Queen's Park is an area located partly in the City of Westminster and mostly in the London Borough of Brent. Some of the area within Westminster forms a civil parish, the first to be created in London since the right of communities to establish civil parishes was enacted in 2007. The area is located north-west of Charing Cross, and centred around a park, which opened in 1887 and was named in honour of Queen Victoria. The area gives its name to Queens Park Rangers football club.
Architecturally, Queen's Park is an important historic area, with a unified urban layout with a high level of building preservation. The park is a good example of a Victorian urban green space, and the surrounding streets largely comprise original two- and three-storey Victorian buildings.
Governance
Background
Queen's Park straddled the ancient parishes of Willesden (the northern part, in the London Borough of Brent) and Chelsea (the southern part, in the City of Westminster).
The Queens Park Estate was developed in 1875–81, in Kensal Town which had been an exclave of Chelsea from before the time of the Norman Conquest. In 1900 the exclave was removed from Chelsea and divided between its neighbours, with most of it, the area north of the Grand Union Canal, and including the Queens Park Estate joining with the area of the ancient parish of Paddington to form the new Metropolitan Borough of Paddington.
The park was laid out in the parish of Willesden in 1886. In 1874 the parish of Willesden adopted the Local Government Act 1858 and a local board was formed.
In 1965, Paddington merged with Westminster and Marylebone to form what is now City of Westminster, while Willesden became part of the new London Borough of Brent.
Electoral wards
The area gives its name to two electoral wards in adjacent London boroughs. The area north of Kilburn Lane is the Queens Park ward of the London Borough of Brent and the area south of Kilburn Lane is the Queen's Park ward of the City of Westminster.
The Queens Park ward in the southeast of the London Borough of Brent is represented by three Labour Party councillors on Brent London Borough Council as of the 2018 election. This ward forms part of the Hampstead and Kilburn constituency, represented by Labour MP Tulip Siddiq.
The Queen's Park ward in the northwest of the City of Westminster is represented by three Labour Party councillors on Westminster City Council. This ward forms part of the Westminster North parliamentary constituency, represented by Labour MP Karen Buck, whose spouse Barrie Taylor represented the Queen's Park ward from 1986 to 1990, then again from 1994 to 2018 in which year the title of Honorary Alderman was conferred upon him by the City Council.
Queen's Park Community Council
In May 2012 residents of the Westminster ward voted in favour of the establishment of a Queen's Park civil parish and parish council.
In June 2012, Westminster City Council approved the establishment of Queen's Park Community Council as the first parish council created in London since new legislation was enacted in 2007. The Community Council area is coterminous with the City of Westminster ward of Queen's Park.
The first election of councillors to the community council took place in May 2014 at the same time as other local elections. Subsequent elections are held every four years at the same time as elections to the city council, with the most recent being on 5 May 2022. Parish councils have no statutory responsibilities, but have a budget they can direct towards community projects.
Queen's Park Neighbourhood Plan
In November 2021 the City Council formally adopted the Queen's Park Neighbourhood Plan. It is therefore now part of the statutory Development Plan for Westminster and will be used alongside the council’s own planning documents and the Mayor’s London Plan in determining applications in the Queen's Park Neighbourhood Area.
History
19th century
The Queens Park Estate was developed between 1875 and 1881, in what is now the City of Westminster, by the Artizans, Labourers & General Dwellings Company, and named in honour of Queen Victoria. The park, which shares the name, lies a short distance north of the estate in the London Borough of Brent. It was laid out in 1886 by the City of London, and opened the following year.