Love Clapham website is the local guide for residents and visitors of the Clapham area, London. This includes Clapham Common, Clapham North, Clapham South, Clapham Old Town, Clapham Junction and the surrounding areas of Battersea, Balham, Stockwell, Vauxhall and more.
Windmill Drive to close to cyclists and pedestrians?
Fantastic news in Love Clapham’s opinion, Lambeth Council is proposing the permanent closure of Windmill Drive on Clapham Common to traffic (the road that cuts across the common next to the Windmill Pub). We’ve nearly been mown down numerous times crossing this road and, highlighted by the above picture of the childrens playground, this is hardly ideal for a park that attracts thousands of families with children. Keep reading and tell us what you think.
According to the South London Press “The council has sent 4,000 questionaires to residents in the area asking for their views as part of a public consultation, which ends on August 10.” If you have a view, even a positive one, you are encouraged to email gbull@lambeth.gov.uk to ask for an opinion questionnaire.
You can view the full proposal, with good artistic drawings, by viewing the full plans (PDF) by the Council on their website. The plans specify that the main purpose of this proposal is to:
- Stop ‘rat running’ traffic, its environmental impact and risks to park users.
- Reconnect existing footways and cycle paths currently severed by the road.
- Extend and rejoin the two areas of parkland while improving aesthetics.
However, the Friends of Clapham Common, a committee that helps safeguard the public interests of Clapham Common, seem to have some reservations. Specifically, Peter Burke-Murphy, the chairman of the group says:
A section of the road alongside the storage/recycling dump will be dug up and returned to the Common leaving a path for cyclists and pedestrians only. Approximately half of Windmill Drive lies in the Borough of Wandsworth and this part will not be affected, apparently because there has been no consultation between the boroughs!
Paved turning areas will need to be formed at both ends of this closure encroaching into the Common thus minimizing any gain of green space and 12 parking spaces will be lost close to the children’s playground. Your Committee is waiting for further details before making a recommendation but at the present time I have strong reservations.
In my opinion it is a half hearted measure which does not link the adjacent sections of the Common as envisaged by the Master Plan and does nothing to tidy up the dump which is an eyesore or address the problems created around Tom’s Cafe. When we last took a poll of members’ views there was no clear majority for or against so if you have a strong view you can respond to the public consultation details of which will be on our website.
What is the correct answer here? Closing the road sounds great to us, but do the plans not fully meet the needs as stated by the Friends of Clapham Common? Please share your views or help enlighten us with more information in the comments below.
Windmill Drive location
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2 Responses to Windmill Drive to close to cyclists and pedestrians?
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| 1. | Le Petit Boulangerie, Abbeville Road | 1. | Lack of waffles on sale in cafes |
| 2. | Gastro, Venn Street | 2. | Too many Sainsbury's |
| 3. | Clapham's new Leisure Centre | 3. | Rainy weekends :o( |
| 4. | Venn Street Sat market | 4. | Rubbish shops on the High Street |
| 5. | Costa in Clapham Junction station | 5. |
The correct answer would be that Wandsworth and Lambeth join efforts.
There’s something funny here.
A scheme sold as “safety improvement” with no safety justification included in the consultation?
Closing half a road?
This is driven by the need to spend the pot of money rather than reach the best solution.
Cyril is right.
btw The Friends of Clapham Common say on their site that they are an “association with 300 members” rather than “a committee”.
Rgds