Epping Forest
§ This page gives an overview of the Epping Forest local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.
Overview ⁞ Epping Forest district stretches across west Essex, with the ancient woodland of Epping Forest at its heart. This vast forest, once a royal hunting ground, offers miles of walking and cycling trails, ponds, and wildlife habitats. Towns such as Loughton, Epping, and Waltham Abbey provide historic centres and access to green spaces, while the Lee Valley Park extends into the district with riverside trails and reservoirs. The district includes a mix of suburban areas, market towns, and countryside, with strong ties to London given its location on the capital’s fringe. Its blend of heritage, woodland, and open land makes it unique.
The administrative boundary of Epping Forest can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of Epping Forest.
Key Facts about Epping Forest
What region is Epping Forest in? Epping Forest is in the East of England of England, a region within the UK.
What county is Epping Forest in? Epping Forest is located in the county of Essex.
Is Epping Forest a city? No, Epping Forest is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)
Who governs Epping Forest? The local authority for this district is: Epping Forest District Council - responsible for district-level services. Since Essex is a two-tier area, county-level services are handled by: Essex County Council.
▶ Official website of Epping Forest District Council 🔗 eppingforestdc.gov.uk
Which police force covers Epping Forest? Policing in Epping Forest is provided by Essex Police 🔗 essex.police.uk, which serves 14 local authority districts: Basildon ⁞ Braintree ⁞ Brentwood ⁞ Castle Point ⁞ Chelmsford ⁞ Colchester ⁞ Epping Forest ⁞ Harlow ⁞ Maldon ⁞ Rochford ⁞ Southend-on-Sea ⁞ Tendring ⁞ Thurrock ⁞ Uttlesford.
Constituencies in Epping Forest
A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.
Wards in Epping Forest
Epping Forest is divided into 18 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Buckhurst Hill East & Whitebridge
- Buckhurst Hill West
- Chigwell with Lambourne
- Epping East
- Epping West & Rural
- Grange Hill
- Loughton Fairmead
- Loughton Forest
- Loughton Roding
- Loughton St John's
- North Weald Bassett
- Ongar
- Roydon & Lower Nazeing
- Rural East
- Theydon Bois with Passingford
- Waltham Abbey North
- Waltham Abbey South & Rural
- Waltham Abbey West
In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.
Parishes in Epping Forest
Epping Forest is part-parished: 28 civil parishes (listed A-Z below) alongside 2 unparished areas.
- Abbess Beauchamp and Berners Roding
- Bobbingworth
- Buckhurst Hill
- Chigwell
- Epping
- Epping Upland
- Fyfield
- High Laver
- High Ongar
- Lambourne
- Little Laver
- Loughton
- Magdalen Laver
- Matching
- Moreton
- Nazeing
- North Weald Bassett
- Ongar
- Roydon
- Sheering
- Stanford Rivers
- Stapleford Abbotts
- Stapleford Tawney
- Theydon Bois
- Theydon Garnon
- Theydon Mount
- Waltham Abbey
- Willingale
A civil parish is the lowest tier of local government in England, used for villages, small towns, and suburbs. They have their own local authority, either a parish council or a parish meeting, which provides local services like managing parks, allotments, and streetlights, and represents the community's views to larger councils.
Built-up Areas in Epping Forest
Epping Forest covers 35 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.
- Abridge
- Broadley Common
- Buckhurst Hill *
- Bumble's Green
- Chigwell *
- Chigwell Row
- Chipping Ongar
- Coopersale
- Enfield *
- Epping
- Epping Upland
- Fyfield
- Harlow *
- High Beech
- Hoddesdon *
- Loughton
- Lower Nazeing
- Matching Green
- Moreton (Epping Forest)
- Nazeing
- North Weald Bassett
- Paslow Wood Common *
- Redbridge *
- Roydon (Epping Forest) *
- Roydon Hamlet
- Sawbridgeworth *
- Sewardstone
- Sheering *
- Shelley (Epping Forest)
- Stapleford Abbotts *
- Theydon Bois
- Thornwood Common
- Waltham Abbey
- Waltham Cross *
- Waltham Forest *
In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of Epping Forest.)
Epping Forest compared with other districts in the UK
This section shows how Epping Forest compares with other local authority districts in the UK, using a variety of measures and rankings.
Epping Forest has 18 electoral wards.
Epping Forest has a population of 137,451 (2024 mid-year estimate by ONS)
More local statistics and data for Epping Forest can be found on the ONS statistics for Epping Forest.