Wandsworth Night Time Strategy Ideas Map Consultation Report

In September 2022, following an initial consultation earlier in the year, Wandsworth Council began working on a new Night Time Strategy for the borough to provide recommendations on how to make the night time a better experience for everyone living, working, and visiting the borough. 

Between 20 September 2022 and 19 February 2023 the Council undertook an Ideas Map consultation on Commonplace (see Figure 1) whereby participants were asked to drop a pin on specific locations to tell us where they felt unsafe, where they wanted more or less activity and the places they would like us to improve at night. Alternatively, for those that did not want to use the map, there was a choice to fill out a quick survey (less questions than on the map) to tell us what they thought. 

In the run up to the consultation, the Council were successful for DLUHC Round 2 Proptech Funding, which allowed for the commission of Commonplace as a pilot project, as well as the commissioning of a range of creative projects to help reach the wider community, including women, young people and night workers. 

The feedback from the consultation was used to produce a set of recommendations for the first draft Night the Strategy, due for consultation again once the draft was completed.

Ideas Map on online platform Commonplace.

The online consultation with the Ideas Map and Quick Survey options received 967 contributions in total, made up of 455 individual respondents, 60 of which answered the Quick Survey rather than the Ideas Map.  

2.1.1 Balham

The key points raised about Balham at night were: 

• Parked cars and taxis on Balham Station road cause congestion 

• Anti-social behaviour under Balham Station Bridge can be intimidating to lone females – bridge environment mentioned by a few people   

• Request for a bin on the corner of Old Devonshire Road and on Balham High Road  

• Walking towards Oldridge Road from bus stop requires passing a couple of dark alleyways (this is also the access route to Lochinvar estate) 

• Poor lighting on Oakmead Road and travel lodge car park, as well as anti-social behaviour (urination, alleged drug dealing)  

• Better lighting requested on route to St Francis’s place 

• Pavement improvements requested on Sistova Road, Ormerley Road, Balham Hill (Gaskarth road) and Shipka road (although this is not necessarily connected to the night time).  

• Lochinvar Estate – allegations of people sleeping in bins on mattresses and smoking in them  

• Emmanuel Road - several people reported feeling unsafe because of lack of lighting.  

• Lack of public toilets 

What people liked: 

• The lights in the trees on Hildreth Street  

• New public realm along Bedford Hill 

2.1.2 Battersea 

The key points raised about Battersea at night were: 

• Public realm on Queenstown Road – especially the underpass – feels unsafe at night, as well as the grass verges and bus stop next to Embrace Charity shop  

• Battersea Park Road is noisy -  

  • Poor lighting, litter, cluttered public realm and anti-social behaviour  

  • The pedestrian crossing lights switch off late at night constantly and the light never changes making it difficult to cross the road. This happens consistently after 22:00pm but works fine in the daytime. 

• Thames footpath feels unsafe at night  

• Stewarts Road by railway bridge feels unsafe  

• The railway arches at the back of the Doddington Estate feel unsafe at night 

• Some brighter lighting, street greening, and general cleaning would encourage more people to use the pedestrian spaces, and then they will feel safer 

• Traffic across Battersea Square should be eliminated (not necessarily a night time issue) 

• Battersea High Street - street-drinking carries on into the night which makes the area feel unsafe 

• Culvert Road – more should be done to make this area and the underpass feel safer 

• Railway footbridge between Shaftesbury Estate and Battersea Park Road feels unsafe 

• Ganley Road has poor lighting  

• Winstanley and York Road estate is prone to a lot of drug dealers, drug users and homeless people hanging around the area. Especially in front of Holcroft House where they loiter to try and get inside the building by ringing random flats or waiting for someone who lives in the building to tailgate. 

• Battersea Park - there was a request for the small pedestrian gate near Albert Bridge to be left open because respondent often returns from Battersea Power Station at night through the park and this gate is locked  

• Charlotte Despard Avenue - men congregate here at night and it makes women feel unsafe 

• Savona Estate – one respondent said they are unhappy with this area at night  

What people liked: 

• Battersea High Street pedestrianisation

2.1.3 Clapham Junction 

Clapham Junction is in Battersea but for the purpose of this analysis it is practical to differentiate between Clapham Junction and the rest of Battersea. 

