London Borough of Greenwich

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London Borough of Greenwich
Shown within Greater London
Geography
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 302nd 47.35 km²
ONS code	00AL
Admin HQ	Woolwich
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 48th (of 354) 228,100 4,817 / km²
Ethnicity	77.1% White 11.1% African-Caribbean 6.8% South Asian 1.2% Chinese
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Cllr Harry Singh
Executive	Labour
MPs	John Austin Clive Efford Nick Raynsford
London Assembly — Member	Greenwich and Lewisham Len Duvall
Coat of Arms
Official website	http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Greenwich is a London borough in southeast London, England.

Greenwich is one of five host boroughs for the 2012 London Olympics with events due to be held at the Royal Artillery Barracks (Shooting), Greenwich Park (Equestrianism) and the O₂-former Millennium Dome (Gymnastics; Basketball).

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Demographics 2.2 Landmarks 3 Civic affairs 3.1 Mayor 3.2 Executive 3.3 Coat of arms 3.4 Twinning 4 Politics 4.1 Greenwich London Borough Council 4.2 Westminster Parliament 5 Transport 5.1 River crossings 5.2 Railway stations 5.3 Tube/DLR stations 6 Places 6.1 Parks and open spaces 6.2 Localities 6.3 Postcode areas 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History

It was formed in 1965 by merging the former area of the metropolitan boroughs of Greenwich and most of Woolwich (with the exception of North Woolwich, north of the river, which became part of the London Borough of Newham).

The name 'Charlton' was briefly considered for the borough.^[1].

[edit] Geography

The borough lies along the south bank of the River Thames between Deptford and Thamesmead. Because of the shape of the river, the waterfront is extremely long. Travelling south away from the waterfront, the ground swiftly rises: Shooters Hill in the east and the high ground of Blackheath in the west bookend the borough, Eltham to the south of these hills falls away slightly.

[edit] Demographics

The borough's population at a 2005 estimate was 228,100 of which over 77% of the population was ethnically White with more than 1 in 10 residents of African-Caribbean ethnicity and substantial minorities of South and East Asian heritage.

[edit] Landmarks

Central Greenwich Town contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site centred on Christopher Wren's Royal Naval College and the Old Royal Observatory.

[edit] Civic affairs

[edit] Mayor

The 2006/07 Mayor is Cllr Harry Singh (Woolwich Common ward).

Shaped like an astrolabe, the 18ct gold badge on the Mayor's chain embodies the ‘time-ball’ on the principal building of the old Greenwich Royal Observatory, the meridian line and lines of latitude and longitude. The ‘time-ball’ is set with small rubies.

[edit] Executive

The Executive is composed of ten Labour members, led by Cllr Chris Roberts (Peninsula ward) who has been Leader of the Council since (tbc).

[edit] Coat of arms

The hour glass and radiated stars are taken from the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich and symbolise the position of the borough as the place from which the standard of time is taken. The three cannon barrels, are taken from the arms of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich and signify the association of that borough with the Royal Arsenal.

[edit] Twinning

The London Borough of Greenwich is twinned with:

• - Tema, Ghana
• - Reinickendorf, Berlin, Germany
• - Maribor, Slovenia

[edit] Politics

[edit] Greenwich London Borough Council

Summary of council election results:

	Overall control	Labour	Conservative	Lib Dem	Others
2006	Labour	36	13	2	-
2002	Labour	38	9	4	-
1998	Labour	52	8	2	-
1994	Labour	-	-	-	-
1990	Labour	-	-	-	-
1986	Labour	-	-	-	-
1982	Labour	-	-	-	-
1978	Labour	-	-	-	-
1974	Labour	-	-	-	-
1971	Labour	-	-	-	-
1968	Conservative	-	-	-	-
1964	Labour	-	-	-	-

Greenwich is administered by 51 councillors. The Labour Party currently has an overall majority on the council, holding 36 seats, with the Conservatives holding 13, and the Liberal Democrats 2. Labour has had a majority on the council since 1971.

The borough is divided into 17 electoral wards, each electing three councillors apiece every four years. At the 2006 elections the Conservatives gained three seats from Labour (two in Kidbrooke with Hornfair and one in Blackheath Westcombe) and one from the Liberal Democrats (Eltham South). Labour gained one seat from the Liberal Democrats (Middle Park and Sutcliffe) and one from an Independent (Abbey Wood). The following councillors were elected:

Ward	Members elected in 2006
Abbey Wood	Clive Mardner (Lab)
	Stephen Offord (Lab)
	Jagir Sekhon (Lab)
Blackheath Westcombe	Geoff Brighty (Con)
	Alex Wilson (Con)
	Alex Grant (Lab)
Charlton	Janet Gillman (Lab)
	Allan MacCarthy (Lab)
	Gary Parker (Lab)
Coldharbour and New Eltham	John Hills (Con)
	Mandy Brinkhurst (Con)
	Chris Taylor (Con)
Eltham North	Spencer Drury (Con)
	Dermot Poston (Con)
	Nigel Fletcher (Con)
Eltham South	Peter King (Con)
	Eileen Glover (Con)
	Elizabeth Truss (Con)
Eltham West	Michael Hayes (Lab)
	William Freeman (Lab)
	Raymond Walker (Lab)
Glyndon	Don Austen (Lab)
	Paul Tyler (Lab)
	John Wakefield (Lab)
Greenwich West	Maureen O'Mara (Lab)
	David Grant (Lab)
	Margaret Mythen (Lab)
Kidbrooke with Hornfair	Graeme Coombes (Con)
	Norman Adams (Lab)
	Andy Jennings (Con)
Middle Park and Sutcliffe	Brian Woodcraft (LibDem)
	Clare Morris (Lab)
	Paul Webbewood (LibDem)
Peninsula	Mary Mills (Lab)
	Richard Quibell (Lab)
	Chris Roberts (Lab)
Plumstead	Angela Cornforth (Lab)
	Kanta Patel (Lab)
	Sajid Jawaid (Lab)
Shooters Hill	John Kelly (Lab)
	Danny Thorpe (Lab)
	Denise Hyland (Lab)
Thamesmead Moorings	Peter Brooks (Lab)
	Jackie Smith (Lab)
	Peter Kotz (Lab)
Woolwich Common	Beverley Jones (Lab)
	Rajwant Sidhu (Lab)
	Harpinder Singh (Lab)
Woolwich Riverside	Barbara Barwick (Lab)
	Terry Hales (Lab)
	John Fahy (Lab)

[edit] Westminster Parliament

The borough contains the constuencies of:

• Eltham
• Erith and Thamesmead (shared with the London Borough of Bexley)
• Greenwich and Woolwich

As of the 2005 General Election, all three are represented by Labour MPs.

[edit] Transport

[edit] River crossings

There are foot tunnels under the River Thames between Greenwich and Island Gardens in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and between Woolwich and North Woolwich in the London Borough of Newham. The Woolwich Ferry takes vehicle traffic and links the North Circular Road to the South Circular Road which runs through the borough.

[edit] Railway stations

• Abbey Wood
• Charlton
• Eltham
• Greenwich
• Kidbrooke
• Maze Hill
• Mottingham
• New Eltham
• Plumstead
• Westcombe Park
• Woolwich Arsenal
• Woolwich Dockyard

[edit] Tube/DLR stations

• Cutty Sark (DLR)
• Deptford Bridge (DLR)
• Elverson Road (DLR)
• Greenwich (DLR)
• North Greenwich (Jubilee Line)

[edit] Places

[edit] Parks and open spaces

Main article: Greenwich parks and open spaces

The borough contains the Greenwich Royal Park.

[edit] Localities

It includes the following areas:

• Abbey Wood,
• Charlton,
• Eltham,
• Greenwich,
• Kidbrooke,
• Plumstead,
• Shooter's Hill,
• Woolwich.

As well as parts of

• Blackheath
• Chislehurst
• Deptford
• Lee
• Lewisham
• Mottingham
• Sidcup
• Thamesmead

[edit] Postcode areas

SE2 (part), SE3 (part), SE7 (all), SE8 (part), SE9 (part), SE10 (part), SE12 (part), SE13 (part), SE18 (all), SE28 (part), DA15 (part).

[edit] See also

• Greenwich parks and open spaces
• Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum
• University of Greenwich
• Millennium Dome

[edit] External links

• Greenwich Conservatives
• Greenwich and Woolwich Labour Party
• Greenwich Liberal Democrats

Coordinates: 51°27′N 0°03′E