The South London ‘party area’ where residents are desperate for a Tube extension and pedestrianised streets

South Londoners say extending the Northern line to a local town centre would save people sitting for hours on buses, forking out for Ubers and improve connectivity to the rest of the city.

Wandsworth Council is investigating bringing Northern line services to Clapham Junction as part of a masterplan for the area, which is in Battersea. The council approved plans to create the masterplan in February this year, which could include improvements to Clapham Junction station, new homes and offices.

READ MORE: The South London neighbourhood with two Tube stations ‘right on top of each other’ that’s like living in a soap opera

The authority also green-lit a pre-feasibility study into extending the Northern line to the area, looking at the estimated costs, benefits and constraints of the scheme.

It comes in the midst of changes to the area, including the council scrapping the pedestrianisation of Northcote Road during weekends in summer.

Upgrades are also being carried out on Clapham Junction station, Britain’s busiest interchange according to Network Rail, as part of a £35 million programme.

People working in Clapham Junction told the Local Democracy Reporting Service a Northern line extension would make the area more accessible. Hettie Smith, 21, said it would bring in more visitors and make travelling easier.

She said: “To get the Tube you’ve got to go all the way to Clapham Common which, if you think about it, it’s not that far but it’s like a 15 or 20-minute walk and then you’ve got to pay for the bus. Especially for people on a budget, if you’re already paying for the Tube and then the bus on top of it, it all adds up.”

She added: “The Northern line runs dead late as well, so even if you just go out at 7pm at least you could still get the Tube back by midnight. It would make a difference, and instead of sitting on buses for two hours or something or spending £50 on an Uber.”

Hettie works on Northcote Road and lives nearby in Southfields. She likes Clapham Junction as it has ‘a bit of everything’ and said: “I’ve got friends that live along this road and all around and it’s a nice little middle meeting point.”

She described Northcote Road no longer being closed to traffic during weekends in summer, for the first time since 2020, as a ‘shame’.

The 21-year-old said: “I loved it last year. I think it’s nice, especially when the sun’s out you just want to sit outside. Especially pubs around here, they don’t have the big pub gardens or anything.”

She continued: “You’re already living in quite a party area… especially if you go up to Clapham High Street, it’s known for a night out. So I just feel like it is a bit of a shame, but it is what it is.”

Hettie said skyrocketing rent and bills are making life in London increasingly difficult, but that for many families in Clapham Junction ‘money isn’t as big of an issue’.

She said: “You do notice, especially some people my age, the people that live round here definitely have financial help from their parents so it’s quite different.”

Leo, 26, who did not wish to give his surname, said a Northern line extension would be good for Clapham Junction. He said: “As someone who lives nearby but I’ve got to take either a train or a bus, it would make connecting here a bit easier and like south to the rest of London.”

The 26-year-old said the area has a mixture of locals and people travelling through as it is a ‘busy hub’.

He said: “There’s three different stations, North, Common and Junction. When it comes to Junction, it’s a little bit more commercial because of the high street and all of that, loads of restaurants, so the type of people that you get around here is more people who are here to have a shop and stuff like that. There’s quite a bit of locals but usually a bit further on.”

He added: “You do feel that neighbourhood feeling to it. I feel like in South [London] it does have that feeling so that’s really nice. I prefer [Clapham] Common a bit more, that’s just because there’s the Common there, it’s a bit more green as well, here it’s a bit more busy. But it’s still really nice, I really like it.”

Leo described the area as ‘very pricey’ and said many locals work in ‘law, finance or marketing, so pretty good salaries’. He added: “I feel like the area is really up-and-coming… Junction is only recent because I feel like North and Common is out of reach now, that’s what happens.”

Rittania Gayle, 41, works at a charity shop on Northcote Road for Royal Trinity Hospice. About the pedestrianisation scheme being scrapped, she said: “We’re not doing as well as last year. I can see the difference. It’s not as bad but it would have been a lot better if we had the weekend closures.”

Ms Gayle said Clapham Junction has ‘changed a lot’ since she started working there around eight years ago. Most clothes shops have shut down, she said, but ‘a lot of cafés and restaurants are opening up’ and bringing new people in.

Hordes of students and young professionals are moving into the area, with landlords building on top of shops to accommodate the renters, she added. “Our landlord had flats above… now he’s done another storey. I’ve noticed a lot of the shops are getting extra storeys of flats so it’s a lot of renters now, less owners.”

Ms Gayle said there are less families in the area as it has become more expensive, they moved elsewhere to bigger homes and since Brexit. She said: “A lot of the families are from France or Italy, so a lot of them moved back home. We had a few volunteers [who] had to move back home.”

About the area, she continued: “It was busy because of the families, but now it’s busier because there’s a lot more younger students and a lot more young professionals coming and it’s like their meeting-up point. They meet at the station and they come.”

But she said cleaning in the area could be improved as ‘especially over the weekend, when [people are] drinking around, the streets are always a bit dirty’.

Livia Lollino, 27, has worked on Northcote Road for around two years. When the pedestrianisation scheme was running, she said: “We couldn’t believe how many people there were just walking past and now its kind of not going that way. But you do feel like [it is] an area where you can just go out, enjoy… get a pizza or just shop, anything.”

Livia lives in South Wimbledon and said a Northern line extension to Clapham Junction would be ‘perfect’. She said: “I could literally just get off at Clapham Junction because right now I get off at Clapham Common, but then I end up waiting like 10 minutes for my bus.”

But she thinks the addition of Northern line services would push house prices up. She said: “Also, because you need to do all the works for it, you would have to shut down smaller parts in between to do it. At the same time, honestly, I could get the train but it’s more expensive so that’s why I don’t.”

Kirsty Fraser, 53, works next to Clapham Junction station and said she ‘couldn’t be in a better position for trade’ as it is so busy. She said a Northern line extension would bring in even more business.

A Wandsworth Council spokesperson said: “Clapham Junction is a popular and vibrant part of the borough and home to people of all ages and backgrounds and from all walks of life. It is this mix which makes it such a wonderful place to live and to visit.

“The council wants to build upon that success and vibrancy by developing new and improved travel links and is undertaking a feasibility study to investigate bringing Northern line Tube services to the town centre.

“The council always welcomes feedback from residents as it looks to boost the area’s fortunes, its leisure and culture opportunities and its economic wellbeing.”

A Transport for London spokesperson said: “There are no current plans or funding to extend the Northern line further to Clapham Junction. However, the design of the Northern Line extension means a further extension could be possible in the future. We are happy to meet with Wandsworth Council to discuss their ambition and the challenges associated with it, including funding.

“We remain committed to extending the Bakerloo line, subject to securing additional Government funding, which would connect a historically underserved part of London to the Tube network, while unlocking thousands of new homes that London needs and supporting new jobs.