Southfields Village To Get An Upgrade
Aiming to make the centre more attractive and user-friendly
The changes will further upgrade the shopping area, improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists and make it easier to access via public transport.
The improvements will also help ease the pressure at the busy Southfields tube station, especially during Wimbledon fortnight when Southfields serves as the main transport hub for the Championships and is used by hundreds of thousands of people.
Councillors at last week's Community Services Committee agreed the scheme which was drawn up following extensive input from local groups, including the residents’ association and the Southfields Business Forum.
Changes will include:
- Reducing street ‘clutter’ such as railings
- Widening pavements and making sure the same high quality paving is consistently used
- Planting more trees and plants
- Installing ‘Copenhagen’ crossings which slow down traffic at road entrances and encourage vehicles to give way to pedestrians
- Better street furniture and more seating areas
- Better facilities for cyclists and the introduction of cycling contraflows
Some private forecourts could be resurfaced if landowners agree, and the Council is investigating the feasibility of a drinking fountain requested by local people.
Above: How Replingham Road could look
The cost of the scheme - likely to be between £1.5m and £2.3m - will be met by a combination of the Wandsworth Local Fund (money raised by the Council imposing a levy on local developers), the wider Strategic Community Infrastructure Levy and by Transport for London.
The delivery of the scheme will be phased and the whole plan is expected to take about a year to be completed. The first phase could start in the autumn
Roads and transport spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said, “Thousands of people visit Southfields Underground Station every year as they make their way to the All England Championship. We want to make the shopping area an attractive place, easily reached by foot, bike and public transport, where visitors and Southfields residents want to stop and support local shops.”
June 25, 2018