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Wikipedia: London Borough of Tower Hamlets

"Tower Hamlets" redirects here. For other uses, see Tower Hamlets (disambiguation).

Geography
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 348th 19.77 km²
ONS code	00BG
Admin HQ	Clove Crescent, Blackwall
Demographics
Population — Total (2006 est.) — Density	Ranked 62nd (of 354) 212,800 / km²
Ethnicity	51.4% White (42.9% White British, 1.9% Irish, 6.6% white other) 36.6% South Asian 6.5% Black British 2.6% Mixed Race 1.8% Chinese 0.1% Arab 0.93%Jewish
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Shafiqul Haque
Executive	Labour
MPs	Jim Fitzpatrick George Galloway
London Assembly — Member	City and East John Biggs
Coat of Arms

Official website	http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London, England and north of the River Thames in East London. It includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks and Canary Wharf. Many of the tallest buildings in London are located on the Isle of Dogs in the south of the borough.

Tower Hamlets is one of five London boroughs which have been designated host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Geography and Administration

Civic History

The name "Tower Hamlets" was historically applied to the Tower division of the county of Middlesex, covering not only the present borough, but also part of the present-day London Borough of Hackney. The Constable of the Tower of London had special jurisdiction over the area from the 16th century until 1889. Inhabitants of Tower Hamlets were originally required to provide yeomen for the Tower of London. Later the Constable became Lord Lieutenant of the area, raising and organising the local militia. Under the Reform Act 1832 the area became a parliamentary borough. The name continued to be used for constituencies until 1918.

The borough was formed in 1965, and took this historic name, through amalgamation of the former metropolitan boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney. These boroughs were the heart of the East End of London.

Politics

Parliament

For the most recent election to Parliament, the Borough was split into two constituencies:

Bethnal Green & Bow, whose current incumbent is George Galloway (Respect), since the 2005 general election.
Poplar & Canning Town (which also takes in Canning Town in the neighbouring London Borough of Newham), represented by Jim Fitzpatrick (Labour), since the 1997 general election, when the constituency was formed.

The constituencies for the next election will be:

Bethnal Green & Bow
Poplar & Limehouse (which will be then entirely within the borough of Tower Hamlets).

The Borough is a part of the London constituency for election to the European Parliament.

Greater London Assembly

The borough lies within the City and East constituency, and is represented by John Biggs, Labour.

Local council

The controlling and majority group is Labour. Since the May 2006 local elections, the composition has been:

Party	councillors
Labour	26
Respect	12
Conservative	7
Liberal Democrats	6

Details of individual ward councillors can be found at the Borough's ward pages (below)^[1].

Physical Geography

Tower Hamlets is located to east of the City of London and north of the River Thames in East London. The London Borough of Hackney lies to the north of the borough while the River Lee forms the boundary with the London Borough of Newham in the east. The River Lee also forms the boundary between those parts of London historically in Middlesex, with those formerly in Essex.

The Isle of Dogs is formed from the lock entrances to the former West India Docks and the largest current meander of the River Thames and the southern part of the borough forms a part of the historic flood plain of the River Thames^[2]; and but for the Thames Barrier and other flood prevention works would be vulnerable to flooding.

The Regent's Canal enters the borough from Hackney to meet the River Thames at Limehouse Basin. A stretch of the Hertford Union Canal leads from the Regent's canal, at a basin in the north of Mile End to join the River Lee at Old Ford. A further canal, Limehouse Cut, London's oldest, leads from locks at Bromley-by-Bow to Limehouse Basin. Most of the canal tow-paths are open to both pedestrians and cyclists.

Victoria Park was formed by Act of Parliament, and administered by the LCC and its successor authority the GLC. Since the latter authority's abolition, the park has been administered by Tower Hamlets.

Areas within the borough

Areas included in the borough:

History

Main article: East End of London

Tower Hamlets forms the main area of the East End of London, more detailed local histories should be available for each of the districts (above) within Tower Hamlets.

Local landmarks

Canary Wharf, seen from a high-level walkway on Tower Bridge

Historical landmarks

Tower of London
site of two historic Royal Mints
Hawksmoor's Christ Church, Spitalfields
Victoria Park
Cable Street - site of the Battle of Cable Street

Modern landmarks

The Canary Wharf complex, within Docklands, on the Isle of Dogs forms a group of some of the tallest buildings in Europe. One Canada Square was the first to be constructed, and remains the tallest. Nearby are the HSBC Tower, Citigroup Centres and One Churchill Place, headquarters of Barclays Bank. Within the same complex are the Heron Quays offices.

The unusual Green Bridge, constructed in 2000, links sections of Mile End Park, that are divided by the Mile End Road. The bridge contains gardens, water features and trees around the path.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census key statistics for the borough include

a population of 196,106.
52% are under 30, the highest percentage in England (average 38%)
51% of the population is white, 33% Bangladeshi, 3% Black African and 3% black Caribbean.
29% of the borough are owner–occupiers.

Economic Profile

At the 2001 census, the borough had the highest rate of unemployment in Great Britain at 12.7%. Part of the borough is within the boundary of the Thames Gateway development area.

Crime, Safety and Crime Prevention in Tower Hamlets

Tower Hamlets is policed by the Metropolitan Police, who operate 6 police stations and 17 safer neighbourhood teams in the borough.

In the 12 months leading up to August 2007 Tower Hamlets had these results for crime offences in the borough:

Crime offences in Tower Hamlets, 12 months to August 2007^[3]
Homicide	5
Rape	89
Other Sexual	294
Robbery (Total)	1,910
Robbery (Person)	1,838
Robbery (Business)	72
Gun Enabled Crime	127
Domestic Crime	2,235
Racist Crime	573
Homophobic Crime	74
Violence Against the Person (Total)	7,407
Burglary Residential	1,631
Burglary Non-Residential	1,131
Burglary (Total)	2,762
Motor Vehicle Crime	4,218
Total Crimes	32,676

Education

Main article: List of schools in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

37,500 pupils go to 98 schools in Tower Hamlets. The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is the local education authority for state schools within the borough^[4].

Further Education Colleges

Tower Hamlets College
College of Technology London

Universities

Queen Mary, a constituent college of the University of London.
Barts and The London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry

Sports and Leisure

Main article: Tower Hamlets parks and open spaces

Mile End Stadium, within Mile End Park hosts an athletics stadium, and facilities for football and basketball. The Sporting Bengal United F.C. team is based there.

A leisure centre including a swimming pool at Mile End Stadium was completed in 2006. Other pools are located at St Georges, Limehouse and York Hall, in Bethnal Green. York Hall is also a regular venue for boxing tournaments, and in May 2007 a public spa was opened, the only one of its kind in the country.

The Olympics

Tower Hamlets is one of five host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics, with the Olympic Park to be constructed in the Lea Valley.

Parks in Tower Hamlets