London Borough of Lewisham

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Geography
London Borough of Lewisham
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough
Area — Total	Ranked 329th 35.15 km²
ONS code	00AZ
Admin HQ	Catford
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 41st (of 354) 247,500 7,041 / km²
Ethnicity	65.9% White 23.4% African-Caribbean 3.8% South Asian 1.4% Chinese
Politics
Leadership	Mayor & Cabinet
Mayor	Steve Bullock
Executive	Labour mayor
MPs	Jim Dowd Bridget Prentice Joan Ruddock
London Assembly — Member	Greenwich and Lewisham Len Duvall
Coat of Arms

Official website	http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/

The London Borough of Lewisham is a London borough in south east London, England and forms part of Inner London. The principal settlement of the borough is Lewisham and its council is based at Catford.

1 History
2 Geography and Landmarks
- 2.1 Demographics
3 Civic affairs
4 Politics
- 4.1 Council of the London Borough of Lewisham
- 4.2 Westminster Parliament
5 Transport and Places
6 Famous current and former residents
7 References
8 External links

The borough was formed in 1965, by the London Government Act 1963, as an amalgamation of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Lewisham and the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford, which had been created in 1900 as divisions of the County of London.^[1]

Minor boundary changes have occurred since its creation with the most significant amendments in 1996 when the former area of the Royal Docks in Deptford was transferred from the London Borough of Greenwich.^[2]

The borough is surrounded by the London Borough of Greenwich to the east, the London Borough of Bromley to the south and the London Borough of Southwark to the west. The River Thames forms a short section of northern boundary with the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Deptford Creek, Pool River, River Quaggy and River Ravensbourne pass through the borough.

Major landmarks include All Saints Church in Blackheath, the Citibank Tower in Lewisham, Dietrich Bonhoeffer Church (Sydenham's German Church, technically located in Forest Hill) and the Horniman Museum in Forest Hill.

According to the 2001 census, Lewisham has a population of 248,922. Its population is 66% White, 12% Black Caribbean, and 9% Black African. Fifty percent of households are owner-occupiers.

The motto of the borough is "Salus Populi Suprema Lex" which means (roughly translated) "The Welfare of the People is the Highest Law".

The current Chief Executive is Barry Quirk. The borough is administered by the five directorates of the council: Children and Young People, Community Services, Customer Services, Resources, and Regeneration.

The borough is twinned with the following towns:

The borough has also signed a "friendship link" with Ekurhuleni, near Johannesburg, South Africa.

The honour of Freedom of the Borough has been awarded to:

Alan Milner Smith OBE (9 Dec 1971)
Frederick William Winslade (28 Nov 1975)
Daisy Amelia Elizabeth Hurren (10 Oct 1985)
Alfred Anderson Hawkins (30 Mar 1990)
The Most Reverend Desmond Mpilo Tuto (4 May 1990)
Terence Hardy Waite CBE (16 Nov 1992)
Sybil Theodora Phoenix MBE MS (8 Mar 1996)
Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders OM OBE FRCP (10 Mar 2000)

Summary of council election results:

	Overall control	Labour	Lib Dem	Green	Conservative	Others
2006	No overall control	26	17	6	3	2
2002	Labour	45	4	1	2	2
1998	Labour	61	4	-	2	-
1994	Labour	63	3	-	1	-
1990	Labour	58	3	-	6	-
1986	Labour	50	-	-	17	-
1982	Labour	43	-	-	24	-
1978	Labour	44	-	-	23	-
1974	Labour	51	-	-	9	-
1971	Labour	55	-	-	5	-
1968	Conservative	19	-	-	41	-
1964	Labour	45	-	-	15	-

Main article: Lewisham local elections

Unlike most English districts, its council is led by a directly-elected mayor. The system was established at the 2002 council elections and has now run for two mayoral elections, both of which Steve Bullock has won for the Labour party.

The borough includes the constituencies of Lewisham, Deptford, Lewisham West and Lewisham East

These are the MPs who have represented constituencies covered by the borough since its formation in 1964. Note that constituencies change their boundaries over time, even where names remain the same.

MP	Party	Represented	Dates
Christopher Chataway	Conservative	Lewisham North	1964-66
James Dickens	Labour	Lewisham West	1966-70
Jim Dowd	Labour	Lewisham West	1992-present
John Selwyn Gummer	Conservative	Lewisham West	1970-74(Feb)
Carol Johnson	Labour	Lewisham South	1964-74(Feb)
Patrick McNair-Wilson	Conservative	Lewisham West	1964-66
John Maples	Conservative	Lewisham West	1983-92
Roland Moyle	Labour	Lewisham North Lewisham East	1966-74(Feb) 1974(Feb)-79
Colin Moynihan	Conservative	Lewisham East	1983-92
Bridget Prentice	Labour	Lewisham East	1992-present
Christopher Price	Labour	Lewisham West	1974(Feb)-79
Joan Ruddock	Labour	Lewisham, Deptford	1987-present
John Silkin	Labour	Deptford Lewisham, Deptford	1964-74(Feb) 1974(Feb)-87

Lewisham station, once known as Lewisham Junction, is located at the junction of the lines to Dartford and Hayes and is also the terminus of the southern branch of the Docklands Light Railway. The East London Line currently terminates at New Cross and New Cross Gate. An extension, currently under construcitons, and to be known as the East London Railway when complete, will serve Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill, and Sydenham. It will form part of the London Overground.

The South Circular Road passes through the centre of the borough from the border with Dulwich in the west to Eltham in the east. Except for a short section in Lee as it approaches Eltham, it is purely comprised of one-lane-each-way road.

It includes the areas: