London commuter belt

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An approximate view of the London commuter belt showing commuter towns and the main road and rail links into the city. Urban areas in and around London are grey. London Commuter Belt map no TTW.svg
An approximate view of the London commuter belt showing commuter towns and the main road and rail links into the city. Urban areas in and around London are grey.

The London commuter belt is a metropolitan area that includes London and its surrounding commuter zone (the area in which it is practicable to commute to work in London). It is also known as the London metropolitan area, [1] or Southeast metropolitan area. [2]

Metropolitan area region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated but economically-linked surroundings

A metropolitan area is a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metro area usually comprises multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts, states, and even nations like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

Commuting periodically recurring travel between ones place of residence and place of work, or study

Commuting is periodically recurring travel between one's place of residence and place of work, or study, and in doing so exceed the boundary of their residential community. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations, even when not work-related. A distinction is also often made between commuters who commute daily or weekly between their residence to work place, often being suburbs to cities, and are therefore considered respectively local or long-distance commuters.

Contents

The most up-to-date population figures from Eurostat show that the London metropolitan area is the largest in the EU with a population of 14,257,962 (in 2018). [3]

Eurostat statistics agency of the European Union

Eurostat is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to the institutions of the European Union (EU) and to promote the harmonisation of statistical methods across its member states and candidates for accession as well as EFTA countries. The organisations in the different countries that cooperate with Eurostat are summarised under the concept of the European Statistical System.

Scope

The boundaries are not fixed; they expand as transport options improve and affordable housing moves further away from city centre. [4] The belt currently covers much of the South East region and part of the East of England region, including the home counties of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Kent and Essex, and, by several definitions, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Bedfordshire.

South East England region of England in United Kingdom

South East England is the most populous of the nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex. As with the other regions of England, apart from Greater London, the south east has no elected government.

East of England region of England in United Kingdom

The East of England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of NUTS for statistical purposes. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.

Home counties vernacular region comprised of the counties of England that surround London

The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties generally included are Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. Other counties more distant from London—such as Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire—are also sometimes regarded as home counties due to their proximity to London and their connection to the London regional economy.

The population of Greater London and those counties adjacent to the green belt was 18,868,800 in 2011. Much of the undeveloped part of this area lies within the designated Metropolitan Green Belt, which covers nearly all of Surrey, eastern Berkshire, southern Buckinghamshire, southern and mid Hertfordshire, southern Bedfordshire, south-west Essex, and western Kent. In addition, three Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (the Chiltern Hills, Surrey Hills and North Downs AONBs) surrounding the Thames basin are within the commuter belt.

Metropolitan Green Belt

The Metropolitan Green Belt is a statutory green belt around London, England. It comprises parts of Greater London and the six adjoining "home counties", parts of two of the three districts of the small county of Bedfordshire and a small area in Copthorne, Sussex. As of 2017/18, Government statistics show the planning designation covered 513,860 hectares of land.

Surrey County of England

Surrey is a county in South East England which borders Kent to the east, West Sussex to the south, Hampshire to the west, Berkshire to the north-west, and Greater London to the north-east.

Berkshire County of England

Berkshire is a county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by the Queen as the Royal County of Berkshire in 1957 because of the presence of Windsor Castle, and letters patent were issued in 1974. Berkshire is a county of historic origin, a ceremonial county and a non-metropolitan county without a county council. The county town is Reading.

Definitions

Travel to Work Area

The London Travel to Work Area in 2001 (dark blue), with the administrative boundary of Greater London shown. London TTWA 2001.png
The London Travel to Work Area in 2001 (dark blue), with the administrative boundary of Greater London shown.

The London Travel to Work Area, defined by the Office for National Statistics as the area for which "of the resident economically active population, at least 75% actually work in the area, and also, that of everyone working in the area, at least 75% actually live in the area." [5] has a population of 9,294,800 (2005 estimate). [6]

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.

Environs of Greater London

There are 17 local government districts that share a boundary with Greater London, in the East and South East regions. Most districts are entirely, or have sections, within the M25 motorway or are within 15–20 miles (24–32 km) of Charing Cross.

M25 motorway Circular motorway outlining most of London, UK

The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling almost all of Greater London, England. It is one of the most important roads in Britain, one of the busiest, and on opening was the longest orbital or ring road in Europe at 117 miles (188 km). The Dartford Crossing (A282) is part of the orbital route but is not part of the motorway.

Charing Cross The point from which distances from London are calculated.

Charing Cross is a junction in London, England, where six routes meet. Clockwise from north these are: the east side of Trafalgar Square leading to St Martin's Place and then Charing Cross Road; the Strand; Northumberland Avenue; Whitehall; The Mall leading to Admiralty Arch and Buckingham Palace; and two short roads leading to Pall Mall.

Adjacent districts often share characteristics of Outer London, such as forming part of the continuous urban sprawl, being served by the London Underground, being covered by the London telephone area code, (until 2000) forming part of the Metropolitan Police District and having a relatively high employed population working in London.

London's Larger Urban Zone

Larger Urban Zone is a definition created by Eurostat that measures the population and expanse of metropolitan areas across European countries. The population of London's Larger Urban Zone is 11.9 million (2004), [7] ranking it as the largest metropolitan area in the European Union. The districts that are considered parts of this Larger Urban Zone are listed here: [8] no district in Bedfordshire, Hampshire, or Sussex is included. Several large conurbations fall just outside the zone: Reading, Luton, High Wycombe and significant parts of the Aldershot and Crawley Urban Areas.

Districts of the Home Counties in relation to London's Larger Urban Zone
RegionCountyDistricts within the ZoneDistricts outside the Zone
East Hertfordshire North Hertfordshire
Essex
South East Kent
Surrey
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire

Urban areas within the commuter belt

The urban area of London (grey) extends beyond the London boundary. The M25 is also shown. The 020 telephone dialling code is shown in red. 020 UK dial code area - 2007.png
The urban area of London (grey) extends beyond the London boundary. The M25 is also shown. The 020 telephone dialling code is shown in red.

The following table lists urban areas (also known as built-up areas) considered part of the London Commuter Belt with populations over 20,000. [9] [10] The commuter belt contains all urban areas within an approximate 40 mile (64 km) radius of Charing Cross. Some of the outermost towns include Aylesbury, Reading, Aldershot and Maidstone. [11] [12] [13]

RankUrban Area [14] Population

(2011 Census) [14]

County
1 Greater London Urban Area 9,787,426 Greater London
2 Reading/Wokingham Urban Area 318,014 Berkshire
3 Southend Urban Area 295,310 Essex
4 Medway Towns Urban Area 277,855 Kent
5 Luton/Dunstable Urban Area 258,018 Bedfordshire
6 Aldershot Urban Area 252,397 Hampshire
7 Crawley Urban Area 180,508 West Sussex
8 Slough Urban Area 163,777 Berkshire
9 Basildon/Wickford 144,859 Essex
10 High Wycombe Urban Area 133,204 Buckinghamshire
11 Chelmsford 111,511 Essex
12 Basingstoke 107,642 Hampshire
13 Maidstone 107,627 Kent
14 Stevenage 90,232 Hertfordshire
15 Grays/Tilbury 89,755 Essex
16 Aylesbury 74,748 Buckinghamshire
17 Royal Tunbridge Wells 68,910 Kent
18 Maidenhead 64,831 Berkshire
19 Welwyn Urban Area 59,910 Hertfordshire
20 Reigate/Redhill 56,621 Surrey
21 Brentwood 52,586 Essex
22 Horsham 51,472 West Sussex
23 Sittingbourne 48,948 Kent
24 Amersham/Chesham 46,122 Buckinghamshire
25 Hertford/Ware 45,457 Hertfordshire
26 Letchworth/Baldock 43,529 Hertfordshire
27 Hatfield 41,677 Hertfordshire
28 Fleet 38,726 Hampshire
29 Tonbridge 38,657 Kent
30 Canvey Island 38,170 Essex
31 Bishop's Stortford 37,838 Hertfordshire
32 Leighton Buzzard 37,469 Bedfordshire
33 Billericay 36,338 Essex
34 Hitchin 36,099 Hertfordshire
35 Haywards Heath 33,845 West Sussex
36 Windsor/Eton 33,348 Berkshire
37 Burgess Hill 30,635 West Sussex
38 Harpenden 30,240 Hertfordshire
39 Sevenoaks 29,506 Kent
40 Stanford Le Hope/Corringham 28,725 Essex
41 Ditton 25,982 Kent
42 Godalming 22,689 Surrey
43 Potters Bar 22,639 Hertfordshire
44 New Addington 22,280 Greater London
45 Berkhamsted 21,997 Hertfordshire
46 Swanley 21,839 Kent
47 Gerrards Cross 20,633 Buckinghamshire
48 Crowborough 20,607 East Sussex

Outer Commuter Belt

Some estate agents, including James Pendleton [15] and Savills [16] have defined a 'second commuter belt' further out of London and the home counties. The definition includes places up to approximately 55 miles (89 km) out of central London including Oxford, Hastings, Margate, Milton Keynes and Brighton.

See also

Related Research Articles

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West Midlands conurbation Conurbation in England

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Travel to work area

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References

  1. ↑ "Greater South East needs strategic investment to secure future". London Development Agency. 18 June 2007. Archived from the original on 25 May 2011.
  2. ↑ London Assembly Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine – London in its Regional Setting (PDF)
  3. ↑ "Metropolitan Area Populations". Eurostat. 18 June 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2019.
  4. ↑ BBC News – The new commuter belt. 18 July 2006.
  5. ↑ Travel to Work Areas (TTWAs) Archived 1 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine Beginners' guide to UK geography, Office for National Statistics
  6. ↑ State of the Cities Database Report on the Urban Competitiveness Theme for: – London TTWA (LA) [ permanent dead link ] State of the Cities Database – Department for Communities and Local Government (Mid year population estimates on page 4 of the report)
  7. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 December 2011. Retrieved 30 November 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ↑ http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/regional-analysis/urban-audit/urban-audit-ii/urban-audit---social-cohesion--london.xls
  9. ↑ "British urban pattern: population data" (PDF). ESPON project 1.4.3 Study on Urban Functions. European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. p. 119. Archived from the original (pdf) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  10. ↑ "World Gazetteer: London - largest cities (per geographical entity)". 9 February 2013. Archived from the original on 9 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Distance between Aylesbury, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  12. ↑ "Distance between Maidstone, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  13. ↑ "Distance between Aldershot, UK and London, UK (UK)". distancecalculator.globefeed.com.
  14. 1 2 "2011 Census – Built-up areas". ONS . Retrieved 29 June 2013.
  15. ↑ https://www.loveproperty.com/news/72595/the-secrets-out-londons-new-commuter-belt-revealed
  16. ↑ White, Anna (20 May 2016). "Revealed: the 31 hotspots where house prices will surge now" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.

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