Balham Neighbourhood Wardens start work to tackle anti-social behaviour 

The wardens are a visible, active presence in Balham, rooted in the local neighbourhood. 

They patrol the streets of Balham and support local people, including fly-tipping enforcement. They also work in partnership with local businesses and Neighbourhood Policing Teams, providing reassurance and an easier way to report issues. 

Leader of the Council Simon Hogg said: “The wardens will address nuisances like flytipping, noise and other anti-social behaviour that we know have a big impact on resident’s lives. 

"Wandsworth is the safest inner London borough but challenges in police resourcing mean we need sharper precision and even stronger partnerships. Together with Neighbourhood Policing Teams, we will work to make sure people always feel safe walking around their local streets.” 

Graeme Henderson, Cabinet Member for Community Safety, said: “This is about putting a visible presence on the street to reassure people that they are being protected and listened to.”

Jo Rigby, Deputy Cabinet Member for Environment, added: “The Balham Neighbourhood Wardens will keep our streets cleaner by rapidly addressing issues like flytipping, graffiti, broken streetlights and damaged pavements. You can tell them what needs sorting, and they will take action.” 

Through our Balham Forum, rsidents have raised the need for a more visible, uniformed presence on the streets. Our Neighbourhood Wardens are a direct response to their feedback.  This pilot will provide residents with a more visible community presence and could be rolled out to other parts of the borough.  

The wardens are a reassuring presence on the streets – talking to residents and businesses to offer advice and to link them up with sources of help if they need them.  

They are an easy contact point for help with council services, support for vulnerable residents such as rough sleepers, and to highlight areas that need greater focus. 

Tackling anti-social behaviour is a priority for the wardens. The new patrols use their own enforcement powers, and work closely with other agencies, to tackle it. 

The Neighbourhood Wardens will patrol four days a week, focusing on peak times such as the afternoon school run and evenings, and on known hotspots. 

We will continue to listen to residents through the Balham Forum to get feedback on the success of the pilot and whether it should be rolled out to other town centres.  

The Balham Forum was set up to ask local people about what they love about Balham and what could be improved. Find out how you can have your say at balhamforum.commonplace.is 

The Neighbourhood Wardens are also part of a package of measures to help local people feel safer, including increased CCTV coverage, better lighting and repairing broken street lights, removing flytipping and adding graffiti to our 7 Days, 7 rings guarantee, ensuring that local people can easily report problems that will then be swiftly dealt with.