City of Westminster

The City of Westminster is a London borough occupying much of the central area of London, England, including most of the West End. It is located to the west of and adjoining the ancient City of London, directly to the east of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, and its southern boundary is the River Thames. It is an Inner London borough and was created in 1965 when Greater London was established. At its creation Westminster was awarded city status, which had been previously held by the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster. Aside from a number of large parks and open spaces, the population density of the district is high. Many sites commonly associated with London are located in the borough, including Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, and 10 Downing Street. The city is divided into a number of localities including the ancient political district of Westminster around the Palace of Westminster; the shopping areas around Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Bond Street; and the night time entertainment district of Soho. Much of the city is residential, and in 2008 it was estimated to have a population of 236,000. The local authority is Westminster City Council.

History
The origins of the City of Westminster pre-date the Norman Conquest of England. In the mid-11th Century king Edward the Confessor began the construction of an abbey at Westminster, only the foundations of which survive today. Between the abbey and the river he built a palace, thereby guaranteeing that the seat of Government would be fixed at Westminster, and inevitably drawing power and wealth west out of the old City of London.

For centuries the City of Westminster and the City of London were geographically quite distinct. It was not until the sixteenth century that urban sprawl began to build over the adjoining fields, eventually taking over nearby villages such as Marylebone and Kensington, and gradually creating the vast Greater London that exists today.

The present-day City of Westminster as an administrative entity with its present boundaries dates from 1965, when the City of Westminster was created from the former area of three metropolitan boroughs: St Marylebone, Paddington, and the smaller Metropolitan Borough of Westminster, which included Soho, Mayfair, St. James's, The Strand, Westminster, Pimlico, Belgravia, and Hyde Park. This re-structuring took place under the London Government Act 1963, which significantly reduced the number of local government districts in London, resulting in local authorities responsible for larger geographical areas and greater populations.

The Westminster Metropolitan Borough was itself the result of an administrative amalgamation which took place in 1900. Prior to 1900, the area occupied by what would become the Metropolitan Borough of Westminster had been administered by five separate local bodies: the Vestry of St George Hanover Square, the Vestry of St Martin in the Fields, Strand District Board of Works, Westminster District Board of Works and the Vestry of Westminster St James.

The boundaries of the City of Westminster today, as well as those of the other London boroughs, have remained more or less unchanged since the Act of 1963.

Demography
According to the 2001 census, the city had a population of 181,279. Westminster City Council undertook several studies, supported by both political parties on the council, that indicated that this figure was too low. The Office for National Statistics eventually added 17,500 people to Westminster's population, increasing its grant from the United Kingdom Government. The official population is now 198,779, but some estimates put it at 220,000. Approximately 71% of the population is White (British: 49.0%, Irish: 2.0%, and Other White: 19.0%), 16% are of any Asian ethnicity, 7% Black, 6% Mixed, and 4% belong to other racial groups. About 35% of households are occupied by their owners.

Governance
The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing 3 councillors. Westminster City Council is currently composed of 48 Conservative Party members and 12 Labour Party members.

Districts
The City of Westminster covers all or part of the following areas of London:
 * Bayswater
 * Belgravia (also partly in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)
 * Covent Garden (also partly in the London Borough of Camden)
 * Fitzrovia (also partly in the London Borough of Camden)
 * Hyde Park
 * Knightsbridge (also partly in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea)
 * Lisson Grove
 * Maida Vale
 * Mayfair
 * Marylebone
 * Millbank
 * Paddington
 * Pimlico
 * St James's
 * St John's Wood
 * Soho, including Chinatown
 * The Temple (part of)
 * "Theatreland"
 * Victoria
 * Westbourne Green
 * West End
 * Westminster City Centre

Economy
The City of Westminster is home to a large number of companies. Many leading global corporations have chosen to locate their global or European headquarters in the City of Westminster. Mayfair and St. James's within the City of Westminster also have a large concentration of hedge fund and private equity funds. The West End is known as the Theatre District and is home to many of the leading performing arts businesses. Soho and its adjoining areas house a concentration of media and creative companies. Oxford Street is one of the leading shopping destinations in the world. The list of companies includes


 * BAE Systems has its head office in Westminster
 * BBC has its head office in the Broadcasting House
 * BP has its global headquarters in St. James's, Westminster.
 * Houlihan Lokey, the international investment bank, has its London offices at 83 Pall Mall, London, Westminster.
 * Pearson PLC and subsidiary Penguin Group: headquartered in a facility in Westminster.
 * Rio Tinto Group, a multinational Australian-British company, has its UK head office in Westminster.
 * Economist Group, publisher of The Economist and other materials, is headquartered in Westminster.
 * Kingfisher plc has its head office in Paddington, Westminster
 * SABMiller has its head office in Westminster.
 * British American Tobacco has its head office in the Globe House in the City of Westminster.
 * Marks & Spencer has its head office in the Waterside House.
 * Swire Group has its head office in the Swire House
 * Pret a Manger has its head office in Westminster.
 * Rolls-Royce Group has its head office in Westminster.
 * Global Infrastructure Partners has an office in Westminster.
 * EasyGroup has its head office in Mayfair, City of Westminster.
 * Gulf Oil International has its head office in the city.
 * AstraZeneca has its head office in Westminster.
 * Informa has its London office, including its Investor Relations and Media Centre departments, in the Informa House
 * Petrofac possesses an office on Jermyn Street, near Oxford Circus.
 * Northrop Grumman has its UK offices in Clareville House.
 * Korean Air has its European head office in the City of Westminster.
 * Iraqi Airways has its London sales office in the IKB House in City of Westminster.

The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London is located in Westminster.

Companies that previously had their head offices in the City of Westminster include British Aircraft Corporation, British Midland (Portland House), British United Airways, British Mediterranean Airways, Cadbury, Diageo, BAA Limited, Lloyd International Airways, and P&O Princess Cruises.

Landmarks


Westminster contains many of the most famous sites in London. Some of the popular tourist sites are Buckingham Palace, Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) and Big Ben and nearby Westminster Abbey.

Parks and open spaces


These include Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Regent's Park and St. James's Park. In addition to parks and open spaces within the borough, the City owns and maintains East Finchley Cemetery and crematorium in the London Borough of Barnet.

Bridges
These include Chelsea Bridge, Hungerford Bridge, Grosvenor Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge, Waterloo Bridge and Westminster Bridge.

National Rail stations
Stations include: London Charing Cross, London Marylebone, London Paddington and London Victoria these are all main London termini stations.

London Underground
The City of Westminster is served by 27 tube stations, and 10 of the 11 Underground lines (the Waterloo and City line is the exception).

Electric charging points
Westminster City Council now has electric vehicle charging points in 15 locations through the city (13 car parks and two on-street points). Users pay an annual fee to cover administration costs to register and use the points.

Education


Westminster Children's Services operates many community primary and secondary schools. In addition, several voluntary-aided Church of England (CE), Roman Catholic (RC), and Christian non-denominational (ND) schools are in the city.

Universities and colleges

 * Strand campus of King's College London.
 * University of the Arts London site the London College of Fashion on Davies Street.
 * London Business School is located in Regent's Park.
 * London School of Economics is located at Clare Market, near Aldwych.
 * School of Advanced Study is located near Russell Square.
 * Royal Academy of Music is located on Marylebone Road.
 * University of the Arts London has constituent colleges in Holborn (CSM) and Millbank (Chelsea).
 * University of Westminster is located on three campuses in the borough.
 * Brigham Young University London Centre is located on Palace Court.
 * The northern half of Imperial College London's main South Kensington campus lies within the borough.
 * City of Westminster College is a further education college with campuses on Paddington Green and at Queens Park. It also owns the Cockpit Theatre, which is used as a training and performance venue.
 * Regent's College, whose campus is within the grounds of Regent's Park, which houses: European Business School London; Regent's American College London; Regent's Business School; School of Psychotherapy and Counselling; Webster Graduate School; Internexus, a provider of English language courses.
 * Westminster Kingsway College is a further education college with centres in Soho and Victoria in Westminster. It also has centres in Camden.

Public libraries
The London Library, an independent lending library, is located at 14 St. James Square in the City of Westminster.

The city operates one reference library, the Westminster Reference Library. City-operated public lending libraries in Westminster include: In addition the city has two specialist libraries, the Westminster Music Library, the largest music library in the United Kingdom, and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library.
 * Charing Cross Library,
 * Church Street Library,
 * the Maida Vale Library,
 * Marylebone Library,
 * Mayfair Library,
 * Paddington Library,
 * Pimlico Library,
 * Queen's Park Library,
 * St. James's Library,
 * St. John's Wood Library,
 * Victoria Library.

Banksy and official policy towards graffiti
In April 2008 the street artist Banksy created a work "One Nation Under CCTV" on the side of the Newman Street Royal Mail building in Soho, apparently accomplished by erecting scaffolding overnight under the direct observation of a CCTV camera. The work was described by the Daily Mail as "his biggest work yet in central London". Westminster City Council stated in October 2008 that the work would be painted over as it is graffiti. The council explained that it would remove any graffiti, regardless of the reputation of its creator, and specifically stated that Banksy "has no more right to paint graffiti than a child". Robert Davis, the chairman of the council planning committee told The Times newspaper: "If we condone this then we might as well say that any kid with a spray can is producing art". The work was painted over in April 2009.

Twin Towns - Sister Cities

 * 🇧🇩 Sylhet, Bangladesh