London Borough of Redbridge

London Borough of Redbridge
London borough
Coat of arms Council logo
Redbridge shown within Greater London
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	London
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Created	1 April 1965
Admin HQ	Ilford
Government
• Type	London borough council
• Body	Redbridge London Borough Council
• Leadership	Leader & Cabinet Leader, Cllr Jas Athwal Deputy, Cllr Elaine Norman (Labour)
• Mayor	Roy Emmett
• London Assembly	Keith Prince (CON) AM for Havering and Redbridge
•  MPs	John Cryer (LAB) Iain Duncan Smith (CON) Sam Tarry (LAB) Wes Streeting (LAB)
Area
• Total	21.78 sq mi (56.41 km2)
• Rank	236th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	310,911
• Rank	44th (of 296)
• Density	14,000/sq mi (5,500/km2)
Time zone	UTC (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
Postcodes	E, IG, RM
Area code	020
ONS code	00BC
GSS code	E09000026
Police	Metropolitan Police
Website	https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Redbridge is a London borough established in 1965. ^[1]

The borough shares boundaries with the Epping Forest District and the ceremonial county of Essex to the north, with the London Borough of Waltham Forest to the west, the London Borough of Havering to the east, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in the south and east, and the London Borough of Newham to the south.

The principal settlements in the borough are Ilford, Wanstead and Woodford.

Etymology

The name comes from a bridge over the River Roding which was demolished in 1921. The bridge was made of red brick, unlike other bridges in the area made of white stone. The name had first been applied to the Redbridge area and Redbridge tube station was opened in 1947. It was earlier known as Hocklee's Bridge. ^[2]

Places of interest

Parks and open spaces

See also: Parks and open spaces in the London Borough of Redbridge

Redbridge has more than 35 parks, playgrounds and open spaces. These include Hainault Forest Country Park, with 300 acres of countryside including adventure play areas, cafe and petting zoo; Roding Valley Park, a wildlife sanctuary with a range of flora and fauna and woodland areas; Valentines Park, including Valentines Mansion, ornamental gardens, bowling green and outdoor gym; and Claybury Woods and Park, a conservation area that features an ancient area of oak and hornbeam woodland, meadows and wildlife ponds. ^[3]

Arts and culture

Valentines Mansion is a Georgian country house and gardens in the grounds of Valentines Park, Ilford. ^[4]

Kenneth More Theatre in Oakfield Road, Ilford opened in 1975. ^[5]

Redbridge Museum, which opened in 2000, is situated on the second floor of Redbridge Central Library, Clements Road, Ilford, along with the Redbridge Heritage Centre. ^{[6] [7]}

The Embassy Cinema is an Art Deco former cinema in Chadwell Heath. It opened in 1934 and closed in 1966, but is currently the focus of a major restoration project. ^[8]

Libraries

Redbridge has 11 libraries across the borough. This includes the Redbridge Central Library, in Clements Road, Ilford, which had a major refurbishment in 2012. The libraries offer a number of services including reading clubs, story time sessions, study areas and learning resources. The libraries in Redbridge are operated by Vision Redbridge Culture & Leisure, a Charitable Trust established by Redbridge Council and now operating independently. The Library Service website is www.visionrcl.org.uk/libraries: ^[9]

• Aldersbrook Library
• Fullwell Cross Library
• Gants Hill Library
• Goodmayes Library
• Hainault Library
• Redbridge Central Library (in Ilford town centre)
• Keith Axon Library (in Chadwell Heath)
• Seven Kings Library
• South Woodford Library & Gym
• Wanstead Library
• Woodford Green Library & Gym

Sport and leisure facilities

Redbridge has a number of sports and leisure facilities including the road and off-road cycling tracks at Redbridge Cycling Centre. ^[10]

There are two local football teams both playing in the Isthmian League Division One: Redbridge F.C. (not to be confused with Dagenham & Redbridge) and Ilford FC. In addition there is fellow Non-League football club Barkingside F.C. who play at The Oakside stadium. ^[11]

