Epping Forest District

The council has been under Conservative control since 2006.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been:[10]

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[11]

Two of the three independent councillors sit together as the "Grange Hill Independent Community Group".[12] The next election is due in 2024.

Epping Forest District Council is based at the Civic Offices at 323 High Street, Epping.[13]

When the council was first created it inherited four sets of offices from its predecessors and functions were initially divided between them:[14]

• Council Offices, Old Station Road, Loughton from Chigwell Urban District Council.
• 25 Hemnall Street, Epping from Epping Urban District Council.
• 323 High Street, Epping from Epping and Ongar Rural District Council.
• Town Hall, Highbridge Street, Waltham Abbey from Waltham Holy Cross Urban District Council.

The council subsequently built a large new building called Civic Offices adjoining the original converted house at 323 High Street in Epping. The new building was designed by Richard Reid and built between 1987 and 1992. It was designated a Grade II listed building in 2017.[15]

Roydon railway station on the West Anglia Main Line is the only National Rail station within the district, which lies on the district boundary with East Hertfordshire. Sawbridgeworth railway station on the same line lies directly west of the district, within Hertfordshire, as does Waltham Cross railway station, which serves the district's town of Waltham Abbey. These stations are served by Greater Anglia trains either between London Liverpool Street and Ely, and London Stratford and Bishop's Stortford, with direct connections to destinations such as Broxbourne, Tottenham Hale, Audley End and Cambridge.[17][22]

The London Underground Central line passes through the southern portion of Epping Forest. Epping, Theydon Bois, Debden and Loughton stations in the borough fall in London fare zone 6, with Buckhurst Hill in zone 5 and Roding Valley, Chigwell and Grange Hill in zone 4.[23]

The Central line provides the district with direct connections with East London, The City, the West End, and West London. Transport for London manages the London Underground network.[23]

A former portion of the Central line between Epping and Chipping Ongar, via North Weald and Blake Hall, is part of the Epping Ongar Railway.[24]

Two motorways meet in the district - the M25 London Orbital motorway and the M11 motorway.

The M25 motorway runs eastbound (clockwise) towards Brentwood and the Dartford Crossing. The motorway runs westbound (anticlockwise) towards Enfield, Watford and Heathrow Airport. The M11 motorway runs northbound towards Stansted Airport and Cambridge, and southbound towards East London. Junctions 5 (A1168, Loughton and Chigwell), 6 (M25), 7 (A414, Harlow) and 7A (A1025, Harlow) fall within Epping Forest.[17]

Other main routes in the district include:

• A414 primary route - between Harlow and Chelmsford, via Ongar. Onward connections towards Hemel Hempstead via Harlow, and Maldon;
• A104 Epping New Road - between Wake Arms and Woodford. Onward connections towards Leyton and Islington;
• A112 - between Waltham Abbey and Sewardstone. Onward connections towards Walthamstow and Stratford;
• A113 - between Chipping Ongar and Chigwell. Onward connections towards Wanstead;
• A121 - between Waltham Cross and Woodford, via Waltham Abbey, Loughton and Buckhurst Hill;
• A128 - Chipping Ongar. Onward connections towards Brentwood and Thurrock;
• A1069 - Onward connections towards Chingford;
• A1112 - Chigwell Row. Onward connections towards Chadwell Heath;
• A1168 - between Loughton and Chigwell;
• B184 - between Ongar and Great Dunmow. Onward connections towards Saffron Walden;
• B1393 - between Wake Arms and M11 junction 7, via Epping.

Most public highways in the district are managed by Essex County Council.[25] The M11 and M25 motorways are managed by National Highways.[26]

National Cycle Network Route 1 passes along the eastern boundary of the district near Broxbourne, through Harlow, and east-west through the district via High Laver, Moreton and Fyfield.[27][28]

A shared-use path runs alongside the Rivers Lee and Stort, which connect the district with other cycle routes in Hertfordshire and London.[29]

Epping Forest features a network of shared-use forest trails, managed by the City of London Corporation.[30]

North Weald Airfield is owned by Epping Forest District Council and is open to general aviation. Flying out of North Weald began in 1916, during the First World War.[31]

Stapleford Aerodrome is home to a flight training centre within the district.[32]

Stansted Airport, an international passenger and freight airport, lies in the neighbouring district of Uttlesford, north of the district.[17]

The Lee Navigation and River Stort are navigable rivers which form the district's eastern boundary. They are managed by the Canal and River Trust, and connect with the Regent's Canal in London via Hertford Union Canal.[29]

Of the seven Essex County Councillors elected for Epping Forest divisions in the most recent county council elections in 2021, six are from the Conservative Party, and one is from Loughton Residents Association.

The district straddles three constituencies:[41]

• Epping Forest, covering the majority of the west of the district, including the towns of Buckhurst Hill, Loughton, Chigwell, Theydon Bois, Epping and Waltham Abbey.
• Brentwood and Ongar constituency, mostly covering the part of the district east of the River Roding, including the parish of Ongar and village of North Weald Bassett.
• Harlow constituency, which includes the villages of Roydon and Lower Nazeing to the west of Harlow, and Sheering, Matching and Hastingwood to the east.