Why should we enlarge the borders?

What follows are three reasons why I think London's borders should be enlarged.

Firstly because of Tax. Suburbs with richer residents use a lot of public facilities in London but often pay less tax than those living closer to the centre. This is because the boundaries work in such a way that the rich vote in the party they want on the promise of lower council tax and then get lower tax. However if they were part of Greater London the council tax could increase slightly and  could be put to great use to helping the poorer people living in less well off parts of the capital.

Secondly they would get representation in the Greater London authority and the London assembly. A larger population for London could also increase the mandate the authority has for devolving more powers from national government into the Greater London Authority.

Thirdly the M25 is already seen by most as London's natural boundary so making this formally the case would not be too shocking. My idea to expand outside the M25 in the case of Slough is because culturally Slough is very similar to inner city parts of London with it's very high immigrant population. I also mentioned making a few towns on the part of Thames estuary that currently borders Greater London part of London, this should be done because this area is currently home to Lakeside and Bluewater shopping centres both very much London shopping centres also the towns in this area in many cases have the M25 running through them. I included other areas, such as St Albans, Woking and Hemel Hempstead, that I included in the expanded London as they were firmly part of London's built-up area.

New Boroughs Summary

I have proposed 9 new London Boroughs which will bring the total number of London Boroughs (including the City of London) up from 33 to 42. They vary in population from 160,000 to 280,000 with most under the 200,000 number. The current London boroughs (excluding the City of London) vary in population from 170,000 to 350,000, with most in the 200,000s, so my proposed boroughs are smaller on average than the current ones. The total population of all the new Boroughs is 1.72 million which will bring the total population of London up to just under 10 million.
The new boroughs are in areas which are currently parts of all six home counties (Berks, Herts, Bucks, Surrey, Kent and Essex) and I have attempted to include as few rural areas as possible however I did include a few but these were mainly areas located inside the M25.
My next few posts will be attempts to justify the inclusion of these new boroughs into Greater London.

London Borough of Epsom and Banstead

This proposed borough includes the existing Surrey borough of Epsom and Ewell as well as parts of the Surrey boroughs of Mole Valley, "Reigate and Banstead" and Tandridge. The name comes from Epsom and Ewell as well as the Banstead in the existing Reigate and Banstead borough. It includes all the parts of these boroughs that lie within the M25 as well as Leatherhead, Fetcham and Great Bookham which form a sort of urban peninsula that stretches from the M25 into the Surrey green belt. The parts of the Mole Valley, "Reigate and Banstead" and Tandridge boroughs outside of my proposed borough will be merged into a new borough tentatively named East Surrey.
The proposed boundaries are shown in the map below in the pink. I estimate the population of this borough to be 170,000.

Towns and villages in the Borough:

Epsom, Ewell, Banstead, Tadworth, Caterham, Warlingham, Ashtead, Leatherhead, Great Bookham, Fetcham, Woldingham

Notable things about the area:

Home to Epsom Downs Racecourse.
Epsom and Ewell Borough council is run by the Epsom and Ewell Resident's Association not one of the main political parties.
It contains a large number of golf courses, as well as a few country parks and woodland.

 

London Borough of Spelthorne and Runnymede

This proposed borough is a merger of the existing Surrey boroughs of Spelthorne and Runnymede. The proposed borough's boundaries are shown below in red. I estimate the population of this borough to be 180,000.

 

 

Towns and Villages included in the borough:

Staines, Sunbury, Shepperton, Chertsey, Addlestone, Egham, Ashford, Ottershaw, Virginia Water, Thorpe, Englefield Green, Stanwell, Laleham

 

Notable things about the area:

The fictional comedic character Ali G is supposedly from Staines and the film involving the character, Ali G in da house, was set in the town.

One of England's largest theme parks, Thorpe Park, is located here.

On the southern edge of Heathrow Airport.

Contains a lot of reservoirs including the Staines Reservoirs, the Wraysbury Reservoir, the Queen Mary Reservoir and the King the George VI reservoir.



London Borough of Woking and Elmbridge

This proposed borough is little more than a merger of the existing Surrey boroughs of Elmbridge and Woking. The only change is a little bit of motorway alignment. The proposed boundaries are shown in the map below in dark purple. I estimate the population of this borough to be 230,000.

Towns and Villages included in the Borough:

Woking, Walton, Weybridge, Cobham, Oxshott, Esher, Molesey

Notable things about the area:

Elmbridge has been frequently named the district with the highest quality of life in the country.
Elmbridge pays more tax than any other district in the country.
Woking has the first purpose built mosque in the country.
Woking was the setting for the classic novel "War of the Worlds" by HG Wells it was also written there.

London Borough of Slough

This proposed borough includes the town of Slough, currently a unitary authority in Berkshire, as well as substantial parts of the current South Bucks district (in the county of Buckinghamshire aka Bucks). The district lies on the western border of the M25 and where the M25 joins the M4. Due to the loss of the most populous parts of the South Bucks district to the new borough I propose that the remainder be merged with the neighbouring Chiltern district. The proposed borough includes the relatively deprived town of Slough as well as neighbouring villages which are amongst the most affluent in the country. I estimate the population of the proposed borough to be 170,000.

Towns and Villages included in the Borough:

Slough, Burnham, Stoke Poges, Farnham Royal, Iver, Wexham, Colnbrook with Poyle

Notable things about the area

The location of Pinewood studios.
Crossrail will pass through much of the borough.
Slough trading estate.
Like much of London Slough is an immigrant hotspot with a particular problem of sheds with beds.
Black Park (a rather tranquil country park).

London Borough of Thurrock

This proposed borough is mostly made up from the Borough of Thurrock. Which is currently in the county of Essex and is a unitary authority (i.e. outside Essex County Council control). The proposed borough lies partially inside the M25 but mostly lies outside of the ring road. Under my proposal rural parts of the existing borough as well as the small part of the current London Borough of Havering outside the M25 (encircled in purple in the picture below) will be transferred to Brentwood district. I estimate the population of this borough to be 160,000.

Towns and villages included in the Borough:

Grays, Tilbury, South Ockendon, Stanford-le-hope, Corringham, Mucking, Horndon-on-the-Hill, Orsett, East Tilbury

Notable things about the area:

The Northern side of the Dartford Tunnel and Dartford Crossing.
The Port of Tilbury.
On the Thames Estuary.
Lakeside Shopping Centre.
Coryton Oil Refinery (this could become a valuable brown field site if it goes).