The culture-packed northwest London area that has been named the ‘worst’ borough in the capital

Last week, the Telegraph pitted all 32 London boroughs against each other and proclaimed Richmond-upon-Thames the finest of them all. But one borough had to land in last place. And right down at the bottom of its ranking, and therefore the apparent ‘worst’ borough in the city, was Brent. 

The paper scored each borough based on 37 different metrics, which all came under one of four broader categories: great outdoors, good vibes, culture and activities and hospitality. Brent scored just 148 points in total, compared to Richmond’s 791.

Brent earned 38 points for great outdoors, 14 for hospitality, 38 for culture and activities. To put that into perspective, the top scorers in each of those categories were Richmond with 261 for the great outdoors, Westminster with 231 for culture and activities and Hackney with 244 for hospitality. Brent’s highest score was 58 for ‘good vibes’. 

So, why did the northwest borough do so bad? Well, it ranked 30th out of the 32 boroughs in Rightmove’s happiness survey last year and has the ninth highest level of crime according to Met Police stats – both facts that the Telegraph used to inform its ‘good vibes’ scores. The paper also points out that it has just one Grade I-listed building, which will have lost it points in the culture and activities realm. 

In terms of the great outdoors, there are more than 100 parks across the borough, covering around 1,000 acres. While the Telegraph did take the percentage of green space into account, it handed out extra points to parks if they were one of its top ten – and none of those are in Brent. But the 170-acre Welsh Harp (aka Brent Reservoir) will have earned it some vital points for being a nature reserve and the borough’s only Site of Special Scientific Interest. 

Brent’s best bits 

Don’t write Brent off. While it may not be as densely packed with things to do as other boroughs, it still has plenty of stuff that make it worth a visit.

Most notably, it’s home to a little venue called Wembley Stadium. Throughout the year, the borough of Brent welcomes some of the biggest music and sports stars from around the world to the UK’s largest stadium. We’re talking the likes Oasis, Coldplay, Taylor Swift and America’s finest NFL teams. 

Even when there aren’t major events going on, Wembley Park offers an art trail, theatre shows (right now you can see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Starlight Express), shopping and lively parties and screenings at Boxpark. 

Elsewhere in the borough, there’s the beautiful Hindu temple BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir (aka Neasden Temple), the interactive Brent Museum and one of Time Out’s favourite independent cinemas, the Lexi. Brent also has one of London’s ‘magnificent seven’ graveyards Kensal Green Cemetery and Catacombs, where famous residents include Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Lady Byron. 

For foodies, there’s Ida on Kilburn Lane, which was just named London’s best local restaurant by the Good Food Guide, and over on Lonsdale Road in Queen’s Park there’s the trendy trio of Don’t Tell Dad, Carmel and Milk Beach, plus a weekly Farmers Market. See? It’s not so bad after all. 

See how the Telegraph ranked every London borough here.