| London Borough of Hounslow | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — London borough — | |||
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| Hounslow shown within Greater London | |||
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom | ||
| Constituent country | England | ||
| Region | London | ||
| Ceremonial county | Greater London | ||
| Status | London borough | ||
| Admin HQ | Hounslow | ||
| Incorporated | 1 April 1965 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Type | London borough council | ||
| • Body | Hounslow London Borough Council | ||
| • Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Labour) | ||
| • Mayor | Cllr Colin Ellar | ||
| • MPs | Seema Malhotra Mary Macleod |
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| • London Assembly | Tony Arbour AM for South West | ||
| • EU Parliament | London | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 21.6 sq mi (55.98 km2) | ||
| Area rank | 264th (of 326) | ||
| Population (2010 est.) | |||
| • Total | 236,800 | ||
| • Rank | 59th (of 326) | ||
| • Density | 10,955.9/sq mi (4,230.1/km2) | ||
| • Ethnicity[1] | 53.6% White British 2.4% White Irish 6.7% Other White 0.7% White & Black Caribbean 0.5% White & Black African 1.2% White & Asian 0.9% Other Mixed 18.3% Indian 4.4% Pakistani 0.8% Bangladeshi 2.4% Other Asian 1.3% Black Caribbean 3.2% Black African 0.4% Other Black 0.9% Chinese 2.3% Other |
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| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) | ||
| Postcodes | {{{postcode_areas}}} | ||
| Police force | Metropolitan Police | ||
| Website | www.hounslow.gov.uk | ||
The London Borough of Hounslow () is a London borough in west London, England.
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Since the borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two occasions. In 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority for the first and last time to date until they lost control to Labour in 1971. Labour subsequently lost control of the council in the 2006 local elections which produced a hung result. Although Labour was the largest party on the Council the Conservatives were able to form a coalition with councillors from the independent Isleworth Community Group (ICG). This lasted until the 2010 local elections when all the independent councillors lost their seats. Labour won control of the Council with 35 seats while the Conservatives now have 25. No other parties are currently represented on the Council.[2]
Seat distribution as of May 2010:
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 35 | |
| Conservative | 25 | |
| Total | 60 | |
It includes the areas:
The various electoral wards of Hounslow are divided up into 5 Areas, each of which is afforded a measure of self-government:
The town of Hounslow, which has existed since the 13th Century, is located at the centre of the Borough of Hounslow. The name Hounslow means 'Hund's mound'; the personal name Hund is followed by the Old English hlaew meaning mound or barrow. (The mound may have been his burial place.) It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Honeslaw.[3]
The borough was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the merger of the area of the former Brentford and Chiswick Urban District, Feltham Urban District and the Heston and Isleworth Urban District (which held borough status as did Brentford and Chiswick) of Middlesex.
This outer borough of Greater London lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames and was the site of the first stop on an important coach route to Southampton, Bath, Bristol and Exeter. The A30 "Great South West Road" trunk road, which runs down to Penzance in Cornwall, starts in the borough. Hounslow town developed on either side of the main Great West Road from London to the West of England (not to be confused with the modern road of the same name), causing a large number of inns to be built to serve the travellers. A few, such as The Bell retain their names, although the buildings have largely been replaced. The Bell marks the former junction of the coaching routes. Historic milestones are preserved on the Staines Road (now re-numbered as the A315 but joining the "old" A30 again just inside the borough's western boundary)
Hounslow grew rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century due to other travellers. This time it was mainly due to its connection to Heathrow Airport, though in fact the aviation links date back to the early 1900s when some of London's earliest airfields were sited here because of the extremely flat terrain. The Great West Road, which runs from the start of the M4 motorway at Chiswick westwards towards Heathrow, at one time contained some of the most famous manufacturing names in the world, including Firestone, Gillette, Coty. As a result, the area became known as the "Golden Mile". Few of these factory sites remain today, Gillette Corner being one of the remaining few, but the Great West Road is still home to many prestigious names (see "famous companies" below).
Hounslow abuts the perimeter of London Heathrow Airport (itself located in the London Borough of Hillingdon). Plans for the expansion of Heathrow Airport are vigorously opposed by Hounslow, despite the alleged employment benefits it might bring to the borough.[4]
The borough has forty-seven bus routes (27, 65, 81, 90, 94, 105, 110, 111, 116, 117, 120, 190, 195, 203, 222, 235, 237, 267, 272, 281, 285, 290, 391, 423, 440, 481, 482, 490, 635, 681, 813, 941, E2, E3, E6, E8, H20, H22, H25, H26, H28, H32, H37, H91, H98, R70, X26) and two all-night services (N9 and N11).
The borough's railway stations are:
River services between Westminster Pier and Hampton Court depart from Kew Gardens Pier just across the River Thames from Hounslow.
Principal roads in Hounslow include the A4 (Great West Road), the elevated section of the M4 motorway, the A406 (North Circular) and A205 (South Circular) roads, all of which meet at Gunnersbury just west of Chiswick. The A4 runs eastwards into central London via the Hogarth Roundabout where it meets the A316 (Great Chertsey Road) which runs south-west, eventually joining the M3 motorway.
The borough is served by branches of two London Underground lines: the District and Piccadilly. Three District and five Piccadilly line stations are located within the borough:
Three further stations lie just outside the borough's northern boundaries. Chiswick Park and Acton Town (both in the London Borough of Ealing) and Hatton Cross tube station (in the London Borough of Hillingdon) serve the borough's residents.
The borough is home to the headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline, and British Sky Broadcasting's studio complex, both based in Brentford's 'Golden Mile'. Fuller's Griffin Brewery is also in the borough, in Chiswick. Aston Martin were based in Feltham for several years before moving to Newport Pagnell.
Air France-KLM's head office for United Kingdom and Ireland operations, which includes facilities for Air France and KLM, is located in Plesman House in Hatton Cross, Borough of Hounslow. The facility's inauguration was on 6 July 2006. Air France moved the office from Hammersmith, where it had been located for 15 years, to Hatton.[5] The Plesman House, outside of Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport, has the UK commercial team, sales team, and support team.[6] Sega Europe has its head office in Brentford.[7] Menzies Aviation has its head office in Feltham.[8][9] JCDecaux UK has its head office in Brentford.[10]
Before its dissolution, British Mediterranean Airways was headquartered at the Hetherington House in Hounslow, near London Heathrow Airport.[11][12]
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