notting Hill Gate Library.[17]
The number of French people living in the UK has increased every year since 1991, according to French government statistics.[18] It jumped by 8,716 in 2006, the biggest gain in at least twenty years. French people are situated throughout much of London, but are particularly found within the Kensington area. There are several French schools, some independent, and others: La Petite École Française in west London and the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, situated in South Kensington and run by the French state.
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