London Borough of Harrow

London Borough of Harrow
London borough

Coat of arms
Council logo

Harrow shown within Greater London
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region London
Ceremonial county Greater London
Status London borough
Admin HQ Civic Centre
Station Road
Harrow
HA1 2XY
Created 1 April 1965
Government
 • Type London borough council
 • Body Harrow London Borough Council
 • Leadership Leader and Cabinet (Labour)
 • Mayor Cllr Ajay Maru
 • MPs Gareth Thomas
Bob Blackman
Nick Hurd
 • London Assembly Navin Shah AM for Brent and Harrow
 • EU Parliament London
Area
 • Total 19.49 sq mi (50.47 km2)
Area rank 270th (of 326)
Population (mid-2014 est.)
 • Total 246,011
 • Rank 62nd (of 326)
 • Density 13,000/sq mi (4,900/km2)
 • Ethnicity[1]

30.9% White British
3.1% White Irish
0.1% White Gypsy or Irish Traveller
8.2% Other White
1% White & Black Caribbean
0.4% White & Black African
1.4% White & Asian
1.1% Other Mixed
26.4% Indian
3.3% Pakistani
0.6% Bangladeshi
1.1% Chinese
11.3% Other Asian
3.6% Black African
2.8% Black Caribbean
1.8% Other Black
1.6% Arab

1.4% Other
 • ONS code 00AQ
Time zone GMT (UTC0)
 • Summer (DST) BST (UTC+1)
Postcodes HA, NW, UB
Area code(s) 020
Police force Metropolitan Police
Website www.harrow.gov.uk

The London Borough of Harrow /ˈhæroʊ/[2] is a London borough of north-west London, England. It borders Hertfordshire to the north and other London boroughs: Hillingdon to the west, Ealing to the south, Brent to the south-east and Barnet to the east. The local authority is Harrow London Borough Council.

History

Harrow within Middlesex in 1961

Harrow Urban District was formed in 1934 as an urban district of Middlesex by the Middlesex Review Order 1934, as a merger of the former area of Harrow on the Hill Urban District, Hendon Rural District and Wealdstone Urban District. The local authority was Harrow Urban District Council.

The urban district gained the status of municipal borough on 4 May 1954 and the urban district council became Harrow Borough Council. The 50th anniversary of the incorporation as a borough was celebrated in April 2004, which included a visit by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1965 the municipal borough was abolished and its former area was transferred to Greater London from Middlesex under the London Government Act 1963 to form the London Borough of Harrow. It is uniquely the only London borough to replicate exactly the unchanged boundaries of a single former district. This was probably because its population was large enough. According to the 1961 census it had a population of 209 080, making it the largest local government district in Middlesex.

Demographics

Affluency

The presence of Harrow School on the main 'hill' of Harrow has preserved the myth that it is an affluent, leafy area (recent house price averages on the hill were £1,500,000), but the affluence of the hill is now surrounded by typical north-west London suburbia of 1930s semi-detached houses and flats.

Some may consider it affluent in comparison to other similar areas of London but more recent studies are proving that there is increasing poverty. Crime figures are low; the borough had 2,618 notifiable offences in April 2009, compared with an average of 2,204 across London's boroughs.[3] Harrow Council is focusing regeneration efforts on areas such as Wealdstone and South Harrow and many new 'key service workers'-type flats are springing up. In the north part of the borough, there is a greenbelt strip of highly affluent housing in the areas of Northwood, Pinner and Stanmore.

Harrow is considered a borough of "contrasts", with high levels of affluence in such areas as Harrow-on-the-Hill, Pinner, and Stanmore and high levels of deprivation in Wealdstone and South Harrow. Save the Children reported in 2011 that over 7,000 children are living in poverty in the Borough.[4]

Location

Its site on and near the greenbelt and ease of access to central London (20 minutes by train to Marylebone and 12 minutes to Euston via London Midland) makes Harrow a good place to live not only for families but affluent singles as well. Rising property prices in all London areas have helped to see a large increase in property redevelopment of its existing Edwardian and 1920s to 1940s housing stock, which in turn is attracting new residents looking for a clean, safe, and relatively green environment to live in, close to central London.

Ethnicity

Harrow is a diverse borough, having 63.8% of its population from the BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities, with the largest group being of Indian ethnicity (specifically those from Gujarat and South India). The borough can also claim to have the largest concentration of Sri Lankan Tamils in the UK and Ireland as well as having the highest density of Gujarati Hindus in the UK.[5] Census data shows that the majority of Sri Lankan Tamils live in the areas of North Harrow, South Harrow and Rayners Lane. Indians are mostly in the eastern Kenton and Queensbury areas.

Wards with the highest white British population were:

The lowest wards meanwhile were:

Since 2005, on the last Sunday in June Harrow Council hosts Under One Sky - Harrow's largest festival, to celebrate and the joint communities of Harrow. This has a programme of dance, world music, sports activity, youth music, spoken word, free children's activity, a carnival parade, information and stalls, health promotion, a world food zone and outside radio broadcast.

Religion

Harrow is the most religiously diverse local authority area in the UK, with a 62% chance that two random people are from different religions, according to Office for National Statistics, October 2006.[6] According to the 2011 census 25.3% of Harrow's population identified themselves as Hindu - the highest in the UK. A large number of Jewish people live in Stanmore and Hatch End. The Stanmore and Canons Park Synagogue boasts the largest membership of any single synagogue in the whole of Europe.[7]

As per the 2011 census, Harrow has a larger than average Jewish, Hindu and Muslim population.

Religion Harrow
%		 National
%
Christianity 37.3 59.4
Hinduism 25.3 1.5
Islam 12.5 5.0
Judaism 4.4 0.5
No religion 9.6 24.7
Religion not stated 15.4 7.2
Other

It was shown a national detailed Land Use Survey by the Office for National Statistics in 2005 that the London Borough of Harrow had the second highest proportion of land being domestic gardens: 34.7% of all 326 districts in England; this compared with the London Borough of Sutton's 35.1% (highest proportion nationally) and Bournemouth's 34.6%.[8]

Arts and culture

The first and only contemporary artist-led gallery in Harrow was set up in 2010 by the Usurp Art Collective. The space is called the Usurp Art Gallery & Studios and is based in West Harrow, a bohemian part of Harrow. Usurp Art provides professional support to artists and runs the only public artists studios in the borough. It is a flagship project for Arts Council England.[9][10][11][12]

Economy

Major employers include Kodak,[13] the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital and Ladbrokes, which has its headquarters in Harrow.[14]

Sport and leisure

The London Borough of Harrow has one League 2 football club: Barnet F.C., who moved to The Hive Stadium from the neighbouring London Borough of Barnet in 2013; and three non-League clubs: Wealdstone FC who play at The Vale, Harrow Borough F.C. who play at Earlsmead Stadium and Rayners Lane F.C. who play at the Tithe Farm Social Club. Five of the 30 cricket clubs which play in the Middlesex County Cricket League are based in the London Borough of Harrow: Harrow, Harrow St Mary's, Harrow Town, Kenton and Stanmore. Hatch End Cricket Club previously played at Shaftesbury playing fields in Hatch End but following an arson attack on their clubhouse and a subsequent failure to raise enough funds to build a new one, the club moved to Elstree in 2011.

Harrow also has a professional rugby league team, London Broncos, who compete in the Kingstone Press Championship, the second tier of British rugby league after being relegated from the Super League in 2014 after 20 consecutive seasons in the top tier. The Broncos play at The Hive Stadium the home of Barnet F.C..

Governance

A map showing the wards of Harrow since 2002

Harrow is divided into 21 wards, each represented by three councillors on Harrow London Borough Council. After the most recent council elections, the borough is controlled by the Labour party. The number of councillors are as follows: Labour 34 Conservative 26, Independent 2, Liberal Democrat 1.[15]

Education

The borough is often perceived as having a good educational record, and features many state-funded primary and secondary schools as well as a handful of large tertiary colleges. For a long time the secondary schools of Harrow did not feature integrated sixth-form education, with all school leavers having to join the large tertiary colleges such as Harrow College, Stanmore College or St Dominic's Sixth Form College. There have been critics of the tertiary colleges, with many arguing the standard of education does not continue the standard set by the Borough's secondary schools. Indeed, Harrow suffers a significant number of pupils leaving the Borough for their tertiary education. However, as of 2005-2006 session, select Harrow secondary schools introduced sixth forms in the hope to retain more of the pupils and to provide them an alternative to the large tertiary colleges. From September 2010, the primary sector will be modified to enable transfer to secondary education at age 11 in line with other London Boroughs.[16]

The Borough has a Music Service which provides instrumental tuition for 15% of all Harrow state sector pupils (the national figure is 8% of all state pupils receiving instrumental tuition) and a range of ensemble opportunities for pupils.[17]

The independent schools of the Borough are dominated by the presence of Harrow School and John Lyon School for boys and North London Collegiate School which consistently rank as among the best schools in the country. Notable independent primary schools include Orley Farm School and Reddiford School, both of which are co-educational.

There are also a number of voluntary aided schools in the Borough. These include: Salvatorian College (Roman Catholic, Boys), Sacred Heart Language College (Roman Catholic, Girls) and Moriah Jewish Day School (Jewish, Co-ed).

There are two special needs high schools; Kingsley High School (Co-ed) and Shaftesbury High School (Co-ed).

Other state secondary schools in the London Borough of Harrow are: Bentley Wood High School (Girls); Canons High School (Co-ed); Harrow High School (Co-ed); Hatch End High School (Co-ed); Nower Hill High School (Co-ed); Park High School (Co-ed); Rooks Heath College(Co-ed); Whitmore High School (Co-ed). Mountview High School in Wealdstone - a comprehensive school formed out of Whitefriars Secondary Modern in the early 1970s - closed in 1986 with the site being partially redeveloped into industrial units. The catchment area was dispersed between Nower Hill and Hatch End Schools.

