The London commuter belt is the metropolitan area surrounding London, England from which it is practical to commute to work in the capital. It is alternatively known as the Greater South East,[1] the London metropolitan area[2] or the Southeast metropolitan area.[3] It should not be confused with Greater London or the Greater London Urban Area.
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The boundaries are not fixed; they expand as transport options improve and affordable housing moves further away from London.[4] The commuter belt currently covers much of the South East region and part of the East of England region, including the Home Counties of Kent, Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Essex and Sussex. The population of Greater London and those counties adjacent to the green belt was 13,945,000 in 2001.[5] Much of the undeveloped part of this area lies within the designated Metropolitan Green Belt so further significant urban development is generally resisted by local authorities and the Planning Inspectorate. The Green belt currently covers nearly all of Surrey, eastern Berkshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern and mid Hertfordshire, southern Bedfordshire, south-west Essex, and western Kent.
The London Travel to Work Area, defined by the Office for National Statistics as the area for which "of the resident economically active population, at least 75% actually work in the area, and also, that of everyone working in the area, at least 75% actually live in the area."[6] has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate).[7]
There are seventeen local government districts that share a boundary with Greater London in the East and South East regions. Most districts are entirely, or have sections, within the bounds of the M25 motorway or are within 15–20 miles (24–32 km) of Charing Cross. Adjacent districts often share some characteristics of Outer London such as forming part of the continuous urban sprawl, being served by the London Underground, being covered by the London telephone area code, until 2000 forming part of the Metropolitan Police District and having a relatively high employed population working in London. These districts are:
| Region | County | Districts where less than 25% of those employed work in London |
Districts where more than 25% of those employed work in London[8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Hertfordshire | Welwyn Hatfield | Broxbourne, Hertsmere, Three Rivers |
| Essex | n/a | Brentwood, Epping Forest, Thurrock | |
| South East | Kent | n/a | Dartford, Sevenoaks |
| Surrey | Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead | Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell, Spelthorne, Tandridge | |
| Berkshire | Slough | ||
| Buckinghamshire | n/a | South Bucks |
Areas to the west of London also come within the commuter pull of Reading.[8]
The Office for National Statistics includes the following urban sub-units from adjacent regions in their "Greater London Urban Area" :[9]
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South East Region |
East Region |
The East of England London commuter belt sub-region is defined as the whole of Hertfordshire together with the Essex districts of Brentwood, Chelmsford, Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford.[10]
The South East England London fringe sub-region is defined as a large proportion of Surrey including all of Spelthorne, Runnymede, Woking, Elmbridge, Epsom and Ewell and parts of the districts of Surrey Heath, Guildford, Mole Valley, Reigate and Banstead, and Tandridge; and part of the Sevenoaks district of Kent.[11]
According to eurostat the population of London's Larger Urban Zone is 11.9 million.[12] Making it the largest in the European union. The districts that are considered parts of this Larger Urban Zone are listed here.[13] No districts from Bedfordshire, Hampshire or Sussex are considered parts of London's larger urban zone. Notable absences from this list are Reading, Luton, High Wycombe and significant parts of the Aldershot Urban Area.
| Region | County | Districts in London's larger urban zone | Districts that aren't in London's larger urban zone |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Hertfordshire | North Hertfordshire | |
| Essex | |||
| South East | Kent | ||
| Surrey | |||
| Berkshire | |||
| Buckinghamshire |
The following table lists Urban Areas considered part of the London Commuter Belt according to this study and with populations over twenty thousand.[14] The sum of the Urban Areas listed is approximately 12 million. The Basingstoke, Sittingbourne, Burgess Hill and Haywards Heath urban areas are not considered part of the commuter belt according to World Gazetteer but Leighton Buzzard is.[15]
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