The North Paddington area sits in the City of Westminster, and is home to parts of the wards of Little Venice, Hyde Park, Church Street, as well as a small sliver of Bryanston and Dorset. The area offers superb transit connections, being home to both Paddington station as well as the Edgware tube stop. The Church Street area is ethnically diverse, with a large Muslim population, and is home to multiple antique shops and markets. Having been badly damaged during the Blitz, the majority of homes in the ward are council flats that were built after the war. Just south of Church Street, the Hyde Park area - often referred to as Paddington for its main station, is characterised by the many restaurants, hotels, and shops that cater to tourists and business-people. The side streets, however, are filled with old Victorian homes and cobbled alleyways. Just north of Paddington sits the Little Venice segment of the neighbourhood, which is known for its tight-knit residential feel, filled with moored boats and white painted stucco homes. Little Venice is quite affluent, with crime rates well below the City of Westminster’s average.

The area that today surrounds Paddington Station began as a farmstead back in 998, owned by a man called “Padda.” Once the Church of St Mary was built in the 17th century, the area became a popular rural retreat. The area that is now Church Street was initially the small village of Lisson Green in the 18th century, which was known for its vegetable and general goods markets. When the construction of Regent’s Canal was completed in 1812, residential density spiked, and the area of Little Venice began to grow resulting in the construction of terraced housing. By 1838, the Great Western Railway arrived in the area and eventually in 1863, the world’s first underground railway line terminated there as well. Today the area continues to have a strong focus on transport connections and is also home to multiple universities.

Famous physicist, Hertha Ayrton, lived in the neighbourhood, just south of Paddington station. She not only invented the Ayrton fan, a device used to disperse toxic gases from trenches in World War I, but also cared for Suffragettes in her home during their hunger strikes.

St. Mary’s Hospital is the site where Alexander Fleming discovered the antibiotic penicillin in 1928. The hospital is still in use today, and was the birth site of Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis.

Rembrandt Gardens was built in 1975, in honour of the city of Amsterdam’s 700th birthday. Previously the area was occupied by artists’ studios.

The famous Paddington Bear character was based on a lonely teddy bear that author Michael Bond discovered in a shop on Christmas Eve in Paddington station.

The Church Street segment of this neighbourhood is within the top 10% of the most deprived wards in the UK. Additionally, the crime rate in this area is significantly higher than London’s average - with the majority of crimes being classified as harassment. Still, the diverse residents of Church Street form a tight-knit community, and support one another whether at the marketplace or in the many local shops and cafes. Westminster City Council has decided to partner closely with the Church Street Futures group to ensure that social services and resources can be brought to the community in order to improve its overall wellbeing.

In 2022, the Elizabeth Line and its Paddington connection were opened, further improving its already highly-connected location. Additionally, there are multiple development plans in place, including those pertaining to the Paddington Opportunity Area’s objectives. Robin Partington Architects are designing new schemes for Merchant Square, which will ultimately house office spaces, residences, children’s nurseries, as well as the 42-story Paddington building. This building will be the tallest building in Westminster and house a sky bar with views of London’s skyline. Alongside this development, the Paddington waterfront is also being regenerated. Two large developments are being built on North Wharf Road, and will add nearly 500 homes to the area.

Aside from development around Paddington station, in the Hyde Park ward, Westminster City Council has also been working on a 15-year regeneration project for the Church Street ward. Through this plan, the council has committed to deliver nearly 2,000 new homes, a 40% increase in public space, flexible and affordable workspaces, as well as a new cultural quarter. The Council has also taken an active role in regenerating brownfield sites in the ward, which typically are unattractive to private developers. In Summer 2022, a high-end development of 49 apartments was completed, on land partially over the Bakerloo Line at Cosway Street. The returns from the development could fund 26 flats and 2 townhouses on nearby land at Ashbridge Street and Ashmill Street. Another new development, Lisson Arches, within the wider Church Street regeneration programme is also expected in the near future to welcome new residents into its 60 new homes, 59 of which will be available at social rent.