Northcote Road closure paves the way for a new Clapham Junction

There is no doubt that the hospitality industry, which runs on human interaction and sociability, saw the worst consequences of the coronavirus pandemic during the last year, with the prolonged lockdowns and forced closures seeing many businesses sadly close their doors for good.

The Daily Business Group reported that just under 10,000 pubs and restaurants closed permanently in the UK during 2020, reiterating what a devastating year it was for the sector. As we appear to leave the pandemic behind us (hopefully this time for good…) many local councils in London have turned to unique and drastic initiatives to try and boost their local economies and get people spending their cash again. 

In my local area, Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Council has decided to close popular dining destination Northcote Road for the whole summer reaching into September in order to pedestrianise the area: an initiative they trialled last year during Eat Out to Help Out which saw the area boom and attract large crowds of people (which in hindsight, probably wasn’t the best idea). By closing the area, businesses are able to place their indoor seating in the road and keep everyone more distanced as a direct result of having more space to expand their al fresco dining areas. 

Ultimately, I see the decision on re-closing Northcote Road as one that is tainted by the desire to continue the transparent gentrification of the area

However, many of the establishments on Northcote Road are in fact chain restaurants and cafes, Joe & The Juice, All Bar One, and GAIL’s just to name a few. So in terms of boosting the local economy, and seeing that money reinvested into the community, I believe Northcote Road actually isn’t the best candidate for closure.

It seems like an oxymoron to close a major local road and re-route a whole area, only to watch that money get reinvested in holding companies far from Clapham. Additionally, coupled with the long-standing and clear gentrification of the area, reflected in house prices which have grown by 3.15% in the last 12 months alone to an average price of £709,145, it seems easy to make the connection that the type of consumer that Wandsworth Council is aiming to attract is one from a predominantly upper-middle-class background.

As a favoured road for browsing shops or ‘brunching’, the area has always been known for its affluent visitors, and it is often referred to as an “extension of Chelsea”. So it does beg the question as to whether the stereotypical socio-economic band of customers on Northcote Road is what pushed the council to close it again.

A local resident who works in the borough and would prefer to remain anonymous highlighted the clear contrast of lifestyle in the area: “It’s easy to see the divide in class and earnings in Clapham Junction, especially when you consider how people from minority ethnic backgrounds are regularly treated in areas such as around York Gardens, where police are continuously stationed pre-emptively; while only a few roads down you have predominantly white upper-middle-class families dining out on Northcote Road.”

The road is an important transport route in the area, especially for the local bus network. Closing it has lead to huge ramifications for the public transport sector in the borough. Personally, I got stuck in the traffic myself and spent two hours taking a route that would usually only take my 25 minutes. Once again, the negative side-effects of the road closure reiterate the type of consumer that the closure is aimed at appealing to – those who don’t need to take public transport and those who don’t work weekends – both associated with people from higher-earning demographic backgrounds. 

Although I do believe the road closures will bring life back into the community around Clapham Junction post-lockdown, Ultimately, I see the decision on re-closing Northcote Road as one that is tainted by the desire to continue the transparent gentrification of the area. Initiatives like this would greatly benefit smaller communities around south-west London, ones where local businesses can directly reap the benefits of such a large-scale disruption, and keep that money in a locality that will truly see the positive consequences of it, such as in Brixton or Tooting. 

However, the choice to re-close an area that has already had its ‘bounce-back’ instead of allowing an equal opportunity to all areas and demographics, just reiterates to me how large of a class divide there is in London. 

Feature image by Romazur for Wikimedia Commons