London Borough of Wandsworth

According to the 2011 census, Wandsworth has a population of 306,995. In 2001 78% of the population was white, 9.6% black and 6.9% south Asian.

A 2017 study by Trust for London and the New Policy Institute found that Wandsworth has the lowest rate of unemployment of any London borough. It also has the 2nd lowest rate of local employees who are low-paid.[6]

The first Mayor of Wandsworth was John Lidiard, elected by the first Wandsworth Borough Council in November 1900.[10][11] Lidiard's initials are highlighted in the diamonds in the centre of the Mayor's chain of office.[12] The second Mayor was Sir William Lancaster.[13]

The current Mayor is Cllr Jane Cooper.[14]

The Armorial bearings retain many of the features of the arms of the former Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.

The fess, or crossing, of the shield is chequered blue and gold representing the arms of William de Warren, created first Earl of Surrey by William Rufus. Each gold square bears a teardrop representing the tears of the French Huguenots, many of whom settled in Wandsworth from 1685.

The ship at the top may refer to the Wendels, a tribe of sea-raiders from the Continent who supposedly gave their name to the district, for Wendelsworth was an early variation of Wandsworth. The four shields and oars on the ship represent the four parishes of Battersea, Putney, Tooting and Wandsworth.

The dove to the left is taken from the former Battersea coat of arms and the black dragon to the right was taken from the former Wandsworth arms and also refers to London, being similar to the City of London coat of arms.

A map showing the wards of Wandsworth since 2002

Wandsworth is administered by 60 councillors, 3 apiece from 20 wards. Since the 2018 election, 33 of these councillors are Conservative, 26 are Labour and 1 is Independent. The Conservatives have had an overall majority on the council since 1978 and provide all eight members of the Cabinet, the Leader of which is Cllr Ravi Govindia.

The borough contains three parliamentary constituencies:

• Battersea
• Putney
• Tooting

Five bridges join Wandsworth to the three London Boroughs on the north side of the Thames (from downstream following the river up):

• Chelsea Bridge
• Albert Bridge
• Battersea Bridge
• Wandsworth Bridge
• Putney Bridge

There are also a number of bridges crossing the River Wandle which runs through the centre of Wandsworth town and divides the borough in two.

• Clapham Junction
• Earlsfield
• Putney
• Battersea Park
• Balham
• Wandsworth Common
• Tooting (on border with London Borough of Merton)
• Queenstown Road (Battersea)
• Wandsworth Town

• On the Northern line:
  • Clapham South
  • Balham
  • Tooting Bec
  • Tooting Broadway
• On the District line:
  • East Putney
  • Southfields

National Rail services are operated from London Waterloo by South Western Railway to Earlsfield, Putney, Queenstown Road (Battersea), Wandsworth Town and the borough's largest station, Clapham Junction. This last station is also served from London Victoria by Southern as are Balham, Battersea Park and Wandsworth Common.

London Overground services mainly serve Clapham Junction, which is the southern terminus for the West London Line that has services to Stratford via Shepherd's Bush, though some trains terminate at the West London Line's northern terminus at Willesden Junction. The western terminus for the East London Line also is at Clapham Junction that has services to Highbury & Islington via Denmark Hill. There is also a limited one train a day parliamentary train service that instead of terminating at Clapham Junction, it instead terminates at Battersea Park.

London Underground services are provided on the District line to East Putney and Southfields and on the Northern line to Balham, Clapham South, Tooting Bec and Tooting Broadway.

Wandsworth London Borough Council and Transport for London (TfL) maintain cycling infrastructure in the Borough.

Cycle Superhighway 7 (CS7) is an unbroken, signposted cycle route running through the southeastern portion of the Borough. The route runs along the A24 and A3 roads, through Tooting, Balham, and Clapham. Northbound the route links the Borough directly to the City of London via Kennington, Elephant and Castle, and Southwark. Southbound, the route runs unbroken to Colliers Wood.

Cycle Superhighway 8 (CS8) is an unbroken, signposted cycle route running through the northern edge of Wandsworth, through Battersea. The route runs east-west along the A3205/Battersea Park Road, but the route leaves the Borough to the north over Chelsea Bridge. The route begins in Wandsworth Town and runs to Millbank, City of Westminster, passing Chelsea and the Tate Britain en route.

Although CS8 leaves the Borough to the north, cycling infrastructure is provided along the entire A3205 route between Wandsworth Town and Nine Elms. This means that there is a continuous, signposted cycle route - primarily along designated cycle lanes - from Wandsworth Town and Battersea to Vauxhall, Lambeth, and the South Bank.

Quietway 4 (Q4) runs from Clapham Common to Earlsfield in the Borough, through Wandsworth Common.[15]

The Wandle Trail is a shared-use trail for cyclists and pedestrians between Wandsworth Town and Waddon. The route is signposted and mainly traffic-free. It runs through Earlsfield, Colliers Wood, Morden, Mitcham, and Carshalton along the way.[16]

The Santander Cycles bike-sharing system operates in Putney, Wandsworth Town, and Battersea.[15]

In March 2011, the main forms of transport that residents used to travel to work were (of all residents aged 16–74):

• underground, metro, light rail, tram, 20.7% ;
• train, 10.6%;
• driving a car or van, 10.6%;
• bus, minibus or coach, 9.7%;
• on foot, 5.6%;
• bicycle, 5.4%;
• work mainly at or from home, 4.0%.[17]

Wandsworth has responsibility for three Metropolitan Open Spaces:

• Battersea Park
• Wandsworth Common
• Tooting Commons – the historically separate, but adjoining, Tooting Bec Common and Tooting Graveney Common

These three large green spaces together with a range of smaller parks and playgrounds (such as Wandsworth Park) are patrolled by Wandsworth Council's own parks police known from 1984 to 2012 as the Wandsworth Parks Police. From April 2012 the Parks Police team of 23 officers was replaced by a smaller Wandsworth Events Police Service (WEPS) working with a team of 12 Metropolitan Police Officers. This system was deemed unsuccessful, and in 2015 the WEPS was rebranded as Wandsworth Parks and Events Police (WPEP) and returned to full staffing levels of 33 police officers and support officers.[20][21]

Also within the borough's boundaries are Putney Heath and part of Putney Lower Common, which are managed as part of Wimbledon Common, and the west side of Clapham Common, which is managed by the London Borough of Lambeth.

• Battersea Arts Centre
• Theatre503
• Putney Arts Theatre
• Tara Arts Theatre

• Balham
• Battersea
• Earlsfield
• Furzedown
• Nine Elms
• Putney
• Putney Heath
• Putney Vale
• Roehampton
• Southfields
• Streatham Park
• Tooting
• Tooting Bec/Upper Tooting
• Wandsworth
• West Hill

SW4 (part), SW8 (part), SW11 (all), SW12 (part), SW15 (part), SW16 (part), SW17 (part), SW18 (part), SW19 (part)