The key points raised about Clapham Junction at night were: 

• Station area on St John’s Hill and Flacon Road underpass - 

  • Several respondents are unhappy about anti-social behaviour outside the station and also about the Falcon Road underpass.  

  • Police presence requested at night outside the station – especially up to 8pm when children are still returning from school activities.

• Lavender Gardens - 1 respondent complained about anti-social behaviour by the patrons of the Four Thieves Pub  

• Bramlands - Drinkers congregate here at night and it makes people unsafe when walking to the Falcon Road Bus stop from the station  

• Lavender Hill - frequent prolonged shouting between 12am and 4 am – revellers returning.  

What people liked: 

• Northcote Road 

• A number of respondents liked the Northcote Road summer pedestrianisations – one of the reasons is the security presence during the pedestrianisation

2.1.4 Earlsfield 

The key points raised about Earlsfield at night were: 

• Merton Road and Garrett Lane carriageways should be improved for safety for cyclists and the whole of both roads needs to have double yellow lines along them. Motor vehicles tend to drive at higher speeds at night and when there are parked vehicles cyclists have to move out into the main part of the carriageway. The combination of the darkness, higher vehicle speeds, and obstructive parked cars is dangerous to cyclists and deters people from cycling. Both roads are classed as A-roads so should not allow parking at any time. 

• Corner on to Kingham Close leading to Wells Place feels scary at night as a female walking alone down this single lane street. 

• Kimber Road has lighting and litter problems 

• Haldane Place Road feels unsafe 

2.1.5 Furzedown 

The key points raised about Furzedown at night were:  

• Thrale Road, Leveson Road and part of Moyser Road (outside Budgens) and Mitcham Lane feel unsafe at night  

• Foot Pathway between Treherne Court and Franciscan Road 

• The common at night is dark and feels unsafe 

What People liked: 

• Moyser Road 

• Tooting Bec Athletics track 

2.1.6 Putney 

The key points raised about Putney at night were:  

• Woodlands way - dimly lit, women feel unsafe walking here.  

• Wandsworth Park - several respondents wanted to see it better lit and said it feels unsafe at night, two respondents said that the area should NOT be lit because of bat colonies and that dark spaces at night are important for wild life.  

• Feels unsafe at:  

  • Junction of Putney high street, lower Richmond road and Putney Bridge 

  • Burston Road - the whole road but particularly the small unmarked street which runs between the office block and the post office. 

  • Dissatisfaction with Putney high street outside McDonalds. Numbers 84-94 

2.1.7 Roehampton 

The key points raised about Roehampton at night were:  

• There needs to be more streetlights on Clarence Lane as there are large gaps between lights, coupled with trees creating a canopy blocking moonlight. 

• Feels unsafe on Danebury Avenue by the parade at the start of Danebury. 

2.1.8 Southfields 

The key points raised about Southfields at night were:  

• Wimbledon Park should allow pedestrians and cyclists 24/7 access. Currently, the gate to Wimbledon Park from Revelstoke Road is locked at night, forcing cyclists to take a long diversion from Wimbledon Park Road via Replingham Road. This extra distance via congested roads discourages cycling. 

• Travelling home from Southfields station in the winter feels unsafe walking through the park to get to the Westfield waterside development. More lights are needed, specifically the middle path through the park from Burr Roadto the bridge into the Henry Prince estate. 

• Keswick Road - lighting over footbridge is very dim and makes it feel unsafe 

• Southfields passage feels unsafe 

What people Liked: 

• Lighting outside Southfields Station 

2.1.9 Tooting 

The key points raised about Tooting at night were:  

• Fircroft Road - 

  • general noise pollution after 23:00 often until the early hours. Between 22:00 and 02:00 cars often go through the no entry sign, racing up and down the street revving engines loudly and playing music. 

  • Some mornings large amounts of coffee cups and other takeaway food containers from Chaiwala litter the street.

“Cars racing down a narrow street having gone through a no entry sign is a recipe for disaster.” 

• Many respondents complained about fast food delivery drivers on Mitcham road and about mopeds parked on pavements 

• Ant-social behaviour on Mitcham Road 

• Many comments about area outside Sainsbury’s, Salvador Passage and the passage leading to Sainsbury’s from Tooting High Street, reporting anti-social behaviour and feeling unsafe  

• Derelict phone boxes attract anti-social behaviour – mentioned several times.  