Valentines Park in Ilford acted as one of Essex County Cricket Club's home grounds in 1923-4 and from 1935 until 2002, when the club stopped playing there due to financial constraints. ^[12]

Geography

A map showing the wards of Redbridge since 2002

Main article: List of districts in the London Borough of Redbridge

Demographics

Population pyramid of Redbridge in 2021

In 2011 the population of Redbridge was recorded at 278,970. ^[13] In common with the other London boroughs this continues a period of growth; between the 1991 and 2001 censuses the increase was 7.5% ^[14] with a further rise of 15.3% by 2011. ^[13] Redbridge has the third highest proportion of children and a higher-than-average proportion of older adults while the proportion of working age adults is slightly lower than average. ^[15] The population density was last recorded at 4,945 residents per km² (the London regional density is 5,199, far higher than the England and Wales figure of 371). ^[13]

The healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth for Redbridge residents stands at 65.5 years for males and 62.4 years for females (the England average HLE is 63.4 for males and 64.1 for females). ^[16]

Redbridge is one of the most ethnically diverse local authorities in the UK. 34% of respondents to the 2011 census stated that they were born outside the UK and 65.5% identified as belonging to an ethnic group other than white British. ^[17] Redbridge's largest ethnic group is White British (34.5%), followed by Indian (16.4%), ^[17] and Pakistani (Redbridge has the highest proportion of Pakistani residents of any London borough). ^[17]

Population census

Year	Pop.	±%
1801	4,909	—
1811	6,317	+28.7%
1821	7,829	+23.9%
1831	8,572	+9.5%
1841	9,290	+8.4%
1851	9,921	+6.8%
1861	16,409	+65.4%
1871	22,897	+39.5%
1881	29,385	+28.3%
1891	51,250	+74.4%
1901	77,621	+51.5%
1911	117,735	+51.7%
1921	152,209	+29.3%
1931	196,790	+29.3%
1941	230,876	+17.3%
1951	270,876	+17.3%
1961	254,605	−6.0%
1971	239,337	−6.0%
1981	224,724	−6.1%
1991	231,198	+2.9%
2001	238,628	+3.2%
2011	278,970	+16.9%
2021	310,261	+11.2%
Note: [18]

Ethnic and religious change

In common with many London boroughs, the 2011 census showed notable ethnic and religious population mobility in Redbridge. Ethnic groups whose proportions fell in Redbridge were White British (-23% of the borough's total), Irish (-0.9%), and Caribbean (-0.6%). Ethnic groups whose proportions rose include Pakistani (+4.9%), other Asians (+4.4%), Bangladeshis (+3.9%), and other White (+2.9%). Religious groups whose proportions fell in Redbridge were Christian (-13.9%) and Jews (-2.5%). For Jews this represented a fall of over 50% of their number in some wards. Religious groups whose proportions rose include Muslims (+11.4%) followed by Hindu (+3.6%). ^[17]

Ethnicity

Ethnic makeup of Redbridge by single year ages in 2021

Ethnic Group	Year
	1981 estimations [19]		1991 [20]		2001 [21]		2011 [22]		2021 [23]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
White: Total	196,480	88.8%	177,797	78.5%	151,587	63.5%	118,646	42.6%	107,974	34.9%
White: British	–	–	–	–	137,097	57.5%	96,253	34.5%	71,844	23.2%
White: Irish	–	–	–	–	5,559	2.3%	3,900	1.4%	3,092	1.0%
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller	–	–	–	–	–	–	140	0.1%	185	0.1%
White: Roma	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,104	0.4%
White: Other	–	–	–	–	8,931	3.7%	18,353	6.6%	31,749	10.2%
Asian or Asian British: Total	–	–	35,887	15.9%	61,585	25.8%	116,503	41.7%	146,833	47.3%
Asian or Asian British: Indian	–	–	23,182	10.2%	33,304	14.0%	45,660	16.4%	51,183	16.5%
Asian or Asian British: Pakistani	–	–	6,332	2.8%	14,888	6.2%	31,051	11.1%	44,000	14.2%
Asian or Asian British: Bangladeshi	–	–	1,921	0.8%	4,224	1.8%	16,011	5.7%	31,895	10.3%
Asian or Asian British: Chinese	–	–	1,530	0.6%	1,962	0.8%	3,000	1.1%	2,918	0.9%
Asian or Asian British: Other Asian	–	–	2,922	1.3%	7,207	3.0%	20,781	7.4%	16,837	5.4%
Black or Black British: Total	–	–	9,607	4.2%	18,112	7.6%	24,845	8.8%	26,096	8.4%
Black or Black British: African	–	–	2,489	1.1%	7,827	3.3%	12,357	4.4%	14,573	4.7%
Black or Black British: Caribbean	–	–	5,546	2.5%	9,126	3.8%	9,064	3.2%	8,452	2.7%
Black or Black British: Other Black	–	–	1,572	0.6%	1,159	0.5%	3,424	1.2%	3,071	1.0%
Mixed or British Mixed: Total	–	–	–	–	5,831	4.2%	11,456	4.1%	12,736	4.2%
Mixed: White and Black Caribbean	–	–	–	–	1,884	1.5%	3,204	1.1%	3,154	1.0%
Mixed: White and Black African	–	–	–	–	742	0.8%	1,692	0.6%	1,717	0.6%
Mixed: White and Asian	–	–	–	–	1,853	0.8%	3,251	1.2%	3,577	1.2%
Mixed: Other Mixed	–	–	–	–	1,352	2.5%	3,309	1.2%	4,288	1.4%
Other: Total	–	–	2,927	1.3%	1,520	0.6%	7,520	2.7%	16,622	5.3%
Other: Arab	–	–	–	–	–	–	1,551	0.6%	2,263	0.7%
Other: Any other ethnic group	–	–	2,927	1.3%	1,520	0.6%	5,969	2.1%	14,359	4.6%
Ethnic minority: Total	24,819	11.2%	48,421	21.4%	87,048	36.5%	160,324	57.3%	202,287	65.1%
Total	221,299	100%	226,218	100%	238,635	100.00%	278,970	100.00%	310,261	100%

Religion

Religious make up of Redbridge by single year age groups in 2021

Religion in Redbridge [24]
Religion			Per cent(%)
Muslim			31.3%
Christian			30.4%
No religion			12.6%
Hindu			11.1%
Undeclared			5.7%
Sikh			5.7%
Jewish			2.1%
Other			0.7%
Buddhist			0.5%

According to the 2021 Census, the largest religious groupings are Muslims (31.3 per cent), followed by Christians (30.4 per cent), those of no religion (12.6 per cent), Hindus (11.1 per cent) no response (5.7 per cent), Sikhs (5.7 per cent), Jews (2.1 per cent), Buddhists (0.5 per cent) and other religions at (0.7 per cent).

The number of Christians in 2011 residing in Redbridge ranked fourth lowest in England and Wales, and 12 per cent below the London average of 48.4%. The number of Muslims in Redbridge has more than doubled since 2001. ^[25]

Transport

Walking and cycling

The Roding Valley Way is a designated walking and cycling route between Woodford and Ilford. ^[26]

Elizabeth line

v t e Hainault Loop
Legend
Central line to Epping Roding Valley M11 motorway Chigwell Woodford Grange Hill Hainault depot Hainault Fairlop Barkingside Newbury Park A12 (Eastern Avenue) Gants Hill Redbridge Wanstead Ilford Curve closed 1947 Seven Kings Curve closed 1956 Leytonstone Central line to Central London Elizabeth line to Shenfield Junction now site of Ilford Depot Seven Kings Ilford Elizabeth line to Paddington

Route	Frequency
Shenfield to London Liverpool Street	6 trains per hour

Station	Image	Opened [27]	Notes [27]
Ilford		20 June 1839
Seven Kings		1 April 1899
Goodmayes		18 February 1901
Chadwell Heath		11 January 1864

These services serving these stations were rebranded from TfL Rail to Elizabeth line in 2022.

London Underground

Central line: Epping Branch.

Station	Image	Opened [27]	Notes [27]
Snaresbrook		14 December 1947	First opened by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1856
South Woodford		14 December 1947	First opened by the Eastern Counties Railway as South Woodford (George Lane) in 1856; renamed 1947
Woodford		14 December 1947	First opened by the Eastern Counties Railway in 1856. Terminus of Hainault Loop

Central line: Hainault Loop (follows the route of the A12 from Wanstead to Newbury Park)

Station	Image	Opened [27]	Notes [27]
Wanstead		14 December 1947
Redbridge		14 December 1947
Gants Hill		14 December 1947
Newbury Park		14 December 1947	First opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1903
Barkingside		31 May 1948	First opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1903
Fairlop		31 May 1948	First opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1903
Hainault		31 May 1948	First opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1903. Closed 1908 to 1930.
Grange Hill		21 November 1948	First opened by the Great Eastern Railway in 1903
Roding Valley		21 November 1948	First opened by the London & North Eastern Railway in 1936

Buses

Ilford Hainault Street Bus Station, where nine different bus routes terminate.

Numerous London buses run through and within the borough.

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 23.5% all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 18.4%; train, 6.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 4.6%; on foot, 3.7%; work mainly at or from home, 2.6%; passenger in a car or van, 1.5%. ^[28]

History

The borough was formed in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 as a merger of the former area of:

Redbridge Town Hall on Ilford High Road

Former local government district	Population (1961) [29]
Municipal Borough of Ilford	178,024
Municipal Borough of Wanstead and Woodford	61,416
northern part of the Municipal Borough of Dagenham around Hog Hill	3,569
south eastern part of Chigwell Urban District around Hainault	7,071

All of which had been transferred from Essex to Greater London by the Act. The former town hall in Ilford is now known as Redbridge Town Hall. ^[30]

Following a review by the Local Government Boundary Commission for England, minor changes were made on 1 April 1994 to the boundary with Barking & Dagenham ^[31] and Newham. ^[32] Further changes were made on 1 April 1995 to the boundary with Waltham Forest ^[33] and Epping Forest District. ^[34] The latter change transferred an area around Grange Hill and Roding Valley tube stations from Essex to Greater London. ^[34]

Awards

In November 2018, Redbridge Council was reported as the sixth-most productive council in England overall and the most productive in provision of adult social care in a report published by the public service consultancy iMPOWER. ^{[35] [36]}

Governance

Redbridge London Borough Council

Main article: Redbridge London Borough Council

Summary of Council results:

	Overall control	Conservative	Labour	Lib Dem	Others
2014	Labour	25	35	3	0
2012	No Overall Control	29	25	7	2
2010 [37] [38]	No Overall Control	30	26	7	0
2009	No Overall Control	31	14	13	5
2006 [39]	Conservative	33	18	10	2
2002	Conservative	33	21	9	-
1998	No overall control	23	30	9	0
1994	No overall control	24	29	9
1990 [40]	Conservative	42	18	3
1986	Conservative	45	17	1
1982	Conservative	51	12
1978	Conservative	50	13
1974	Conservative	45	15
1971	Conservative	42	18
1968	Conservative	55	5
1964	Conservative	45	15

Greater London representation

For elections to the Greater London Council, the borough formed the Redbridge electoral division, electing three members. In 1973 it was divided into the single-member Ilford North, Ilford South and Wanstead and Woodford electoral divisions. ^[41] The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986.

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Havering and Redbridge constituency.

Education

Main article: List of schools in Redbridge

Redbridge Council is the Local Education Authority. The Borough has the accolade of sending more young people to university than any other borough in the country in both 2011 and 2012. GCSE and A Level results are consistently higher than the Country's average. A 2017 report by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that Redbridge has the highest proportion of 19 year olds with Level 3 qualifications (equivalent to an A Level) of any London borough. ^[42]

All schools in the borough take part in the Redbridge Schools Choral Festival, a bi-annual music festival held in the Royal Albert Hall in Knightsbridge. ^[43]

Notable people

Main article: List of people from the London Borough of Redbridge

Gallery

• 
  Exchange shopping centre, Ilford
• 
  Fullwell Cross library, Barkingside
• 
  Gants Hill roundabout and station, Gants Hill
• 
  Newbury Park station, Newbury Park

References

1. "London Places" (PDF). Greater London Authority. GLA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 September 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
2. Mills, A., Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001)
3. "Claybury Woods and Park, including Repton Park". London Gardens Trust. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
4. Historic England, "Valentines Park (1000843)", National Heritage List for England , retrieved 12 September 2017
5. "Kenneth More Theatre". Vision RCL. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
6. "Redbridge Museum". Hidden London. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
7. "Redbridge Heritage Centre". Vision RCL. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
8. "Embassy Cinema: The Restoration Project". Chadwell Heath South Residents' Association. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
9. {{cite web|url=https://www.visionrcl.org.uk/libraries}
10. "UK | England | London | Cycle centre 'first 2012 legacy'". BBC News. 19 August 2008. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
11. History Of Barkingside FC Barkingside F.C.
12. "Valentine's Park". Cricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
13. "Population change 2001-2011". Office for National Statistics. 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
14. "Population statistics". Redbridge i. Redbridge Council. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
15. "2011 Census - Population". Redbridge i. Redbridge Council. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
16. "How long can you expect to live in 'Good' general health?". Office for National Statistics. 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
17. "2011 Census - Diversity". Redbridge i. Redbridge Council. Archived from the original on 7 December 2014. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
18. "Redbridge: Total Population". A Vision of Britain Through Time. Great Britain Historical GIS Project. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
19. Equality, Commission for Racial (1985). "Ethnic minorities in Britain: statistical information on the pattern of settlement". Commission for Racial Equality: Table 2.2.
20. "1991 census – theme tables". NOMIS. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
21. "KS006 - Ethnic group". NOMIS. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
22. "Ethnic Group by measures". NOMIS. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
23. "Ethnic group - Office for National Statistics". www.ons.gov.uk. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
24. "Religion - Religion in England and Wales: Census 2021, ONS".
25. "Redbridge Census Results". Office of National Statistics.
26. "Roding Valley Way". Sustrans.
27. Rose, Douglas (1999). The London Underground, A Diagrammatic History. London: Douglas Rose/Capital Transport. ISBN   1-85414-219-4. OCLC   59556887.
28. "2011 Census: QS701EW Method of travel to work, local authorities in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 November 2013. Percentages are of all residents aged 16-74 including those not in employment. Respondents could only pick one mode, specified as the journey’s longest part by distance.
29. Great Britain Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, Redbridge . Retrieved {{{accessdate}}}.
30. "Redbridge Register Office (Redbridge Town Hall)". London Borough off Redbridge. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
31. "The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993".
32. "The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1993".
33. "The Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993".
34. "The Essex and Greater London (County Boundaries) Order 1993".
35. "Top 10 most productive councils in England: 2018". iMPOWER. 22 November 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
36. "WHICH COUNCILS ARE BEST?" (PDF). iMPOWER. 22 November 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
37. "REDBRIDGE: Council election count - LIVE". East London and West Essex Guardian Series.
38. "2010 local election ward results". Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
39. "2006 Local election results". redbridge.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 10 May 2010. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
40. GLA. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2016., London Borough Council Elections May 2010, March 2011, accessed 21 April 2011.
41. Boothroyd, David. "Greater London Council Election results: Redbridge". United Kingdom Election Results. Archived from the original on 24 March 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
42. "London's Poverty Profile". Trust for London. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
43. Redbridge Music Service - Redbridge Schools' Choral Festival

External links

• London Borough of Redbridge Council website
• Things to do in London Borough of Redbridge

51°34′N0°05′E / 51.567°N 0.083°E / 51.567; 0.083