Queen's Park, London

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Queen's Park
london_borough= Brent
constituency_westminster=
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area=NW
postcode_district=NW6, NW10, W10
dial_code= 0208
os_grid_reference= TQ246832
latitude= 51.5338
longitude= -0.2026

Queen's Park is an area of North West London divided between the London Borough of Brent and the City of Westminster. The main thoroughfare of the area is Salusbury Road with Queen's Park station at one end and Brondesbury Park railway station at the other.

In the past the area was rather run down, however over the past 5 years dramatic urban regeneration has taken place now making Queen's Park very popular with young professional couples and families with young children, so called "media mummies and daddies" who are often stereotyped for their owning of luxury four wheel drive cars, which fill the streets of the area. House prices are high, with the common selling prices for 3/4 bedroom terraced houses to the east of the Park (land values are slightly lower on the west hand side of the park, closer towards Kensal Rise) having recently surpassed £1,000,000 [7] , whilst larger 5-7 bedroomed houses overlooking the park on the east side sell for millions. The area is still relatively undiscovered by non-residents, although it is extremely popular for its proximity to central London by direct London Underground link. The area has a well established community, and "almost village atmosphere" in the words of the local residents' association, QPARA.

Famous residents include Daniel Craig [1] , Thandie Newton [5] , Jade Jagger [3] , Lily Allen [2] , Alexandra Shulman [4] , and Zadie Smith [6]

Queen's Park Estate

The part of Queen's Park which is in the City of Westminster is south of Queen's Park station and hence south of the railway line out of Euston. It includes the Queens Park Estate, built from 1874 by the Artizans and Labourers' General Dwellings Company. The architecture of that estate of some 2,000 small houses is distinctively Gothic-revival, with polychrome brickwork, pinnacles and turrets along the bigger roads. It retains Avenues 1-6 and originally had streets A-P. The street names have been made into full words, eg Alperton St, Barfett St, Caird Street etc. It was on this estate that the first QPR footballers had their homes. It stretches from Kilburn Lane down to the Harrow Road.

Religion

Queen's Park has a mosque on Chevening Road which came to prominence in June 2003. It was at this time that the founder and leader of the mosque, Abdul Majid al-Khoei went back to Iraq. His aim was to help in the reorganisation of the country. Only few weeks from his arrival he was brutally murdered. Tony Blair had visited the religious leader several times at the mosque. The area is also home to the Islamia school, which is a Muslim school, set up by Yusuf Islam, better known as the pop singer Cat Stevens.

Retail

Salusbury Road has an increasing number of shops, pubs, cafes and restaurants (including a branch of the infamously expensive bakery Baker and Spice.) The Queen's Park Farmers' Market has recently started operating on Sunday mornings in the grounds of Salusbury Primary School on Salusbury Road, and has proved to be popular with locals for stocking up on often organic, locally grown/produced produce.

Queen's Park

The main focus of the area is Queen's Park itself - a park with an area of 30 acres. Queens Park Rangers originally came from here, as the name implies, though they now play nearby in Shepherd's Bush. In 1879 The Royal Agricultural Society chose Willesden as the site of its annual show. A convert|100|acre|km2|sing=on site was designated at Kilburn, and on 30th of June the show was opened. Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales attended to view a working dairy, agricultral machinery and a wide range of farm animals. The show ran for a week, in extremely bad weather. Although it attracted 185,000 visitors, it made a loss of £15000. It was decided to set up a permanent venue for the show, and the Society chose a place in Twyford. A part of the Kilburn site (30 acres) became Queen's Park.

Queen's Park is now managed by the City of London Corporation. It has recently been named a Green Flag Park in recognition of the quality of its services and environment. Facilities in the park include six all-weather tennis courts, a pitch-and-putt course, a pétanque pitch, an ornamental garden, a children’s playground with paddling pool, a children's animal farm and a cafe.

Education

:"For schools in Westminster see the main City of Westminster article."

Transport

Queen's Park station is a tube and Network Rail station in Travelcard Zone 2; it has direct links to south and central London via the Bakerloo Line or to Euston, Watford Junction and intermediate stations via London Overground trains (or to Harrow & Wealdstone station using Bakerloo Line trains).

Representation

Queen's Park currently forms part of the Brent East constituency and is represented by Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather. However at the next general election the ward will form part of the new Hampstead and Kilburn constituency. Queen's Park is represented on Brent Council by three Liberal Democrat Councillors: Emily Lawson Tancred, Will Motley and Simon Green. Simon Green was elected in March 2008 following a local by election.

Nearest places

* Kilburn
* Kensal Green
* Maida Vale
* Willesden

References

* [1] http://www.foxtons.co.uk/search?bedrooms_from=0&keyword_type=postcode&keyword_value=nw6&property_id=627871&search_form=keyword&search_type=SS&submit_type=search
* [2] http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/interview-why-actor-mark-strong-is-an-accidental-antihero-397214.html
* [3] http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article2737455.ece
* [4] http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/news/article_1378072.php/Jade_Jaggers_housing_struggle
* [5] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-499092/Lily-Allen-set-home-Chemical-Brothers-boyfriend--While-brother-Alfie-detoxes-nude-Equus-scene.html
* [6] http://www.vogue.co.uk/biographies/080422-alexandra-shulman.aspx
* [7] http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/buying_and_selling/article2737455.ece
* [7]

External links

* [http://www.queenspark.net Queen's Park Community Website]
* [http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/Corporation/LGNL_Services/Environment_and_planning/Parks_and_open_spaces/queens_park.htmCity of London Corporation - Queen's Park]
* [http://www.islamia-pri.brent.sch.uk/index.html Islamia Primary School]
* [http://www.qpcs.brent.sch.uk Queens Park Community School]