Royal Borough of Greenwich

The borough's population in 2011 was 254,557.[8] 52.3% of the community defined themselves as White British. The largest minority groups represented were of Black and Asian heritage.

Approximately 44,500 international migrants arrived in the Royal Borough between the years 2001 and 2011.[9] Of these, 25% arrived from EU member states, 24.5% arrived from central and western Africa, and 18.9% arrived from southern Asia.[9] The most common country of birth in this period was Nigeria.[9]

The Royal Borough in 2015 had a general fertility rate of 72.7 live births per 1,000 aged 15–44, higher than the London average of 63.9 and the England average of 62.5.[9]

The Royal Observatory at left and the Queen's House right of centre

Central Greenwich Town contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site centred on Christopher Wren's Royal Naval College and the Old Royal Observatory.

The 2013/14 Mayor was Cllr Angela Cornforth. The 2014/15 Mayor was Cllr M Hayes. The 2015/16 Mayor was Cllr Norman Adams.[13] The 2016/17 Mayor is Cllr Olu Babatola, the first African born individual to be elected to the office.[14]

Shaped like an astrolabe, the 18-carat gold badge on the Mayor's chain embodies the time-ball on the principal building of the old Greenwich Royal Observatory, the meridian line, and lines of latitude and longitude. The ‘time-ball’ is set with small rubies.

The Executive is composed of ten Labour members, led by Cllr Danny Thorpe(Shooters Hill ward) who has been Leader of the Council since 2018.

Arms were originally granted to the London Borough by letters patent dated 1 October 1965.[15] Although much of the 1965 design has been retained, the arms have been altered in 2012 by the addition of a representation of the Thames. In addition a crest and supporters were added to the arms.[16]

The Woolwich Buddy Bear

The Royal Borough of Greenwich is twinned with:

• – Reinickendorf, Berlin, Germany (since 1965). The initiative of the twinning with this Berlin borough dates from the times of the Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich. A London telephone box and a red pillar box beside Lake Tegel were gifted by Greenwich borough. A Berlin Buddy Bear in General Gordon Square (Woolwich) commemorates the 50th anniversary of the twinning.[17]
• – Maribor, Slovenia (since 1966).[17] The 50th anniversary of the town twinning with Slovenia's second largest city was celebrated with a ballet performance in Woolwich Town Hall and the revealing of a plaque in the renamed Maribor Park in the Royal Arsenal.[18]
• – Tema, Ghana (since 2000). The town twinning with Tema has led to the opening of Tema's first Information Technology Centre (by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2000), the gifting of a mobile ICT learning centre to Tema (2005), the shipping of a converted Greenwich council passenger services bus, packed with books for school libraries and second-hand computers, as well as regular youth exchanges between Greenwich and Tema.[17]

Map showing the borders of London Borough of Greenwich and its 17 wards

Greenwich London Borough Council comprises 51 councillors. The Labour Party currently has an overall majority on the council, holding 43 seats, with the Conservatives holding 8. Labour has had a majority on the council since 1971.

There are 17 wards in Greenwich:

• Abbey Wood
• Blackheath-Westcombe
• Charlton
• Coldharbour and New Eltham
• Eltham North
• Eltham South
• Eltham West
• Glyndon
• Greenwich West
• Peninsula
• Kidbrooke with Hornfair
• Middlepark and Sutcliffe
• Plumstead
• Shooters Hill
• Thamesmead Moorings
• Woolwich Common
• Woolwich Riverside

The borough contains the constituencies of:

• Eltham
• Erith and Thamesmead (shared with the London Borough of Bexley)
• Greenwich and Woolwich

Since the 2010 General Election, all three are represented by Labour MPs.

Greenwich Community College is the main publicly funded provider of further education in the borough, offering a range of academic and vocational courses and qualifications. Anglian College London is a private college offering further and higher education courses to students from around London and overseas. In September 2013, The Royal Borough of Greenwich Equestrian Centre – a partnership between Hadlow College and the Royal Borough of Greenwich – opened. At present it offers Level 1 and Level 2 qualifications in horse care, as well as a range of part-time qualifications and a BSc (Hons) degree in Equine Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation. In September 2010 Ravensbourne opened its new campus at Greenwich Peninsula.[19]

The University of Greenwich main campus is located in the distinctive buildings of the former Royal Naval College. There is a further campus of the university at Avery Hill in Eltham, and also, outside the borough, in Medway. The Faculty of Music of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, (formerly known as Trinity College of Music) is also housed in the buildings of the former Greenwich Hospital.

There are foot tunnels under the River Thames between Greenwich and Island Gardens in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and between Woolwich and North Woolwich in the London Borough of Newham. The Woolwich Ferry takes vehicle traffic and links the North Circular Road to the South Circular Road which runs through the borough. A cable car crossing linking Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks opened on 28 June 2012.[21]

The Thames Clippers commuter ferry service runs from Woolwich to Canary Wharf and the City.

• Abbey Wood
• Blackheath
• Charlton
• Eltham
• Greenwich
• Kidbrooke
• Maze Hill
• Mottingham
• New Eltham
• Plumstead
• Westcombe Park
• Woolwich Arsenal
• Woolwich Dockyard

All stations are served by Southeastern.

Crossrail stations are currently under construction at Woolwich and Abbey Wood.

North Greenwich on the Jubilee line is the only London Underground station in the borough and was opened recently in 1999. The DLR serves Greenwich more extensively and a list of the stations is below:

• Cutty Sark (DLR)
• Deptford Bridge (DLR)
• Elverson Road (DLR)
• Greenwich (DLR)
• Woolwich Arsenal (DLR)

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were driving a car or van, 17.5% of all residents aged 16–74; train, 10.2%; bus, minibus or coach, 10.2%; underground, metro, light rail, tram, 9.7%; on foot, 4.1%; work mainly at or from home, 2.5%; and bicycle, 1.5%.[22]

Tourism is becoming an increasingly important factor in Greenwich's economy. In 2015, 18.5 million people are expected to visit the borough for a day or more, generating over £1.2 billion; this figure is expected to increase by more than 25% by 2018. Evidence of the tourism boom includes the construction of a 452-room InterContinental Hotel near the O2 Arena (opening in 2015) and London's first cruise ship terminal, at Enderby Wharf (opening 2017). Apart from the many museums and historic buildings in Greenwich town and Greenwich Park, the main tourist attractions are the Cutty Sark, The O2 Arena, Emirates Air Line (cable car), Eltham Palace (which expected over 100,000 visitors in 2015), Charlton House and the Thames Barrier. In addition, the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich is starting to promote itself as a tourist attraction.[23]

The borough contains the Greenwich Royal Park. A small part of the Metropolitan Green Belt is within the borough.

The O₂ (formerly the Millennium Dome) is located on the Greenwich Peninsula. It includes an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants.