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City of Westminster

City of Westminster (pronounced /ˈwɛstmɪnstɚ/ ( listen)) 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, 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 City of Westminster metropolitan borough. Aside from a number of large parks and open spaces, the density of the district is high. It is the location of the London home of the British monarch at Buckingham Palace and of the United Kingdom's government. 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 and Bond Street; and the night time entertainment district of Soho. Much of the borough is residential and in 2008 it was estimated to have a population 236,000.

History

In 1965 the London borough was created from the former area of the metropolitan boroughs of St Marylebone, Paddington and the smaller City of Westminster. The earlier Westminster metropolitan borough was itself the result of an amalgamation in 1900.

Demography

According to the 2001 census, the borough 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. 71% of the population are white, 16% any Asian ethnicity, 7% Black, 6% racially-mixed, and 4% belong to other racial groups. About 35% of households are occupied by their owners.

Politics

The city is divided into 20 wards. The council is composed of 49 Conservative Party members and 11 Labour Party members.^[2][3]

The council is known for its infamous "homes for votes" scandal. Shirley Porter was involved in the illegal "Building stable communities" exercise of the 1980s.

Districts

Bayswater

Belgravia

Covent Garden

Fitzrovia

Holborn

Hyde Park

Knightsbridge

Lisson Grove

Maida Vale

Mayfair

Marylebone

Millbank

Paddington

Pimlico

Queen's Park

St James's

St John's Wood

Soho, including Chinatown

"Theatreland"

Westbourne Green

West End

Westminster City Centre

Economy

Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office, London is located in Westminster.^[4][5] BP is headquartered in St. James's, Westminster.^[6] Diageo has its head office in Westminster.^[7] Pearson PLC and subsidiary Penguin Group are headquartered in a facility in Westminster.^[8][9] Economist Group, publisher of The Economist and other materials, is headquartered in Westminster.^[10] SABMiller has its head office in Westminster.^[11][5] British American Tobacco has its head office in the Globe House in the City of Westminster.^[12]

In the 1960s British Midland had its headquarters at 78 Buckingham Gate in the City of Westminster.^[13] During the same time period British United Airways had its head office in the Portland House.^[14]

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. tik vu from gsa

Bridges

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

Main line stations

These are Charing Cross, Marylebone, Paddington and Victoria.

London Underground

The City of Westminster is served by 27 tube stations, and 10 of the 12 Underground lines (the East London line and Waterloo and City line are the exceptions).

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.^[15]

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.^[16]

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 near Aldwych.

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.

Regent's College, whose campus is within the grounds of Regent's Park, which houses: European Business School London; British American College London; Regent's Business School; School of Psychotherapy and Counselling; Webster Graduate School; Internexus, a provider of English language courses.

Public libraries

The London Library, an independent lending library, is located at 14 St. James's Square in the City of Westminster.^[5][17]

The city operates one reference library, the Westminster Reference Library.^[18] City-operated public lending libraries in Westminster include the Charing Cross Library,^[19] the Church Street Library,^[20] the Maida Vale Library,^[21] the Marylbone Library,^[22] the Mayfair Library,^[23] the Paddington Library,^[24] the Pimlico Library,^[25] the Queen's Park Library,^[26] St. James's Library,^[27] St. John's Wood Library,^[28] and the Victoria Library.^[29] In addition the city has two specialist libraries, the Westminster Music Library, the largest music library in the United Kingdom,^[30] and the Westminster Chinese Library in the Charing Cross Library.^[31]

Gallery

Statue of a Gurkha in City of Westminster, London.