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London Borough of Lewisham

Coordinates: 51°25′N 0°02′W / 51.417°N 0.033°W / 51.417; -0.033
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Template:Infobox London Borough

The London Borough of Lewisham (/ˈluː.ɪʃəm/ ⓘ) is a London borough in south-east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham. The local authority is Lewisham London Borough Council and it is based in Catford.

The Prime Meridian passes through Lewisham. Blackheath, Goldsmiths, University of London and Millwall F.C. are located within the borough.

History

The borough was formed in 1965, by the London Government Act 1963, as an amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham and the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford, which had been created in 1900 as divisions of the County of London.[1]

Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation. The most significant amendments were made in 1996, when the former area of the Royal Docks in Deptford was transferred from the London Borough of Greenwich.[2]

Geography

Locations in and around the London Borough of Lewisham
See also: List of districts in Lewisham

The borough is surrounded by the Royal Borough of Greenwich to the east, the London Borough of Bromley to the south and the London Borough of Southwark to the west. The River Thames forms a short section of northern boundary with the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Deptford Creek, Pool River, River Quaggy and River Ravensbourne pass through the borough. Major landmarks include All Saints Church in Blackheath, the Citibank Tower in Lewisham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church (Sydenham's German Church, technically located in Forest Hill), the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill and Millwall F.C. are based in the borough, their stadium The Den being located in South Bermondsey.

Demographics

According to the 2011 census,[3] Lewisham has a population of 275,885, is 53% white and 47% BME, and 43% of households are owner-occupiers.

Civic affairs

Motto

The motto of the borough is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex", which means (roughly translated) "The welfare of the people [is] the highest law."

Administration

The current Chief Executive is Barry Quirk. The borough is administered by the four directorates of the council: Children and Young People, Community Services, Customer Services, and Resources & Regeneration.

Twinning

The borough is twinned with the following towns:

The borough has also signed a "friendship link" with Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

Freedom of the Borough

The honour of Freedom of the Borough has been awarded to:

Politics

Wards

A map of the wards within the London Borough of Lewisham
A map of the wards within the London Borough of Lewisham

The London Borough of Lewisham is divided into 18 wards, first used in the 2002 elections, they are:

Previous wards

The previous 26 wards of the London Borough of Lewisham divided into 6 areas, used from 1978 to 1998
The previous 26 wards of the London Borough of Lewisham divided into 6 areas, used from 1978 to 1998

Previously the borough was divided into 26 wards and 6 areas, used for elections from 1978 to 1998. Some of these former wards had the same names as the present wards, but their borders were different. When the wards were revised for 2002, some became larger, absorbing parts of other previous wards, the number of wards changed from 26 to 18. The previous wards and areas used from 1978 to 1998 were:

Lewisham central

Lewisham North East

Lewisham North West

  • Drake
  • Evelyn
  • Grinling Gibbons
  • Marlowe

Lewisham South

Lewisham South East

Lewisham South West

London Borough Council

Main articles: Lewisham London Borough Council and Lewisham local elections

Lewisham's council, unlike most English councils, is led by a directly-elected mayor. The first mayoral election was in 2002 and was won by the Labour Party candidate, Steve Bullock, who was re-elected in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Following the 2014 council elections, there are 53 Labour Party councillors and one Green Party councillor.

Westminster Parliament

The borough includes the constituencies of Lewisham Deptford, Lewisham West and Lewisham East.

These are the MPs who have represented constituencies covered by the borough since its formation in 1964. Note that constituencies change their boundaries over time, even where names remain the same.

MP Party Represented Dates
Heidi Alexander Labour Lewisham East 2010 – present
Christopher Chataway Conservative Lewisham North 1964–66
James Dickens Labour Lewisham West 1966–70
Jim Dowd Labour Lewisham West 1992–present
John Selwyn Gummer Conservative Lewisham West 1970–74 (Feb)
Carol Johnson Labour Lewisham South 1964–74 (Feb)
Patrick McNair-Wilson Conservative Lewisham West 1964–66
John Maples Conservative Lewisham West 1983–92
Roland Moyle Labour Lewisham North
Lewisham East 		1966–74 (Feb)
1974 (Feb)-79
Colin Moynihan Conservative Lewisham East 1983–92
Bridget Prentice Labour Lewisham East 1992–2010
Christopher Price Labour Lewisham West 1974 (Feb)-79
Vicky Foxcroft Labour Lewisham, Deptford 2015–present
John Silkin Labour Deptford
Lewisham, Deptford 		1964–74 (Feb)
1974 (Feb)-87

Education

Main article: List of schools in Lewisham

Transport

Lewisham Station, an important transport hub

Lewisham station, once known as Lewisham Junction, is located at the junction of the lines to Dartford and Hayes, and is also the terminus of the southern branch of the Docklands Light Railway. The East London Line (on the London Underground network) terminated at New Cross and New Cross Gate until December 2007. An extension to this line opened on 23 May 2010, serving Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, and Sydenham. This forms part of the London Overground network.

The South London Line runs along the extreme North West of the borough, at present there are no stations that are within the borough. There is a proposal for a new station at New Bermondsey providing a link to Clapham Junction.

Railway stations

DLR stations

London Underground

There are no Tube stations in the borough, as the East London Line is now part of London Overground. However, Lewisham Council and Network Rail would like the Bakerloo line extended from Elephant & Castle to Lewisham and Hayes.

Cycling

Two Cycle Superhighways will operate through Lewisham in the future. CS5 was originally intended to run to Lewisham but New Cross gyratory and the Lewisham station junction have caused this to be postponed.[citation needed]

  • CS4 – Runs along Deptford's Evelyn Street (A200). Will operate between Woolwich and Tower Bridge. Opened in 2015
  • CS5 – Runs from New Cross Road at New Cross Gate station to Victoria via Camberwell and Vauxhall. Opened in 20132013

Main roads

  • A2 from the border with Old Kent Road in the west to Kidbrooke in the east.
  • A20 from New Cross to the border with Eltham in the east.
  • A21 from Lewisham to the border with Bromley in the south.
  • A202 from New Cross Gate to the border with Peckham in the west.
  • A205 (South Circular Road) passes through the centre of the borough from the border with Dulwich in the west to Eltham in the east. Except for a short section in Lee as it approaches Eltham, it is purely a one-lane-each-way road.

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: train, 18.6% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 11.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 11.2%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 9.7%; on foot, 4.3%; work mainly at or from home, 2.8%; bicycle, 2.6%.[6]

48% of households in the borough are car free, compared to 42% across Greater London.[7]

Sport and leisure

Millwall F.C. is based in The Den in the New Cross area.

The Borough has a Non-League football club Lewisham Borough F.C. who play at the Ladywell Arena, in Catford.

See also

References

  1. ^ Vision of Britain – Lewisham LB
  2. ^ OPSI – The Greenwich and Lewisham (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
  3. ^ "2011 Census Second Release December 2012" (PDF).
  4. ^ Supplement to the London Gazette 1 January 1967, p. 15
  5. ^ Supplement to the London Gazette 3 June 1978, p. 6237
  6. ^ "2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Percentages are of all residents aged 16–74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey’s longest part by distance.
  7. ^ 2011 Census, Car or Van Availability (QS416EW)
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51°25′N 0°02′W / 51.417°N 0.033°W / 51.417; -0.033

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