This South London street will get pedestrianised for dining and drinking this summer
Drinks on the tarmac
One of the buzziest roads in South London is set to become pedestrianised over the weekends this summer.
Northcote Road, which sits right by Clapham Junction station, will become pedestrianised each Saturday and Sunday from 11th July. And we’ll get to enjoy those al fresco European vibes until 30th August.
A slew of bars and restaurants sit along Northcote Road, including Osteria Antica Bologna, The Ivy, The Red Setter, Buenosera and Al Gusto.
The plans should make this stretch of Clapham a much more vibey space, and cars will be barred each Saturday and Sunday from 6am to 10pm. Buses will be redirected too.
The timing of this pedestrianised season coincides with the Northcote Road SW11 Summer Festival, on 12th July. As well as being just the second day of a car-free street, this festival will add live music, a dog show and a giant screen displaying the Wimbledon finals — which take place that day.
This isn’t the first time Northcote Road has been pedestrianised. Cars were first shown the door in July 2020, seeing restaurant tables spill out into the road for slightly off-kilter al fresco dining vibes — the road is a little wider and less scenic than you might have in mind for such outdoors eating and drinking.
Northcote Road’s pedestrian season returned in 2021 and 2022, but was axed for the 2023 summer season despite a bit of public outcry in late 2022, when the council announced the scheme would not return.
A petition to see it come back attracted upwards of 5000 signatures, but the pedestrianisation was deemed too pricey — its cancellation reportedly freed up somewhere in the ballpark of £2.5 million for the council.
But, hey, it’s back. And it will make this part of Battersea/Clapham much more of an attractive destination this summer in our book.
“We are delighted to bring back the weekend pedestrianisation over the summer, supporting local businesses while once again transforming Northcote Road into a destination for both residents and visitors,” says councillor Tom Pridham.
It’s not the only bit of recent pedestrianisation news either. Plans are also afoot to make Oxford Street a pedestrian zone, or at least part of it, by summer’s end. It’s a scheme backed by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who has said he wants to turn the area — whose wide pavements can be nightmarishly busy at times — into a “pedestrian plaza.”