Middle schools include Whitchurch Middle School.

GCSE examination performance
SchoolA*-C Pass Rate
2008		A*-C Pass Rate
2009		A*-C Pass Rate
2010		English Baccalaureate
Pass Rate
2010		A*-C Pass Rate
2011		English Baccalaureate
Pass Rate
2011
Bentley Wood High School59%58%61%30%69%36%
Canons High School49%46%54%2%52%12%
Harrow High School52%43%31%5%35%3%
Hatch End High School51%59%55%24%49%20%
Nower Hill High School68%57%79%27%78%16%
Park High School66%72%66%15%71%23%
Rooks Heath College37%42%52%11%48%12%
Sacred Heart College76%86%77%53%84%59%
Salvatorian College67%67%74%27%73%26%
Whitmore High School65%64%60%35%70%40%
Average for London Borough of Harrow57.7%60.8%60.7%22.6%tbatba
Average for England47.6%50.7%55.2%15.1%tbatba
Pupil Exclusions 2007/2008

The London Borough of Harrow has one of the highest pupil exclusion rates in Greater London, coming second to the London Borough of Croydon.

SchoolNo. of Permanent Exclusions SchoolNo. of One-term Exclusions
Nower Hill High School0 Bentley Wood High School68
Bentley Wood High School1 Canons High School68
Harrow High School1 Nower Hill High School70
Rooks Heath High School3 Park High School71
Whitmore High School4 Whitmore High School75
Park High School4 Salvatorian College87
Salvatorian College5 Harrow High School135
Hatch End High School10 Rooks Heath High School161
Canons High School11 Hatch End High School230

Note: The figures for Sacred Heart High School are not included.

Source: Harrow Observer[19] The London Borough of Harrow claim that these are the latest figures available.

All of Harrow's pupils have the chance to be elected onto the Harrow Youth Parliament. This is a group of around 50 young people in the Borough who come together to work on projects that benefit other young people. They are also the official youth voice for the Council and are in constant communication with the Council on all youth matters.

Notable residents

Crime

 HARROW COUNCILENGLAND AVERAGE
Population215,000-
Households83,000-
Violence against the person18.615.0
Sexual offences0.90.9
Robbery offences2.51.0
Burglary dwelling offences7.44.3
Theft of a vehicle offences2.62.3
Theft from a vehicle offences7.46.3

Districts and postcodes

Transport

London bus route 32, 79, 92, 107, 114, 140, 142, 182, 183, 186, 204, 223, 251, 258, 282, 288, 292, 302, 303, 324, 340, 395, 398, 487, H9, H10, H11, H12, H13, H14, H17, H18, H19, night route N5, N16, N18 and N98.

The numerous National Rail, London Overground and London Underground stations in the borough are:

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were: driving a car or van, 27.5% of all residents aged 16–74; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 5.9%; bus, minibus or coach, 5.9%; train, 4.5%; on foot, 4.3%; work mainly at or from home, 3.5%; passenger in a car or van, 1.6%.[20]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 2011 Census: Ethnic group, local authorities in England and Wales, Office for National Statistics (2012). See Classification of ethnicity in the United Kingdom for the full descriptions used in the 2011 Census.
  2. ↑ Wells, John C. (2008), Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.), Longman, p. 368, ISBN 9781405881180
  3. ↑ Police web site download in Excel format Archived 5 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Brady, Tara (17 Mar 2011). "'Thousands of Brent children in severe poverty'". Harrow Observer. Archived from the original on 20 Mar 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  5. ↑ London against gun and knife crime
  6. ↑ . National Statistics. Retrieved 8 October 2006.
  7. ↑ Jewish Agency
  8. ↑ Physical Environment: Land Use Survey 2005 published alongside the data of the 2011 census see Physical Environment.
  9. ↑ http://press.artscouncil.org.uk/Press-Releases/New-art-gallery-opens-in-Harrow-3cc.aspx
  10. ↑ http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-news/local-harrow-news/2010/02/15/new-art-gallery-for-west-harrow-116451-25838581/
  11. ↑ http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-lifestyle/arts-exhibitions-london/2012/01/05/usurp-art-gallery-looks-to-the-future-116451-30058701/
  12. ↑ http://instituteformodern.co.uk/author/marq/page/3
  13. ↑ Bruce Thain (16 December 2013). "Kodak: 123 years of history in Harrow". Harrow Times. Retrieved 30 March 2014. After more than a century in the borough Kodak has announced it is set to stay.... Kodak has sold off large parts of the Harrow site for development.
  14. ↑ Draft Core Strategy Retrieved on 20 October 2013.
  15. ↑ List of Harrow Councillors at www.harrow.gov.uk
  16. ↑ "School reorganisation to change the ages of transfer". London borough of Harrow. 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  17. ↑
  18. ↑ Department for Education for England
  19. ↑ Karen Kannair
  20. ↑ "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.

External links

Coordinates: 51°34′N 0°20′W / 51.567°N 0.333°W / 51.567; -0.333

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