What you need to know about Waltham Forest
Named after an institution which managed deer in south-west Essex, Waltham Forest was created in 1965 from the merger of the boroughs of Leyton, Chingford and Walthamstow. Located in the north east of London, Waltham Forest borders Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to the south-west, Newham to the south-east, Redbridge to the east and the county of Essex to the north. There is a notable difference between the north and south of the borough, which is divided by the North Circular Road. In the north, you can find suburban areas with better access to open spaces, playing fields and parks, while in the south, you will come across urban districts with inner-city characteristics. There are four principal urban centres in Waltham Forest: Leyton and Leytonstone in the south, Chingford in the north and Walthamstow in the middle, which is the administrative hub of the borough.
Waltham Forest has seen some illustrious residents and was the birthplace of names such as William Morris, one of the principal founders of the British Arts and Crafts Movement, football star David Beckham and the legendary film director and producer Alfred Hitchcock. The iconic heavy metal band Iron Maiden also played their first gigs in this part of the city.
The borough has everything you need from small shops and markets, coffee shops and cafes to restaurants, music venues, nightlife and some of the best pubs in London. The region also has excellent transport links to the city centre, with the Central and Victoria lines of the Underground and other Overground services and bus routes that connect you to many parts of the city. The borough has good air quality with low air pollution, with parts of Waltham Forest located inside the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). The borough is a safe place to live and has a crime rate lower than average in London.
New buyers are usually looking for houses in Chingford, Leytonstone and Walthamstow, whilst many people search for flats to rent in Oakhill, Waltham Forest and Chingford Hatch. There are 276,700 residents in Waltham Forest with 2.69 people per dwelling, according to the Housing in London 2019 report. The average private rent in this area is £1,295, according to the 2018/2019 Private Rental Market summary statistics, and the average house price is £431,563, according to the 2019 House Price Index from the Office of National Statistics (ONS). If you would like to rent a house in this borough, it is estimated that you will need a total annual income of £38,850, according to the rent affordability formula.
The growth in housing stock from 2008 to 2018 was 7%, with 22,210 affordable homes. Houses are 54% of total stock, according to the 2018 Valuation Office Agency report. Houses in this area are 23.97% owned outright, 27.62% owned with a mortgage or loan, 27.07% private rent and 21.34% social housing.
There are approximately 116 primary schools and 45 secondary schools in Waltham Forest, of which 26 are rated as outstanding by Ofsted. The hospitals that provide care for the borough are Whipps Cross, Newham University Hospital and Homerton Hospital.