Walthamstow Marshes, June 2007. Author: Iridescenti
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Location Waltham Forest, London
  • News What do we think of when we think of luxury? A Walthamstow cafe that does magic with salvaged surplus food profoundly answers the question, The Daily Alternative (Feb 07, 2023)

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The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is an outer London borough formed in 1965 from the merger of the municipal boroughs of Leyton, Walthamstow and Chingford.

The borough's administrative headquarters are at Waltham Forest Town Hall, which before the merger of the boroughs, was called Walthamstow Town Hall. The population was 278,428 at the 2021 census. Waltham Forest borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to the south-west, Newham to the south-east and Redbridge to the east, as well as the non-metropolitan county of Essex to the north.

The borough takes its name from the former Waltham Forest – an institution which managed deer in south-west Essex. Epping Forest is a remainder of the former Waltham Forest and forms the eastern and northern fringe of the borough. The River Lea lies to the west where its associated marshes and parkland form a green corridor which, along the reservoir-lined reaches, separates north and east London, and is the historic border between Middlesex and Essex.

Waltham Forest was one of the host boroughs of the London Olympics in 2012, with the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre and part of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park providing an ongoing legacy in the UK and London.

Youth initiatives[edit | edit source]

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Sir George Monoux College

Biodiversity[edit | edit source]

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Walthamstow Marshes, is a 36.7-hectare (91-acre) biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Walthamstow in the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It was once an area of lammas land – common land used for growing crops and grazing cattle.

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Walthamstow Wetlands is a 211-hectare (520-acre; 2.11 km2) nature reserve in Walthamstow, east London, adjacent to the historic Essex-Middlesex border on the River Lea. It is focused on the Walthamstow Reservoirs, built by the East London Waterworks Company between 1853 and 1904 as part of the Lee Valley Reservoir Chain. The site is one of the largest urban wetland nature reserves in Europe and is particularly important for wildlife due to its position within the Lee Valley. It serves as a byway for migrating, wintering and breeding birds. Visitors can freely access the site's natural, industrial and social heritage in one of the capital's most densely populated urban areas.

The reservoirs, under the ownership of Thames Water, also form part of a larger Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conservation, noted for the mixture of aquatic and terrestrial habitats on site, and for their London-wide importance (especially for birds).

Walthamstow Wetlands, opening to the public on Friday 20th October 2017

Open spaces[edit | edit source]

Epping Forest and the green corridor along the River Lea provide some of the borough's many open spaces. W

  • East London Waterworks Park, "an idea conceived by local people. At its heart is a community group that wants to acquire and transform the 5.68-hectare ex-Thames Water Depot on Lea Bridge Road in Waltham Forest into a brownfield rainforest offering people the opportunity to immerse themselves in nature." added 12:27, 24 February 2021 (UTC)

Community currencies activism[edit | edit source]

Waltham Forest LETS (Local Exchange Trading System)

Cycling activism[edit | edit source]

Walthamstow Family Bike Club

Food activism[edit | edit source]

OrganicLea, workers' cooperative growing food on London's edge in the Lea Valley

Housing and land[edit | edit source]

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#StrongerHomesTogether
Authors: Forest CLT, July 2020
  • Forest CLT, affordable community-led housing for Waltham Forest. added 16:13, 17 December 2021 (UTC)

Sustainable transport[edit | edit source]

Lea Valley Walk W, London Outer Orbital Path W

News and comment[edit | edit source]

2020

Waltham Forest building a 15-minute borough, Dec 21[1]

2018

The rebel bank, printing its own notes and buying back people's debts, Mar 23[2]

2017

How cargo bikes can help unclog London's congested roads, Nov 10[3]

London's Newest Park Is Now Open (And It's Twice The Size Of Hyde Park), Oct 20[4]

Europe's largest urban wetland will open in east London next month, Sep 27[5]

Carrots and communism: the allotments plotting a food revolution, Aug 17[6]

Divestival in Walthamstow, Feb 9[7]

External links[edit | edit source]

Wikipedia: Waltham Forest

References[edit | edit source]

FA info icon.svg Angle down icon.svg Page data
Keywords london borough
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 3 pages link here
Aliases Waltham Forest
Impact 691 page views
Created April 5, 2014 by Phil Green
Modified July 11, 2023 by Phil Green
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