London Borough of Hounslow


The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in West London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller Middlesex council areas amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
The borough stretches from near Central London in the east to the border with Surrey in the west, covering five major towns: Chiswick, Brentford, Isleworth, Hounslow and Feltham; it borders the boroughs of Richmond upon Thames, Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Hillingdon, in addition to the Spelthorne district of Surrey.
The Borough is home to the London Museum of Water & Steam and the attractions of Osterley Park, Gunnersbury Park, Syon House, and Chiswick House. Moreover, landmarks straddling the border of Hounslow include; Twickenham Stadium and London Heathrow Airport in the London Boroughs of Richmond-upon-Thames and Hillingdon respectively.

List of Districts in Hounslow

Settlement

The borough's area is approximately quarter parkland. Large areas of London's open space fall within its boundaries, including Chiswick House and Gardens, Gunnersbury Park, Syon Park, Osterley Park, Hounslow Heath, Avenue Park in Cranford; and Hanworth Park. The borough's predominant land use is mainly residential, with a large, commercial town centre of Hounslow. Other large town centres include Chiswick, Feltham and Brentford. Business is mainly focused on retail; and aviation especially in the west of the borough. Parts of the Borough; including Chiswick, Turnham Green, Osterley and Old Isleworth are some of the most expensive parts of Outer London. With other areas such as Hounslow, Feltham and Heston being more affordable.

Economy

The borough is home to the headquarters of GlaxoSmithKline and Sky plc, both based in Brentford's 'Golden Mile' stretch of the A4 Great West Road, and several supermarket outlets once known across the globe for its cluster of factories and offices, and is currently going under extensive re developments in the form of new apartment blocks and offices. Fuller's Griffin Brewery is also in the borough, in Chiswick. Aston Martin were based in Feltham for several years before moving to Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire.
DHL Air UK has its head office in Hounslow.
Air France-KLM's head office for United Kingdom and Ireland operations, which includes facilities for Air France and KLM, is located in Plesman House in Hatton Cross in the borough. The Plesman House, outside of Terminal 4 of London Heathrow Airport, has the UK commercial team, sales team, and support team. Sega Europe has its head office in Brentford. Menzies Aviation has its head office by the airport in Feltham. JCDecaux UK has its head office in Brentford.
Before winding-up British Mediterranean Airways was headquartered at Hetherington House near London Heathrow Airport
A 2017 study by and found that pay inequality in Hounslow is the second largest of any London borough. It also found that 25% people in Hounslow live in poverty, which is slightly lower than the London-wide poverty rate of 27%.

Demography

53.3% of the borough's population is White, 34.4% is Asian, and 11.6% is Black. The Borough has a high ethnic diversity especially in the central parts of the borough with the majority of the White British population residing in the eastern and western parts of the borough.
In terms of religion, 42% identify themselves as Christian, 14% Muslim, 10.3% Hindu, 9% Sikh, 1.4% Buddhist and 0.3% Buddhist, 18% of the population are not religious.. At 9%, Hounslow has the largest proportion of Sikhs in London, and the third-highest in England before Slough and Wolverhampton.
The following table shows the ethnic group of respondents in the 2001 and 2011 census in Hounslow.

Ethnicity

Attractions, parks and open spaces

Major parks and recreational spaces include; Chiswick Gardens, Chiswick common, Turnham Green, Gunnersbury Park, Gunnersbury Triangle Nature reserve, Carville Hall Parks, Claypond Garden, Boston Manor Park, London Playing field, Syon Park, Osterley Park, Thornbury Park, Lampton Park, Inwood Park, Heston Sports Ground, Hounslow Heath, Avenue Park, Crane Park, Letrim Park, Hanworth Park and Bedfont Lakes Country Park. Parks that are a short distance from Hounslow's border are; Ravenscourt Park, Acton Green common, Acton Park, Ealing common, Elthorne Parkin the London Borough of Ealing, Cranford Park in the London Borough of Hillingdon, Hampton common, Fulwell Golf club, Crane Park, Murray Park, Kew Gardens, Old Deer Park, Marble Hill Park, Richmond Park, Ham Lands, Bushy Park and Hampton Court in the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames.
The River Thames forms the natural boundary between Hounslow and Richmond-upon-Thames. It runs through the borough at Chiswick, Brentford and Isleworth. Various tributaries and dis tributaries of the Thames flow through the borough, including; The River Crane, River Brent/Grand Union Canal, Duke of Northumberland's River, Longford River and the Feltham Hill Brook to name a few.

Political composition

Elections across the London Boroughs are currently held every four years. Since the Hounslow borough was formed it has been controlled by the Labour Party on all but two elections: in 1968 the Conservatives formed a majority until they lost control to Labour in 1971. The 2006 local elections produced a no overall control result. Although Labour was the largest party on the Council, the Conservatives formed a coalition with the six Councillors from the independent Isleworth Community Group which administered the area until the 2010 local elections when Labour regained control.
Seat distribution as of 2018 elections:
Reflecting how votes were cast in the national elections, in separate polls held the same day, for the 2010-2014 period, the Conservatives and Labour won fifteen seats each from the Brentford and Isleworth. Overall, control was held by the Council's Labour administration as 20 Labour Party Councillors and 10 Conservative Party Councillors were elected for wards in the Feltham and Heston half of the borough.
Between 1998 and 2006 Independents were elected to the London Borough of Hounslow from the area. The first Independent Community Group Councillor was elected in 1998 as Isleworth Community Group in Isleworth. In 2002 three ICG Councillors were elected in Isleworth. In 2006 six ICG Councillors were elected, and former Labour Leader of the Council John Connelly was re-elected as an Independent in Hounslow Heath ward. All seven of the Independents were defeated in the local elections held on 6 May 2010 by, in their respective wards, Labour Party candidates. Since then one Conservative councillor has become an Independent and four Conservative Councillors have defected to UKIP.

History

Etymology

The town of Hounslow, which has existed since the 13th Century, is located at the centre of the Borough of Hounslow. The name Hounslow means 'Hund's mound'; the personal name Hund is followed by the Old English hlaew meaning mound or barrow. It was recorded in the Domesday Book as Honeslaw.

Foundations

The borough was formed in 1965, under the London Government Act 1963, by the merger of the area of the Municipal Borough of Brentford and Chiswick, The Municipal Borough of Heston and Isleworth and Feltham Urban District of Middlesex.
The Borough is an outer borough of Greater London and lies on the Middlesex bank of the River Thames. It is the site of the first stop on an important coach route to Southampton, Bath, Bristol and Exeter. The A30 Great South West Road, which runs down to Penzance in Cornwall, starts in the borough. Hounslow town developed on either side of the main Great West Road from London to the West of England, causing a large number of inns to be built to serve the travellers. A few, such as The Bell retain their names, although the buildings have largely been replaced. The Bell marks the former junction of the coaching routes of the A314 Hanworth Road, A315 Staines Road, A3005 Lampton Road and the A3006 Bath Road. Historic milestones are preserved on the Staines Road
Hounslow grew rapidly in the latter half of the 20th century due to other travel, a connection to the largest of London's airports since the 1940s, Heathrow Airport which is in the Hounslow post town. Little known is that aviation dates to the early 1900s here when one of London's earliest airfields was situated on Hounslow Heath because of the extremely flat terrain. The Great West Road, which crosses the borough from Chiswick to Heathrow, at one time served nationally and globally famous manufacturers including Firestone, Gillette and Coty. As a result, the area became known as the "Golden Mile". A few of these factory sites remain today, such as Gillette Corner, and the Great West Road is still home to many prestigious names, providing them with easy non-motorway access between Slough, London Heathrow Airport and Central London.

Transport

Air

Hounslow abuts the perimeter of Heathrow Airport in the London Borough of Hillingdon. Plans for the expansion of Heathrow Airport are vigorously opposed by Hounslow if such plans increase or widen noise and pollution, weighed against arguments of greater employment and spending.

River

River services between Westminster Pier and Hampton Court depart from Kew Gardens Pier just across the River Thames from Hounslow.

Road

Major roads in the Borough include:
The Borough is served by South Western Railway; Mainline and Hounslow Loop Line and London Overground's North London Line. Moreover, the Borough's residents use railway stations just outside the Borough's boundaries which are served by the Great Western Main Line, Heathrow Express and in the future Elizabeth line. In addition to this it is also served by London Underground's District and Piccadilly lines. Because of numerous rail links, the borough has fast connections to Central London, Heathrow Airport and the rest of Greater London.
The stations in or near the Borough are:
Shared with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham:
Shared with the London Borough of Richmond-upon-Thames:
Shared with the London Borough of Ealing:
Solely serving the London Borough of Hounslow:
Shared with the London Borough of Hillingdon:
*Indicates station is not in the Borough

Travel to work

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were :

Football Clubs

The borough of Hounslow has several Non-League football clubs:
The borough is also home to Staines Rugby Football Club who play at the "Reeves" in Hanworth.

Twinning

Hounslow has a sister district agreement with Leningradsky District in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.

People from Hounslow

, vocalist for Deep Purple, and formerly of Black Sabbath and Gillan, is a native of Hounslow. Alistair Overeem a UFC Champion was also born here.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Hounslow.

Individuals