The Local Government Boundary Commission of England are consulting until 11th November 2019 on new proposed ward boundaries in Camden. Here is a map of the new proposed wards.
When we saw the proposals we were puzzled by the proposed changes so decided to investigate how Electoral Wards have changed over time in North West Camden.
Kilburn, on the East side of the High Road, was since its development part of the Borough of Hampstead. The Borough of Hampstead disappeared in 1965 with the creation of the Borough of Camden.
We looked at the wards immediately adjacent to the Kilburn Ward and have mapped the changes in this map. Use the left hand side menu to see the wards at different times.
Since 1912 the electoral wards have changed 4 times in North West Camden and those were their names
1912 to 1955- ” Kilburn”, “West End”, “Central”, “Priory”
1955 to 1977 ” Kilburn”, ” West End”, “Hampstead Central”, “Priory”
1977 to 2002 “Kilburn”, “West End”, “Fortune Green”, ” Priory”, “Swiss Cottage”
2002 to now “Kilburn”, “West Hampstead”, ” Fortune Green”, “Swiss Cottage”
It is interesting to see that the Kilburn Ward remained mostly unchanged until 2002. In 2002 the Kilburn Ward incorporated most of the Priory Ward and lost anything North of the Overground Line. This might explain some of the decay of Kilburn High Road, that clearly is not the centre of gravity or of interest of the Kilburn ward anymore.
Worth noting as well is the apparition in 2002 of the West Hampstead Ward that never existed before and the expansion of the Fortune Green Ward to areas that have very little to do with the park called “Fortune Green”.
We do urge you to comment on the new proposed draft wards before the 11th November so that wards reflect communities more than what is proposed.