• Area outside Tooting Broadway station reported as feeling unsafe at night – begging, anti-social behaviour, alleged drug dealer sitting at the foot of the plinth. Young woman reports that she receives a lot of unwanted attention here and at bus stops on Mitcham Road.  

• Corner of Noyna Road mentioned several times as feeling unsafe.  

• Rogers Road – anti-social behaviour 

• Quiet corner in Kenlor Road cul-de-sac is used as a litter bin and urinal by taxi drivers 

• Nutwell Street - from the Little Taperia to the end of the street by the park feels unsafe 

• Lack of public toilets 

What people liked: 

• Tooting and Broadway Markets 

• Trendy places to visit 

2.1.10 Wandsworth Common 

The key points raised about Wandsworth Common at night were:  

• Station exit does not feel safe at night 

• There is no lighting on the path linking the John Archer Way entrance to Wandsworth Common despite rest of Common hosting well let main paths making it feel unsafe to cross the Common in the dark from this entrance. 

2.1.11 Wandsworth Town 

The key points raised about Wandsworth Town at night were:  

• The Wandle -  

  • There should be a path for cycling along the Wandle without having to go onto the main roads, which is particularly dangerous at night 

  • The cycle path from the Wandle should lead to the Thames uninterrupted 

  • The Wandle path was mentioned by respondents in both Wandsworth and Earlsfield as feeling unsafe 

• Ram Quarter pedestrian area should be open to cyclists considering how dangerous the one-way system is

• The walk from Virgin Active, down Smugglers Way to get back to Putney Bridge road feels unsafe 

• Old Burial Ground feels unsafe at night  

• The Spit, Wandle Bridge and nearby pathways feel unsafe. The Spit was mentioned several times, including regular alcohol drinking on the benches. 

• Several respondents mentioned Mapleton Road – comments included a requirement for CCTV, references to reported sexual violence and a feelling that the area is very unsafe.  

“A woman was a seriously injured during an attempted rape here... feels so unsafe at night and the open park makes it look unsafe as it's hard to know who's in there” 

• Though some people feel unsafe in this area, one respondent wrote the lights were far too bright and blinding on the Causeway and on the footbridge over Wandle River. They stated that lights on both sides of the very short path were unnecessary and unpleasant.  

• East Hill - pavement / level crossing frequented by drunks hanging around. Litter is a major problem, despite the bin near the bus stop.  

• Unhappy about the underpass outside Wandsworth Town Station (Old York Road) 

• Several respondents reported feeling unsafe at night on Wandsworth High Street when they leave work – the bus stop on Fairfield Street outside the town hall also mentioned.  

• Smugglers way - crossing around Roche Bobois & Riverside west, several people reported feeling unsafe around smugglers way, also in this area around two bridges leading to Enterprise Way. 

• Several respondents mentioned King George’s Park – they have to take the long way round when it is locked at night, but they also mention the park feeling unsafe at night.  

What people liked: 

• The Ram Quarter 

• Old York Road 

2.2.1 Balham 

The key points raised about Balham at night were: 

• Balham High Street -  

  • Drinking in the area spills out into the residential streets  

  • Broken glass and drunken behaviour well into the early hours 

  •  Increase of men urinating openly on the pavement/road and against garden gates  

•  Drinking in the area spills out into the residential streets  

• Broken glass and drunken behaviour well into the early hours 

•  Increase of men urinating openly on the pavement/road and against garden gates  

• The area around Ramsden Road by the library and Waitrose car park feels unsafe after dark, more police presence is needed  

• Cleaner streets needed  

“Balham is a litter bin” 

What people liked: 

• It's about right! 

2.2.2 Battersea 

The key points raised about Battersea at night were: 

• Stewarts Road - the bridge is depressing and concerns from residents about the narrow entrance on the southern side 

• Shaftesbury Estate -  

  • Women do not feel safe leaving or returning home after dark. 

  • It is clear that there is a network of drug dealers on the estate at all times of the day. 

• Winstanley Estate – the condition of the estate (rubbish and recycling bins not collected in time, big rats running around, lighting not working, cleaning often not happening etc) attracts antisocial behaviour and drug dealing   

• Grant Road - the train embankment on one side and Winstanley fences the other means there is nowhere to run. 

2.2.3 Clapham Junction 

• Clapham Junction Station to Winstanley estate – as a young woman feels unsafe place to walk at night, many intimidating people trying to get your attention by shouting and or following you. 

