To be honest, I don't think anyone actually cares except those who have a vested interest in the borough boundaries, but it does my head in when people ask why Love Clapham reports on Clapham Junction because it's in Battersea.
I actually don't believe that the boundaries matter at all. The reason Love Clapham includes Clapham Junction is for multiple reasons:
- Clapham Junction is a neighbour of Clapham, used and visited frequently by Clapham residents and vice-versa. Even if you don't count it as Clapham, it's still relevant to residents in the same way Balham, Stockwell etc are.
- It has 'Clapham' in the name, so like it or not, lots of people think it actually is Clapham. I can't count the number of times my friends have said "oh I'm moving to Clapham too" when it's Clapham Junction. Clapham Junction has had 'Clapham' in its name for many decades now - for all intents and purposes, by name it is part of Clapham. Even the best known venue in Clapham Junction is the Clapham Grand.
- While the councils and people with an interest in the differences between the two boroughs may care a lot about the boundaries, for a site like this it doesn't matter two hoots. A website can quite easily report on both - and Love Clapham does.
- The official boundaries are irrelevant to the community. While officially Clapham Junction is part of Battersea (and I'm not saying that should change at all - I don't care) the local community, at least in my view, is so closely tied to Clapham Common. Clapham Common is the heart of this community and is one of the primary reasons people move to the area, whether it's Clapham Junction, Clapham South, Clapham Old Town etc. Of course Clapham Junction / Northcote Roaders have Wandsworth Common too, but Clapham Common plays its part. Because of the prominence of Clapham Common and the name Clapham Junction, I would strongly argue that it makes more sense to think of the Clapham community stretching form Clapham Junction station, to Clapham South to Clapham North, round to Clapham Common and Old Town and back again.
Rant over :)
