Balham Partnership News!

Wandsworth Council and The Balham Partnership has secured a £1.9million funding pot to improve Balham town centre.

The bulk of the money will come from the Outer London Fund which was set up by Mayor of London Boris Johnson to help liven up the capital’s town centres.

The cash will be spent on a series of local projects including:

• Improvements to the railway bridge over Balham High Road

 • Installation of ‘Legible London’ signage to improve wayfinding in the town centre.

• Pedestrian improvements to Hildreth Street

• Town centre publicity campaigns to drive up local trade

• Improvements to the Balham community space

 • Upgrades to the Post Office forecourt on Balham High Road

• Public artwork on an unsightly wall on Balham High Road

• A programme of cultural and business events

Wandsworth Council’s economic development office applied for the grant along with the Balham Partnership. Local firms and the council are also providing some match funding to boost the total level of new investment.

In November Wandsworth Council, the town centre manager and the Balham Partnership submitted a £1.4 million bid to the Mayor of London’s Outer London Fund (round 2).  The decision is expected in mid/late January 2012.

Wandsworth Council submitted the £1,437,855 bid  to support a series of programmes to ‘explore, enjoy and invest’ in Balham.  

Funding would enable a range of activities to increase footfall, enhance a number of key public spaces, run a programme of cultural events, undertake a series of business support measures and unlock a number of significant development opportunities.

Pedestrian footfall would be increased by encouraging local residents, the 10 million plus commuters travelling through Balham Station each year and others to explore more of Balham town centre.  To achieve this, as part of a wider marketing campaign, OLF 2 actions would include poster campaigns at Balham Station, improved way finding across Balham (Legible London), a new pocket map/online map/ mobile app and a revamp of the overhead Balham High Roadrailway bridge through improved lighting and public art.   

A series of public realm upgrades would be undertaken and shaped by a series of summer 2012 community engagement workshops.  The enhancements would include improvements to Hildreth Street market, enhanced landscaping, seating, lighting and new performance area at ”Balham Community Space”, the improvement of an eyesore wall known locally as “the ugly wall” and the creation of a new public space at the Post Office forecourt on Balham High Road.    

Funding would enable numerous business support measures, including the establishment and support for new traders associations, which would in turn be supported to deliver a programme of cultural events in summer 2012. 

If the bid were successful the Mayor’s funding would also aim to help unlock development potential of two key development sites close to Balham Station, which were identified as suitable for development in Design for London’s Housing Intensification in Seven South London Town Centres study. 

The Mayor’s funding would also decrease the number of vacant retail units in the town centre through targeted work. It is estimated that 62 new jobs will be created on the back of this investment, if the bid was successful.