Epping Forest Epping Forest District |
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Non-metropolitan district | |
Epping Forest shown within Essex |
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Largest settlements |
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Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | East of England |
Non-metropolitan county | Essex |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Epping |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Epping Forest District Council |
• Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative (council NOC)) |
• MPs |
Eleanor Laing Eric Pickles Robert Halfon |
Area | |
• Total | 130.88 sq mi (338.99 km2) |
Area rank | 125th (of 326) |
Population (mid-2015 est.) | |
• Total | 129,700 |
• Rank | 165th (of 326) |
• Density | 990/sq mi (380/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 95.4% White 2.7% S.Asian 1.3% Black 0.6% Mixed Race |
Time zone | GMT (UTC0) |
• Summer (DST) | BST (UTC+1) |
ONS code | 22UH (ONS) E07000072 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TL455025 |
Website | www |
Epping Forest is a local government district in Essex, England. It is named after, and contains a large part of, Epping Forest.
The district is partly contiguous with Greater London to the south and southwest, and the area around Buckhurst Hill, Chigwell, Waltham Abbey and Loughton can be considered to be part of the London urban area in all respects except governance and politics. Epping Forest District also borders Hertfordshire both to the northeast and southwest of the neighbouring district of Harlow.
The whole district is divided into civil parishes a majority of which, particularly in the north and east of the district are rural and sparsely populated for an area so close to London; it includes the town of Chipping Ongar and surrounding villages. The south is more suburban and dominated by Loughton, the largest town in the district. Most of the District has a wide range of architectural styles and periods. Loughton is beside Epping Forest to the west and separated by farms, rivers and golf courses from other settlements in other directions. As an example of conserved physical geographic landscapes, the Roding Valley and Three Forests Way (one end of the Stort Valley Way and the other end connecting to the Harcamlow Way in Hatfield Forest and National Nature Reserve, Essex which is north of Epping Forest District. The settlements here are close to, and in places (Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill) are with, London's conurbation. Although entirely outside Greater London for Eurostat statistical purposes the district is included in the Greater London Urban Area, demonstrating a degree of close economic dependence on the capital.