London Borough of Lambeth

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London Borough of Lambeth Shown within Greater London Geography Status London borough Area — Total Ranked 341st 26.82 km² ONS code 00AY Demographics Population: - Total () - Density Ranked {{EnglishDistrictRank / km² Ethnicity 62.4% White 25.8% Afro-Caribbean 4.8% Mixed Race 4.6% South Asian 1.3% Chinese Politics Lambeth London Borough Council http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/ Leadership Leader & Executive Mayor — Executive MPs Keith Hill Kate Hoey Tessa Jowell London Assembly — Member Lambeth and Southwark Valerie Shawcross

Arms of Lambeth London Borough Council

History

The London Borough of Lambeth was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and part of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth containing Streatham and Clapham.

Demographics

Locations and landmarks

Lambeth is a long, thin borough (approximately 3 miles wide and 7 miles long). It has no one single "town centre" as such. Great variety exists in the districts. The largest shopping areas are (in order of size) Streatham, Brixton, Vauxhall and Clapham.

In the northern end of the borough are the Central London districts of the South Bank and Lambeth which have a developing tourist economy while at the very south of the borough are the leafy suburbs of Gipsy Hill, Tulse Hill, West Dulwich and West Norwood. In between the two are built-up and inner-city districts of Brixton, Brixton Hill, Clapham, Clapham Park, Herne Hill, Stockwell and Kennington which are each at different stages of gentrification and have elements of suburban and urban settlement while Vauxhall and South Lambeth are central districts being redeveloped with high density business and residential properties. Streatham sits somewhere between suburban London and inner-city Brixton with the partly suburban and partly built-up areas of Streatham, Streatham Hill and Streatham Vale.

Parks and open spaces

• Archbishop's Park: adjacent to Lambeth Palace
• Brockwell Park: includes Brockwell Lido (public swimming area)
• Clapham Common: wholly maintained by Lambeth Borough, although the western half is situated in Wandsworth Borough
• Kennington Park: a wooded area, although it has sports facilities and gardens
• Norwood Park
• Streatham Common, including The Rookery formally landscaped area and open air theatre
• Vauxhall Park near The Oval cricket ground

Landmarks

Along and around the South Bank a tourist area has developed around the former GLC headquarters of County Hall and the Royal Festival Hall and National Theatre. Also on the river is the London Eye and Hayward Gallery. Nearby and still in the north of the borough is St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace and the Florence Nightingale Museum.

The borough has a high population density but there are open spaces and outdoor attractions including Brockwell Lido, Brixton Market, Clapham Common and the Oval cricket ground. There is also the Museum of Garden History on the South Bank as well as Streatham Common and West Norwood Cemetery in the south of the borough.

Transport

Bridges and tunnels

Waterloo station from the London Eye.

Stockwell war memorial and shelter

Stockwell

• Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges
• Lambeth Bridge
• Westminster Bridge
• Vauxhall Bridge

Railway stations

• Brixton railway station
• Clapham High Street railway station
• Gipsy Hill railway station
• Herne Hill railway station
• Loughborough Junction railway station
• Streatham railway station
• Streatham Common railway station
• Streatham Hill railway station
• Tulse Hill railway station
• Vauxhall station
• Waterloo station
• Wandsworth Road railway station
• West Norwood railway station

Lambeth areas

• Brixton
• Clapham
• Crystal Palace
• Herne Hill
• Kennington
• Lambeth
• Norwood
• Oval
• Stockwell
• Streatham
• Tulse Hill
• Vauxhall
• Waterloo

Tube stations

• Brixton tube station
• Clapham Common tube station
• Clapham North tube station
• Clapham South tube station
• Kennington tube station
• Lambeth North tube station
• Oval tube station
• Stockwell tube station
• Vauxhall station
• Waterloo station

Individuals associated with Lambeth

• Jeffrey Archer (politician, author)
• Linda Bellos (politician)
• William Blake
• Paul Boateng (politician and former civil rights lawyer)
• David Bowie (musician and actor)
• Charlie Chaplin (actor and director)
• Naomi Campbell (former supermodel)
• Dillinja (drum and bass DJ)
• Jeremy Hardy (alternative comedian)
• Keith Hill (politician)
• Kate Hoey (politician)
• Eddie Izzard (alternative comedian)
• Basement Jaxx (dance music act)
• Tessa Jowell (politician)
• Ken Livingstone (politician)
• John Major (former Prime Minister)
• Paul Merton (alternative comedian)
• Roger Moore (actor)
• John R. Pinniger (former councillor)
• John Scarlett (head of MI6)
• Henry Tate (sugar refiner and benefactor)

Christmas controversy

In November 2005, Lambeth London Borough Council became the centre of a controversy over the naming of the Christmas lights used in the annual festival "winter lights", and "Celebrity lights" [link]. This was interpreted by many as an overzealous attempt at political correctness, and was reported in several national newspapers, including the Daily Mail as an attempt to "ban Christmas". A spokesperson for the council, however, announced that "It was a junior-level decision and it happened to go into print which was an error."

External links

• [Lambeth.gov.uk] London Borough of Lambeth Official Website
• [conservatives.lambeth.com] Lambeth Conservatives
• [LambethLabour.com] Lambeth Labour Party
• [vauxhall.libdems.org.uk] Vauxhall Liberal Democrats
• [lambeth.greenparty.org.uk] Lambeth Green Party
• [electionmemory.com] Independent Lambeth Council Elections Forum
• [General information on parks and green spaces]
• [Detailed list of the main parks in Lambeth]

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