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Public > Greenery/Leisure
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Public > Greenery/Leisure
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Hyatt Regency London - The Churchill Hotel
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Public > Greenery/Leisure
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Culture/Sightseeing > Tourist Attractions/Landmarks/Buildings
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Culture/Sightseeing > Tourist Attractions/Landmarks/Buildings
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
Culture/Sightseeing > Public Square/Piazza
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of London
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of Westminster
Culture/Sightseeing > Public Square/Piazza
Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of Westminster
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of Westminster > Palace of Westminster
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > Newham
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Europe > United Kingdom > England > Greater London > City of Westminster
Introduction
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering the London region. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London and the 32 London boroughs. This territory has the same boundaries as the London Government Office Region and the London European Parliament constituency. The region has by far the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom. It covers 1,572 km (607 sq mi) and had a 2009 mid-year estimated population of 7,753,600. The term Greater London was in use before 1965 to refer to a variously defined area, larger than the County of London and often similar to the Metropolitan Police District.
In addition to its administrative and statistical functions, Greater London (excluding the City of London) is one of the 48 ceremonial counties of England, and is under the Greater London Lieutenancy.
History
Instead of forming a single political unit, London is divided into the small, interior City of London and the much wider Greater London. This arrangement has come about because as the area of London grew and absorbed neighbouring settlements, a series of administrative reforms did not fully amalgamate the City of London with the metropolitan area, and its unique political structure was retained. Outside the limited boundaries of the old city, a variety of arrangements governed the wider area since 1855, culminating with the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965.
Origins
The term Greater London had been used well before 1965, particularly to refer to the area covered by the Metropolitan Police District (such as in the 1901 census), the area of the Metropolitan Water Board (favoured by the London County Council for statistics), the London Passenger Transport Area and the area defined by the Registrar General as the Greater London Conurbation.
The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916. One of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles (4,810 km) and included 9 million people.
London County Council (1889-1965)
Although the London County Council had been created as a London-wide authority covering the County of London in 1889, the County did not even cover all the built-up area of London then, particularly West Ham and East Ham; furthermore many of the LCC housing projects, including the vast Becontree Estate, were constructed outside its formal boundaries.
London County Council pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan and City Police Districts there were 122 housing authorities. A Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. London County Council proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a proposed boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the Home Counties. Protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority.
The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCC's scheme. Two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a Central Authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission.
Greater London Council (1965-1986)
Reform of the local government arrangements in the County of London and its environs was again considered by the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London. Greater London was formally created by the London Government Act 1963, which took force on 1 April 1965, replacing the former administrative counties of Middlesex and London, adding the City of London, which was not under the London County Council, and absorbing parts of Kent, Surrey, Essex and Hertfordshire.
Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London borough councils. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Its functions were devolved to the Corporation and the London boroughs with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards.
Greater London Authority (1999-present)
Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994. A referendum held in 1998, established public will to create a strategic authority for Greater London. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999.
The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were both won by Ken Livingstone, who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were both won by Boris Johnson, the Conservative Party candidate. In 2000 the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary.
Geography
Greater London is bounded by the home counties of Essex and Hertfordshire in the East of England, and of Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Surrey and Kent in South East England. The highest point in Greater London is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 metres (804 ft).
The area of Greater London has not changed significantly since its creation. There have been a considerable number of small boundary changes. The most significant of these were the 1969 transfers of Knockholt to Kent and Farleigh to Surrey and a series of minor adjustments during the 1990s which realigned the boundary to the M25 motorway in some places. The majority of Greater London forms the London low emission zone from 4 February 2008.
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