London Borough of Newham

The London Borough of Newham is a London borough formed from the former Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, within east London.

It is 5 mi east of the City of London, north of the River Thames. Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics and contains most of the Olympic Park including the Olympic Stadium. According to 2010 estimates, Newham has one of the highest ethnic minority populations of all the districts in the country, with no particular ethnic group dominating. The local authority is Newham London Borough Council.

The borough's motto, from its Coat of Arms, is "Progress with the People". The Coat of Arms was derived from that of the County Borough of West Ham, while the motto is a translation of the County Borough of East Ham's Latin "Progressio cum Populo".

History
The borough was formed by merging the former area of the Essex county borough of East Ham and the county borough of West Ham as a borough of the newly formed Greater London, on 1 April 1965. Green Street and Boundary Road mark the former boundary between the two. North Woolwich also became part of the borough (previously being peculiarly in the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich, south of the river Thames in the County of London) along with a small area west of the River Roding which had previously been part of the Municipal Borough of Barking. Newham was devised for the borough as an entirely new name.

Governance
Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly elected mayor of Newham. From 2002 to 2009 one of the councillors had been appointed as the "civic ambassador" and performed the civic and ceremonial role previously carried out by the mayor. The post has been discontinued.

The borough is considered part of Outer London for purposes such as funding. This is because the majority of Newham was not part of the 1889–1965 County of London. The council is actively campaigning to have Newham officially considered part of Inner London in order to increase its level of government grant by £60 million.

At the borough elections held in 2014, the Labour Party won all 60 of the seats on the Council. Sir Robin Wales was re-elected as the borough's Executive Mayor with 61% of the first preference votes cast.

Demography
Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country according to the 2011 Census. The borough has the second highest percentage of Muslims in Britain, after the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at 32%.

When using Simpson's Diversity Index on 10 aggregated ethnic groups, the 2001 census identified Newham as the most ethnically diverse district in England and Wales, with 9 wards in the top 15. However, when using the 16 ethnic categories in the Census so that White Irish and White Other ethnic minorities are also included in the analysis, Newham becomes the 2nd most ethnically diverse borough with 6 out of the top 15 wards, behind Brent with 7 out of the top 15 wards.

Newham has the lowest percentage of White British residents of all of London's boroughs. The White British proportion of the population fell from 33.8% in 2001 to 16.7% in 2011; this decrease of 37.5 percentage points is the largest of any local authority in England and Wales between the two censuses. The joint-lowest wards with White British population are Green Street East and Green Street West, both having 4.8% – the third lowest behind Southall Broadway and Southall Green in Ealing. East Ham North is closely followed, at 4.9%.

People of White British ancestry nevertheless remain the largest single ethnic group in the borough. The largest non-White British ethnic groups are Indian (14%), African (12%), Bangladeshi (12%) and Pakistani (10%). Newham has had for many decades a large Indian community. The ethnic group to increase the most in number since 1991 is the Bangladeshi community.

Schools and colleges
The Borough is the education authority for the district providing education in a mix of Foundation, community and voluntary aided schools. The borough also owns and operates Debden House, a residential adult education college in Loughton, Essex, and is home to the Rosetta Art Centre, a dedicated visual art organisation which delivers courses at its base in Stratford and produces participatory art projects, programmes and initiatives. The Essex Primary School in Sheridan Road with over 900 pupils is one of the biggest primary schools in London.

University
The University of East London has two campuses in Newham:
 * the Stratford Campus, at Stratford
 * the Docklands Campus, next to the regenerated Royal Albert Dock

Birkbeck Stratford is a collaboration between Birkbeck, University of London and UEL to increase participation in adult learning. This is currently based on the UEL Stratford campus, but is planned to move to its own facilities.

The University of East London had formed a partnership with the United States Olympic Committee which resulted in the United States Olympic Team using University of East London campuses as training bases during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Community

 * The Hub, a community resource centre built by the local community, in Star Lane, E16, featuring up to the minute "green" features
 * Grassroots, also built by the local community and another innovative green resource centre built by the community. Grassroots is in Memorial Recreation Ground, E15
 * Rosetta Art Centre, situated in walking distance to Grassroots, also in E15

Libraries
Newham has ten libraries (Beckton, Canning Town, Custom House, East Ham, Green Street, Manor Park, North Woolwich, Plaistow, Stratford and Forest Gate).

Canning Town Library was first opened in 1893 and still operates in the original building on Barking Road (albeit with repairs and a reconstructed interior following damage from air raids in 1940 and 1941). Its opening hours are Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday: 9:30am–5:30pm, Wednesday and Sunday: Closed, Thursday: 9:30am–8:00pm.

Museums

 * North Woolwich Old Station Museum. Closed in 2008.
 * Three Mills, a mill complex on the east bank of the River Lee. A trading site for nearly a thousand years, the House Mill was built in 1776 and was (and remains) the country's largest tide mill. It has been restored and contains much of its original machinery including four large waterwheels, millstones and grain chutes.

Markets
There are a number of local markets in the Borough, including Queens Market, which the Council is controversially seeking to redevelop. These proposals are being fought by Friends of Queens Market.

Parks and open spaces
80 hectares within the borough are designated as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Performance

 * Stratford Circus Arts Centre, a community arts venue which presents theatre, dance, music, circus and comedy from around the world for communities in Newham and East London. The organisation works with schools and local groups in Newham to provide classes, workshops and outreach opportunities. Stratford Circus Arts Centre partners with Newham Council for Every Child a Theatre Goer which invites every year 6 child to a performance at the venue
 * Theatre Royal Stratford East
 * St. Mark's Church, Silvertown The church was designed by Samuel Saunders Teulon. It was built between 1861 and 1862 after a cholera epidemic swept the district and local clergy appealed through the columns of The Times for funds to provide an architectural, as well as spiritual, beacon for the area. It is now the home of the Brick Lane Music Hall.

Shopping and exhibitions

 * Queen's Market – An ethnically diverse market
 * ExCeL Exhibition Centre – major exhibitions such as the Motor Show are now held at ExCeL
 * ICC London - ExCeL – London's new International Conference Centre which opened on 1 May 2010
 * Gallions Reach Shopping Park Out of town retail park
 * East Shopping Centre, Europe's first purpose-built boutique Asian shopping centre
 * Green Street, the largest shopping centre catering for the Asian community in London
 * Stratford Shopping Centre, a shopping centre which includes a small market and typical chainstores
 * Westfield Shopping Centre, Stratford The largest Westfield Shopping Centre in Europe. Opened in September 2011.

Sport

 * Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics. As a result, it has been undergoing major upheavals, especially in the north of the borough, which are anticipated to end around 2016. The borough hopes to gain many advantages for its residents during that period.
 * West Ham United F.C. played its home matches at Upton Park.
 * The Newham and Essex Beagles Athletics Club has its headquarters at the Terence McMillan Stadium, part of Newham Leisure Centre, in Plaistow.
 * Clapton F.C., a non-league football club, plays in Forest Gate.
 * Newham F.C. a non-league football club, plays in Plaistow.
 * Newham (NASSA) Neptunes. a basketball team playing in the English Basketball League
 * Thomas Mac Curtain's women's GAA team train weekly at the East London Rugby Club

Newspapers
The local newspaper is the Newham Recorder.

Districts



 * Beckton
 * Canning Town
 * Custom House
 * Cyprus
 * East Ham
 * Forest Gate
 * Little Ilford
 * Manor Park
 * Maryland
 * Mill Meads
 * North Woolwich ( or )
 * Plaistow
 * Plashet
 * Silvertown
 * Stratford
 * Stratford City
 * Stratford Marsh
 * Stratford New Town
 * Temple Mills
 * Upton
 * Upton Park
 * Wallend
 * West Ham

Transport
Transport in Newham is undergoing a major upgrade, with the completed Docklands Light Railway and Jubilee Line Extension, with new or improved stations at Canning Town, West Ham and Stratford. Stratford International station on High Speed 1 opened in late 2009. The Crossrail scheme will also improve rail connections to several stations in the borough. The Docklands Light Railway was extended to serve London City Airport.

List of stations

 * Abbey Road DLR station
 * Beckton DLR station
 * Beckton Park DLR station
 * Cyprus DLR station
 * Canning Town station – Jubilee line and DLR
 * Custom House for ExCeL DLR station
 * East Ham tube station – District and Hammersmith & City lines
 * Forest Gate railway station – TfL Rail
 * Gallions Reach DLR station
 * King George V DLR station
 * London City Airport DLR station
 * Manor Park railway station – TfL Rail
 * Maryland railway station – TfL Rail
 * Plaistow tube station – District and Hammersmith & City lines
 * Pontoon Dock DLR station
 * Prince Regent DLR station
 * Royal Albert DLR station
 * Royal Victoria DLR station
 * Star Lane DLR station
 * Stratford station – Abellio Greater Anglia, TfL Rail, c2c, Jubilee and Central lines, London Overground and DLR
 * Stratford High Street DLR station
 * Stratford International station – Southeastern, DLR
 * Pudding Mill Lane DLR station
 * Upton Park tube station – District and Hammersmith & City lines
 * Wanstead Park railway station – London Overground
 * West Ham station – c2c, Jubilee, District and Hammersmith & City lines, and DLR
 * West Silvertown DLR station
 * Woodgrange Park railway station – London Overground

Travel to work
In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: underground, metro, light rail, tram, 23.0% of all residents aged 16–74; driving a car or van, 7.6%; bus, minibus or coach, 7.6%; train, 7.2%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 1.4%; bicycle, 1.0%.

River Services

 * Woolwich Ferry

Cable Car

 * Emirates Air Line

International services

 * Dutchflyer rail-sea service via Stratford station to the Netherlands
 * London City Airport
 * Stratford International station (No Eurostar trains stop)

Bus routes
London Buses routes 5, 25, 58, 69, 86, 97, 101, 104, 108, 115, 147, 158, 173, 238, 241, 257, 262, 276, 300, 308, 309, 323, 325, 330, 339, 366, 376, 388, 425, 473, 474, 541, D8, W19, School buses routes 673, 678 and Night route N8, N15, N86, N205, N550 and N551.