Elm Park is a place in the London Borough of Havering

London Borough of Havering

The London Borough of Havering is a London borough in North East London, England and forms part of Outer London. The principal town in Havering is Romford and the other main communities are Hornchurch, Upminster and Rainham. The borough is mainly characterised by suburban development with large...

, in east London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England. It is a suburban development situated 14.3 miles (23 km) east north-east of Charing Cross

Charing Cross

Charing Cross denotes the junction of Strand, Whitehall and Cockspur Street, just south of Trafalgar Square in central London, England. It is named after the now demolished Eleanor cross that stood there, in what was once the hamlet of Charing. The site of the cross is now occupied by an equestrian...

. Unlike the nearby suburbs of Upminster

Upminster

Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...

 and Hornchurch

Hornchurch

Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...

, Elm Park was not developed until after the arrival of the electrified District Line

District Line

The District line is a line of the London Underground, coloured green on the Tube map. It is a "sub-surface" line, running through the central area in shallow cut-and-cover tunnels. It is the busiest of the sub-surface lines. Out of the 60 stations served, 25 are underground...

 in 1935. The original housing development, built from the 1930s onwards, was planned as a new community.

Geography

Open spaces in the area include Harrow Lodge Park, Hornchurch Country Park, Brettons Park and Eastbrookend Country Park of the Thames Chase

Thames Chase

Thames Chase is a community forest of 9842 hectares located in 47 sites in London and Essex, England. Its stated aim is...to renew and regenerate the landscape at the edge of East London and South Essex by creating Thames Chase, the Community Forest: a varied wooded landscape for local people to...

 forest. Nearest places are Dagenham

Dagenham

Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...

, Hornchurch

Hornchurch

Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...

, Rainham

Rainham, London

Rainham is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan and is surrounded by a residential area, which has grown from the historic village,...

, and Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

.

Demography

Elm Park was predominantly white British, but recent migration has rapidly changed in recent years from the overflow of inner london. Like many other communities in the London Borough of Havering, the population is predominantly senior citizens and young people under 20 years. Mayland Clinics on the Upper Rainham Road is the main healthcare facility.

Economy

Elm Park has a main retail area - "The Broadway" - with a selection of small supermarkets, some independent clothes shops, three pharmacies, green-grocers, butchers, take-aways, food shops and a pub. In the area there is a post office and a library, which has recently been renovated. Nightlife in the area is limited.

Transport

Elm Park is served by Elm Park tube station

Elm Park tube station

Elm Park Station is a London Underground station on the District Line, located in Elm Park in the London Borough of Havering.The station is in Zone 6...

 and has London Bus

London Buses

London Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...

 services to nearby Romford

Romford

Romford is a large suburban town in north east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan...

, Rainham

Rainham, London

Rainham is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan and is surrounded by a residential area, which has grown from the historic village,...

 and Hornchurch. Regeneration linked to the Thames Gateway

Thames Gateway

The Thames Gateway is an area of land stretching east from inner east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. The area, which includes much brownfield land, has been designated a national priority for urban regeneration, taking advantage of the development opportunities...

 project has been mooted and recent changes such as the installation of new street lighting have been made. The East London Transit

East London Transit

East London Transit is a part-segregated bus rapid transit whose first phase opened in 2010, with an additional phase planned to open in 2013. The scheme has been developed by Transport for London due to the existing and anticipated demand for public transport in northeast London caused by the...

includes an option to serve the area.

Culture

Elm Park is served by the several churches - the Elm Park Baptist church, St Albans Catholic Church, St. Nicholas Church of England, Arise Metropolitan Assembly which meets at the annex of the Elm Park Community Assembly Hall on Eyhurst/St.Nicholas Avenue, Christ Life Church and Eagles Christian Connections. It is also in Elm Park that the London Metropolitan Assembly convened by Apostle George Akalonu meets each month to discuss issues of common interest to faith, civic and community leaders.