London Borough of Waltham Forest
The London Borough of Waltham Forest (/ˈwɔːlθəm/) is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford.
London Borough of Waltham Forest | |
|---|---|
|
Coat of arms Council logo | |
| Motto: Fellowship is Life | |
Waltham Forest shown within Greater London | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | London |
| Ceremonial county | Greater London |
| Created | 1 April 1965 |
| Admin HQ | Walthamstow |
| Government | |
| • Type | London borough council |
| • Body | Waltham Forest London Borough Council |
| • Leadership | Leader (Grace Williams) & Cabinet (Labour) |
| • Mayor | Cllr Elizabeth Baptiste |
| • London Assembly | Sem Moema (Labour) AM for North East |
| • MPs | John Cryer (Labour) Stella Creasy (Labour) Iain Duncan Smith (Con) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 14.99 sq mi (38.82 km2) |
| • Rank | 265th (of 296) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 278,050 |
| • Rank | 58th (of 296) |
| • Density | 19,000/sq mi (7,200/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC (GMT) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
| Postcodes | |
| Area code | 020 |
| ONS code | 00BH |
| GSS code | E09000031 |
| Police | Metropolitan Police |
| Website | https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/ |
The borough's administrative headquarters are at Waltham Forest Town Hall, which before the merger of the boroughs, was called Walthamstow Town Hall. The population was 278,428 at the 2021 census. Waltham Forest borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to the south-west, Newham to the south-east and Redbridge to the east, as well as the non-metropolitan county of Essex to the north.
The borough takes its name from the former Waltham Forest – an institution which managed deer in south-west Essex. Epping Forest is a remainder of the former Waltham Forest and forms the eastern and northern fringe of the borough. The River Lea lies to the west where its associated marshes and parkland form a green corridor which, along the reservoir-lined reaches, separates north and east London, and is the historic border between Middlesex and Essex.
Waltham Forest was one of the host boroughs of the London Olympics in 2012, with the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park providing an ongoing legacy in the UK and London.