Council Adopts Local Plan to Shape the Future of the Borough
Potential schemes include 20,000 homes and a new Thames bridge
Clapham Junction station. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
July 28, 2023
Wandsworth borough could see major changes in the next 15 years, including more than 20,000 new homes, the revamp of a shopping centre, an improved train station and another bridge over the River Thames. Major potential schemes have been laid out in Wandsworth Council’s new Local Plan, which was adopted this month after three rounds of public consultation since 2018.
The plan will shape development in Wandsworth for the next 15 years, up to 2038, guiding decisions on planning applications and informing investment. The first draft was published in 2021, followed by an updated version in 2022. It was submitted for independent inspection later in 2022 and formally adopted on 19 July this year.
The plan provides for a minimum of 20,311 new homes to be built from 2023 to 2038. Schemes which already have planning permission include the regeneration of the Winstanley and York Road area, expected to deliver up to 2,550 new homes, and the three-phase revamp of St John’s Hill estate, in Clapham Junction, with 599 homes. A 16-storey tower block with new offices, a public plaza and café at Havelock Terrace, in Nine Elms, was approved in May.
New strategies for development in the borough are included, with site allocations identifying where new homes, shops, jobs, infrastructure and open space, along with leisure, health and education facilities could be built.
It says Southside Shopping Centre, on Wandsworth High Street, could be redeveloped to provide improved and extra floorspace that allows for new homes, shops, leisure facilities and better links between King George’s Park and Garratt Lane. The centre of Wandsworth Bridge roundabout is identified for potential redevelopment through the removal of its western arm, with changes including new homes and an improved pedestrian and cycle route.
Wandsworth Town Hall is also named for a potential revamp with shops, homes and a new public square alongside its existing council functions. Asda, Lidl and Boots, on Falcon Lane, sit on a site earmarked for possible changes in the plan, which says its retail function should be kept, while new offices, homes and a small public square with al fresco dining could be built.
CGI of the Havelock Terrace scheme. Picture: Workspace Group/Squire and Partners/Planit-ie
The plan also says buildings at St George’s Hospital, in Tooting, are suitable for improvements and new homes, if they are in line with the estate strategy being drawn up by St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Queen Mary’s Hospital car park, in Roehampton, could also be rebuilt with extra medical buildings, according to the plan.
The regeneration of the Alton Estate, in Roehampton, is also included. The revamp could see a mix of replacement and new affordable homes built, improved shops, better connections across the estate and new trees, according to the plan.
Furthermore, an overhaul of Clapham Junction station with improved facilities features in the plan. Other major transport schemes supported by the council in the plan include Transport for London (TfL) proposals to redesign Wandsworth town centre’s one-way system, which would involve rerouting the A3 and A205 South Circular to the north of the town centre and restricting the central section of Wandsworth High Street and Garratt Lane to buses and cyclists.
The plan also identifies the area surrounding Kirtling Street as the indicative landing site for a potential pedestrian and cycle bridge linking Pimlico to Nine Elms.
By 2038, the plan says, “Wandsworth will be a borough of opportunity supported by its well-designed attractive and distinctive neighbourhoods, connected by parks, commons, open spaces and its riverside. There will be an enhanced range of local services which increase opportunities for social interaction, with people living active, healthy, safe, fulfilled and independent lives.
“The five existing and distinct town centres at Clapham Junction, Wandsworth, Putney, Tooting, Balham, together with the new town centre at Battersea Power Station, will play a key role in this, supported by the borough’s local centres.”
It adds: “We will have created vibrant new mixed-use quarters, opened up Wandsworth’s riversides, and ensured that these are connected to existing communities and facilities by safe and attractive local walking and cycling networks.”
Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter