Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

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Geography
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Shown within Greater London
Status	London borough Royal borough
Area — Total	Ranked Ranked 353rd 12.13 km²
ONS code	00AW
Admin HQ	Kensington
Demographics
Population — Total (2005 est.) — Density	Ranked 67th (of 354) 196,200 16,175 / km²
Ethnicity	70.5% White 7.0% Afro-Caribbean 5.1% American 4.9% South Asian 3.0% French 1.6% Chinese
Politics
Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
Mayor	Cllr Tim Ahern
Executive	Conservative
MPs	Karen Buck (Lab) Malcolm Rifkind (Con)
London Assembly — Member	West Central Angie Bray (Con)
Coat of Arms

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

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (often abbreviated to RBKC) is a London borough in the west side of central London.

It is an urban area and was named in the 2001 census as the most densely populated local authority in the United Kingdom, with a population of 158,919 at 13,244 per square kilometre (the land area is approximately 12 square kilometres).

The borough is immediately to the west of the City of Westminster, which is at the heart of modern London, and itself contains a substantial number of city centre facilities such as major museums and universities (in "Albertopolis"), department stores like Harrods, and embassies. It also contains many of the most exclusive residential districts in London.

1 History
2 Districts in Kensington and Chelsea
3 Demographics
4 Politics
5 Education
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

It was created in 1965 from the former boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea. Kensington's Royal Borough status was inherited by the new borough. The new borough was originally to be called just 'Kensington' - the inclusion of Chelsea was locally supported.^[1]

[edit] Districts in Kensington and Chelsea

The borough includes the areas of:

Brompton
Chelsea
Earl's Court
Holland Park
Kensington
North Kensington
Notting Hill
South Kensington
West Brompton
- see also Kensington and Chelsea parks and open spaces

[edit] Demographics

According to the 2001 census, the borough has a population of 158,919. It is 79% white, 4% Black African and 3% Black Caribbean. 44% of households are owner–occupiers.

As of October 2004, statistics released [1] by the Office for National Statistics show that life expectancy at birth for females in Kensington and Chelsea was 84.8 years in 2001-2003, the highest in the United Kingdom. Male life expectancy at birth for the same period was 79.8 years, third highest in the UK. The figures for Kensington and Chelsea during 1991-1993 were significantly lower: 73.0 years for males (ranking 301st in the nation) and 80.0 for females (ranking 129th).

Kensington & Chelsea's affluence is demonstrated by the fact that it has the largest number of high-earners (over £60,000) of any local government district in the country — 16.6% [2]. It has the highest number of workers in the financial sector and the lowest number working in the retail sector.

[edit] Politics

Originally two separate metropolitan boroughs with their own town halls and administrations, it has today a single united local government authority, the Kensington & Chelsea London Borough Council, based in Kensington. One of its more notable (or notorious) Leaders was Nicholas Freeman, who was Leader from 1977 until 1989.

The borough is divided between two constituencies represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom: