Consisting of an area of Stamford Hill the ward also incorporated the large council estate of Woodberry Down.

The ward took its name from the New River, built to supply London with drinking water in the early 17th century.

The ward returned three councillors to the Hackney London Borough Council, with elections every four years.

At the previous election on 6 May 2010 Maureen Middleton (Conservative Party); and Labour Party candidates Michael Jones and Sean Mulready were returned.

This compared with the average ward population within the borough of 12,962.