Satellite image of the inner part of West London
'West London' is the area of
Greater London to the west of the
central area. Although it is only ambiguously defined, it is one of the most economically active areas of
London outside of the centre, containing significant amounts of office space along with
Heathrow Airport and many of its associated businesses.
Definition
Definitions of this area are generally unofficial and can vary considerably, but generally include districts around the
M4 motorway corridor. The
inner London borough of
Hammersmith & Fulham and the
outer London boroughs of
Ealing and
Hounslow are most commonly associated with West London, as are
Kingston,
Richmond and
Hillingdon.
For strategic purposes such as planning, the more northerly boroughs of
Brent and
Harrow may also be included, although in everyday usage they would probably be considered either as part of
North London or as a distinct sector, North West London.
London planning documents such as the
London Plan refer to a strategic area called the "Western Wedge", which is intended to include West London and the
Thames Valley beyond. The Western Wedge is considered to begin around
Paddington and to fan along the M4/A4,
A40/
M40 and
A316/
M3 routes.
[1]
Geography & districts
West London is close to the
River Thames and is therefore generally flat, except at its northern edges. As with most parts of London, it is punctuated by numerous local centres of varying sizes, which evolved from older towns and villages connected to London by new railways before becoming absorbed by the expanding urban area.
Inner West London
Close to
central London is the traditionally fashionable and expensive residential area of
Notting Hill, made better known in
1999 by a
film of the same name starring
Hugh Grant and
Julia Roberts. The
Notting Hill Carnival is an annual event here led by members of the Caribbean community, many of whom have lived in the area since the 1950s. The carnival attracts up to 1.5 million people, making it the largest street festival in the world. Also within the area is the famous antique market at
Portobello Road.
Sometimes considered part of central London, the areas of
Kensington and
Chelsea are the most expensive places to live in the country. The area is also famous for the
Kings Road, a distinguished and attractive shopping street and thoroughfare.
Slightly further out than Notting Hill and Kensington is the
London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which is a mixture of employment with high-density residential areas, and is well-served by the
London Underground. Within the borough are the local centres of
Shepherd's Bush,
Hammersmith,
Fulham and
White City, the latter of which is the location of the principal operating centre for the
BBC, and the site of a vast new shopping complex due to open in 2007. Hammersmith has become an important office location in recent years, whilst Fulham is home to both
Chelsea and
Fulham football clubs and White City is home to
Queens Park Rangers.
Outer West London
Moving further out, the density drops slightly in well-off suburban areas such as
Chiswick. Further north,
Acton is another residential area,
Park Royal is a key light-industrial employment district and
Hanger Lane
Moving westwards still, many offices have located near the M4 in
Brentford, whilst
Ealing is a popular residential suburb to the west, home to well-established
Irish and
Polish communities.
[2] Wembley is a poorer area to the north and home to
England's national
football (soccer) stadium.
Other areas just in the Ealing borough include the built-up area are the districts of
Southall populated with a large Indian, Pakistani and Somali population, as well as the recent influx of Polish in the area,
Greenford and
Northolt. Further South includes
Hounslow. Further west includes
Hayes,
West Drayton and
Uxbridge although it is located at the end of West London.
On the edge of the urban area are
Heathrow Airport, which dominates employment in the area,
Hillingdon and
Uxbridge.
Transport
Three strategic radial road routes cross West London - the
A40 Western Avenue in the north serving Park Royal, Wembley and Uxbridge; the
A4/
M4 across the centre serving Hammersmith, Brentford and Heathrow; and the
A316 across the south serving Richmond and feeding into the
M3 motorway. All of these routes carry significant volumes of commuter traffic as well as freight. The
Uxbridge Road (
A4020) through Shepherd's Bush, Acton, Ealing, Southall and Uxbridge is also important for local traffic and public transport.
Although much local traffic around West London (particularly the outer areas) is dominated by car, flows to and from central London are primarily made by
public transport. The main public transport links are the
Central line,
District line and
Piccadilly line of
London Underground, and the suburban rail services of
First Great Western into
Paddington station and
South West Trains into
Waterloo station. Ealing, Kingston, Richmond and Hammersmith are probably the key public transport hubs, each being served by many buses and a number of different Underground or rail lines.
Given a high level of demand for public transport in West London, two main schemes have been proposed to address these -
Crossrail, a new cross-London railway service serving Ealing and Southall, and the
West London Tram, an on-street light rail line along the Uxbridge Road.
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