Clapham Junction, Battersea

Even before the building of the railway station, this area was an important crossing point for many travellers, a tradition that still continues. With over 2,500 trains passing through Clapham Junction on a daily basis, the station is not only the busiest in the country but also amongst the busiest in the world. As a result of the frequent links both in and out of central London, Clapham Junction has become a popular place for people to live and as a result the area has seen a revival, providing comprehensive facilities both in terms of shopping and entertainment, to locals and visitors alike.

The popular Northcote Road is a good place to both start and finish a visit to the area. Here you can get a 'brunch menu' in one of the many bars and cafes, or you can end a tiring day on your feet with a pint in one of the pubs. Northcote Road is famous for its host of bars, restaurants and eateries which almost exclusively offer great quality choices. There are a number of independent speciality shops which have become famous in the area, e.g. a cheese shop, quality butchers, bakery, fishmongers and a honey shop. The flourishing market offers fruit, vegetables, flowers and crafts from Thursday to Saturday. There are a number of antique shops, including the Antiques Market with over forty stalls at 155 Northcote Road selling antique furniture, china, glass, silver, jewellery, cutlery, lighting, prints and pictures.

Over the crossroads from Northcote Road, the shopping area starts in St John's Road. At the end of St John's Road you will find the crossing with St John's Hill and Lavender Hill where the shopping district continues. On this corner is one of the most famous shops of the area; Arding & Hobbs department store, which is now run by Debenhams, is a listed building and was the first department store in South London.

Clapham Junction is located in the heart of Battersea. There is a local campaign called SW11tch Back to Battersea to raise awareness of the area's unique Battersea identity.

As part of the Clapham Junction Town Centre Partnership, we have helped to put in place a wide range of improvements and enhancements to the town centre.

 Achievements include:

• Implementation of a £1 million townscape improvement programme in St John's Road - improving conditions for pedestrians and security.
• £225,000 programme of physical improvements under the Conservation Area Partnership programme.
• Helping to secure £10 million private sector investments
• Enhancement of street cleaning regimes
• Expansion of Northcote Road Market
• New image and banner programme for Clapham Junction.
• An imaginative programme of marketing and events, including the very successful SW11 Literary Festival.
• Northcote Road was recently voted the "2nd best street in London".
• Helped establish and develop the retail radio system.
• Created a town centre web site to promote the area: http://www.clapham-junction.com/

NEWS

SW11 Literary Festival 2011: click here to download the full programme of events