• The option "Less lighting" is missing! 

• St John’s Hill station entrance - rough sleepers and on street drinking day and night 

• Falcon Road - the tunnel is poorly lit and dirty, more lights and art work needed 

• Changing from train to bus or vice versa at night can be unpleasant, unclear wayfinding and there are often people hanging around staring at you 

2.2.4 Furzedown 

The key points raised about Furzedown at night were:  

• Mitcham Lane (between Blegborough Road and Eardley Road) -  

  • Narrow streets usually covered in rubbish bags or dumped goods  

  • Poor lighting and many ‘recessed’ spaces such as alleyways, entrances to mews or flats or shops often occupied by people drinking or smoking drugs.

• Narrow streets usually covered in rubbish bags or dumped goods  

• Poor lighting and many ‘recessed’ spaces such as alleyways, entrances to mews or flats or shops often occupied by people drinking or smoking drugs.  

• Open drug dealing at top of alleyway between Westcote Road and Blegborough Road. 

2.2.5 Putney 

The key points raised about Putney at night were:  

• Issue with drunk people drinking in the streets and gathering outside Putney Library from the evening into the night 

2.2.6 Tooting 

The key points raised about Tooting at night were:  

• Tooting High Street -  

  • Intimidating groups of people congregating on narrow pavements 

  • Dangerous and illegal scooter activity 

  • Lots of litter/fly-tipping 

  • Residents must be considered when adding more entertainment venues, with strict noise regulation

• Cowick Road – groups of people shouting and loud music played by cars late at night, especially in summer and when it’s not raining 

• The path alongside the athletics ground towards Thrale Road needs lights to come on earlier in the winter 

• Tooting Broadway - young people do not feel safe here and quick access to shops/take-aways acting as safe havens from the threat of violence or robbery have helped respondent’s son. Encouraging access and awareness of that kind would be helpful. 

2.2.7 Wandsworth Common 

The key points raised about Wandsworth Common at night were:  

• Could add Cricket nets on the Rugby pitch for evening sporting activity 

2.2.8 Wandsworth Town 

The key points raised about Wandsworth Town at night were:  

• Riverside Quarter - 

  • All routes to the Riverside Quarter, including from the station, the Causeway, Smuggler’s Way and through Wandsworth Park, feel unsafe for women due to poor lighting, no public transport and the entrances being deserted.   

  • No choice but to use unsafe routes as no other way 

  • Incidents of rape and murder have happened in the area  

  • Parents fearful of their teenage children going out at night and would like to see more youth facilities 

  • Need more activity like a night bus passing through the riverside Quarter and more animation through filling the empty shops and spaces in the area.  

• Wandsworth Park  

  • Scary for women to use parks in the winter (when it gets dark early) for walks or getting home 

  • More lights needed to make it feel safer  

  • One respondent suggested locking the gates at night for safety, as there are alternative routes people can take 

A general point was also made, not connected to a specific place, about outdoor arts bringing communities together, creating a more social and therefore safer place through having multiple vents a month on high streets. 

3.1 What we did  

The Council commissioned a range of creative projects using the DLUHC Round 2 Proptech Funding to help reach the wider community, including women, young people and night workers. Some were aimed at improving the reach of the online consultation through and others were aimed at both collecting responses and directing people to the consultation through a QR code. The projects are described below: 

Excerpts from the final booklet for the project. 

You can download the full booklet here.   

“I’ve not thought much about this stuff before. But now you are here asking me, it’s open gates. There is so much potential!”   

“I like seeing something different, that’s why I keep coming back. We need more things like this."

3.1.3 Promotional ‘work’ and ‘play’ films – Chocolate Films 

Local film studio Chocolate Films have filmed the borough at night from two perspectives – work and play. Their short films have been distributed through a range of social media streams to display the range of ways the borough is used for leisure and for work at night and why engaging with the Night Time Strategy work is so important. 

3.2 Creative projects community feedback summary

A key learning from the consultation is that everyone has something to say about the night time – old, young, male, female, LGBTQI+, and that many parts of the borough feel like the Council has forgotten about them, but through this consultation the people we spoke to felt heard.  

A very stark difference between men and women quickly emerged during the in-person events whereby men have not really thought about their safety at night where as almost all women had a story of something negative happening at night and feeling on edge when walking around the borough at night, especially in quiet areas.  

The issue of light was also an interesting subject, as most people defaulted to places being unlit as the reason for perceptions of unsafe areas, when in fact some of the areas spoken about were well lit. This shows that many people automatically assume light will make places safer, when there are actually other factors at play so it is important to dig deeper. 

Responses included: 

• Many women would not feel safe walking alone at certain times and in specific parts of the borough 

• Significantly more women feel unsafe than men  

• The community is very diverse but the evening and night time offer does not reflect this 

• More music and cultural venues desired for the night time  

• Need to tackle street drinking and loitering 

• More lighting needed 

• Providing activities for young people in the evenings is necessary 

• Tackling the cycle of crime in estates should be done through job provision and rehabilitation 

• Funding should be directed to more deprived parts of the borough 

• Street furniture should be provided for the community to congregate outdoors at night  

• More later opening businesses are needed to liven up quiet areas 

• Improving the conditions in tower blocks would improve activity at night as un-operational lifts a barrier to using the night time 

The Enablement Carers are a team in Wandsworth Council within the Adult Social Services & Public Health Department, in the KITE Team which is an inhouse, short-term service that provides enablement care to people in their own homes in Wandsworth 7 days a week, 365 days of the year from 7pm to 10pm. 

The team is made up of approximately 40 Enablement Carers that are lone workers. Below is the feedback from them about lone working in various areas of Wandsworth in the evenings: 

• Earlsfield is not well lit 

• Roehampton does not feel safe for women walking between client’s homes at night alone - there are some intimidating people around and the lighting is not as good as it used to be. 

• Estates in Battersea do not feel safe for women walking alone at night, there are often groups hanging around the flats 

• John Archer Way in Wandsworth Common feels isolated, especially on dark nights for lone working 

The consultation received 3 individual email response, summarised below: 

5.1 Respondent 1 

The Northern line extension has made a huge the respondent’s life, who goes out at night a lot, sometimes via Battersea Power Station Tube as well as restaurants or cinema etc in the Battersea Power Station area. However the respondent states that getting back to Bullen Street bus stop late at night is not a good experience. The only bus available to them is the 344, which has resulted in waiting times of up to 18 minutes on their own opposite Battersea Power Station tube, which at night has little traffic and no passing pedestrians. In turn, an alternative route is taken by the respondent at night which takes a lot longer and is exhausting but does not encompass a long wait. The respondent suggests a shuttle service from Vauxhall to Clapham Junction/Clapham Junction to Vauxhall that has a more regular timetable, which stops at Battersea Power Station tube. It is proposed that not all the 344 bus services should go all the way to Liverpool Street Station as the entire journey is not as regularly used.   

5.2 Response 2  

The respondent lives in SW15 and recently told their company they would no longer be leaving the office late at night due to it being unsafe coming home. The respondent also raised concern at their Residents Association meeting when it was proposed that the security cameras outside their flat will not be maintained. 

5.3 Response 3 

The respondent is a young woman concerned about her safety when walking to and from the Riverside Quarter to other parts of Wandsworth, including Wandsworth  

Town Station or Southside Shopping Centre, at night. She has experienced  

first-hand unwanted attention from males including an incident in Wandsworth Park which was reported to the police at the time.  

The fastest route which she takes in the daytime from the station (bridge at Bell Lane Creek, Smugglers Way, walking past the Natural Wood Floor company onto Swandon Way where it crosses over to Old York Road) changes during the evening and night-time. This route is poorly lit with very little CCTV, dark spaces and groups of young men hanging around which feels unsafe for a lone female.  

Another notable route, if getting the bus from Frogmore, is over Bell Lane Creek  

bridge, along the Causeway on to Frogmore. The respondent will not walk down this route at night as it is very poorly lit, with no CCTV and no residential buildings  

overlooking the area and therefore no natural surveillance. These routes are avoided by many young females, going the long way round such as walking along the A3 on to Putney Bridge Road and then onto Point Pleasant / Osiers Road. The map below sets out these routes. 

Map provided by respondent. 

The respondent feels there are a number of simple ways to make the areas mentioned above feel safer, she would like to see more CCTV and more layered lighting (not just direct light), which would make a huge difference and will help create a more welcoming environment for all members of society that can be enjoyed at anytime of the day.