Gidea Park is a neighbourhood in East Romford, located in the Borough of Havering. Gidea Park is an affluent area of Essex and is mainly residential. The area has many open spaces such as Raphael Park; Lodge Farm Park or Gidea Park Sports Ground. This area’s proximity to open green spaces, has made it attractive to sporting clubs such as Romford Hockey Club, Essex Country Cricket Club or Gidea Park Cricket Club. This neighbourhood area has many surrounding main roads and Gallows Corner Junction is where three of them meet: the A118, A127 and the A12.

Gidea Park is a relatively new suburb, having been created between 1910 and 1911. Small cottages and houses were designed by 121 architects to display the planning and design capabilities of this new suburban town. A competition was arranged to select the best town planned homes, the best were sold above average market prices. Gidea Park also benefited from a new railway station which extended this Essex town to London. Queen Elizabeth I visited Gidea Hall in 1568.

Europe’s first school to install an electronic computer was in Gidea Park, it was installed in The Royal Liberty School in 1965. Gidea Park Station was originally called “Squirrels Heath & Gidea Park”.

Rogue landlords have been fined more than £166,000 for housing tenants in poor housing conditions, some of which are in the area of Gidea Park. A study conducted by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that 52% of Havering adults lacked A Level (Level 3 Qualifications equivalent) – which is the worse level of any London borough.

Like many stations in the borough, Gidea Park Station received a number of improvements intended to modernise it in anticipation of the opening of the Elizabeth Line, which became operational in early 2022 and services the station. These enhancements include new furniture, an improved ticket hall with new ticket machines at both entrances, step-free from platform to street and new lifts, as well as a new platforms more than 200 meters long.

Proposals to build eight new houses next to the New Inn pub in Gidea Park were also submitted to Havering Council in 2018. The houses would be built to fit 5 people each and provision for bicycle parking is included.