Educational excellence, a proliferation of parks, a shiny new private members’ club, the lowest council tax in the UK and now the London Borough of Culture for 2025. There are many reasons to love Wandsworth and you’ll certainly hear them on repeat from loyal locals who are all firm believers in the brilliance of their south-west London home.
The celebrities have already moved in. Battersea Power Station is the glittering riverside jewel in the borough’s crown, with Sting and Trudie Styler and Bear Grylls among buyers of flats in the £9 billion development.
Cookery writer Skye McAlpine and her young family split their time between homes in Wandsworth and Venice, while acting duo Prunella Scales and her late husband Timothy West spent 50 years there, raising their two sons, including fellow thespian Samuel. It’s also home to Mayor Sadiq Khan, whose Borough of Culture initiative will involve “hundreds of events” right across the wider area, from Roehampton to Battersea, Tooting to Putney.
Wandsworth’s most prestigious enclave is Spencer Park, a group of 30 homes with gardens leading directly into a private square. David and Victoria Beckham are said to have scouted out the area before opting instead for Holland Park.
“There’s plenty of old family money mixed in with celebrities in Spencer Park where residents put on a private firework display every year,” says Gemma Harvey-Perry, founding partner at estate agency Chelwood Partners and herself a Wandsworth resident. “It’s exclusive, with its own tennis court and a wonderfully secure place for children to meet their friends.” Children are front and central in Wandsworth. Author and journalist Will Self helped to seal the borough’s “Nappy Valley” reputation in a 2010 article, and it holds true today, judging by the massed Bugaboos patrolling the Common.
Once there, young families tend to stay, with places at the top-rated schools fought over ferociously. Leading state schools Honeywell Infant and Junior School, midway between Clapham and Wandsworth Commons, were once so oversubscribed that the catchment area fell to less than 200 metres, a three-minute walk from the school gates.
Northcote Road: the epicentre of Wandsworth life. Boutiques, a massive M&S, coffee shops and restaurants
Brilliant bins: the lowest council tax in London but Wandsworth residents also have a weekly collection for all their bins
Prime postcodes: SW11, SW12, SW17 and SW18
“The schools are a major reason why families buy in Wandsworth and help generate the very real community spirit,” says Harvey-Perry. “People really watch out for each other. There are very active WhatsApp groups where people share recommendations for plumbers or electricians or take in parcels for each other. Wandsworth has a village-style atmosphere where the independent butcher and owners of the cheese shop know the names of their regular clients.”
Residents are equally proud of their fame as holders of the lowest council tax in the UK. This month, Wandsworth council announced it had frozen most of its council tax for the third consecutive year, keeping it at 2022 levels. For residents in a Band D home, that means an annual bill in the coming year of £990. Compare that with £2,488 for the same band in Kingston.
“We get lots of comments on the council tax,” says Rae Firminger, sales manager at Chestertons Wandsworth. “But overall what matters most is the access to green spaces, the great cafés, pubs and restaurants, transport links and the good choice of attractive properties.”
Lack of tube: from Clapham Junction it’s eight minutes to Victoria and Waterloo and 24 to Gatwick while the 319 bus takes you from Northcote Road to Sloane Square. However if you want the underground, you must head to Clapham South
Only a few indie pubs: local brewer Young & Co have a stranglehold on most Wandsworth pubs. If a good independent is where you like to drink, The Royal Standard is one to try
Range Rover Central: own a Range Rover? They are a favourite car in Wandsworth, both for residents and thieves, pushing insurance costs to the limit
Less attractive, at least in the eyes of some local residents and petition-signing celebrities including Sir Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton, is the proposal for One Battersea Bridge, a 29-storey tower with 50 per cent social rent homes. The developer, Rockwell, has already traded height for more “affordable homes”. The final decision will be taken by Wandsworth council next month.
If you’re persuaded that Wandsworth might be the borough for you, here’s what you need to know.
If you’d like to get on the property ladder, your best bet is Wandsworth Town according to Firminger. “Riverside West, Riverside Quarter and The Filaments have one- to three-bedroom apartments from £650,000,” she says. “You’re close to Wandsworth Town station and the river with the buzz of the pubs and independent restaurants in Old York Road. The Alma pub is popular with the younger crowd.”
A typical move up the housing ladder sees young professionals take a second step to The Tonsleys, a conservation area that includes Old York Road. The average price of a home sold there last year was £850,000. An average semi-detached terrace house cost £630,000 while apartments cost around £482,000, according to Rightmove.
Along with Spencer Park, top priced homes are in the “Toast Rack”, a small grid of streets between Trinity Road and Wandsworth Common (look at them on a map and you’ll understand the nickname). “These are large five to six-bedroom, red brick Victorian homes, some detached, with good-sized gardens, selling for £5 million to £6 million,” says Harvey-Perry. “Homes ‘Between the Commons’, mostly Victorian and Edwardian and between Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, are very popular for their proximity to the schools. Prices there, from £1.5 million to £4 million plus, have risen by 10 to 15 per cent in the past five years.”
A rare unrenovated semi-detached home with a south-facing garden in the Toast Rack’s Henderson Road on the market for £2.2 million sold this January for “hundreds of thousands over the asking price” after 60 viewings in three days and 11 offers, according to Chestertons.
New Acres is one of London’s largest build-to-rent developments, where shared facilities include a heated outdoor swimming pool, gym, roof terraces and co-working spaces. Prices start from £2,330 pcm.
As well as Honeywell, highly-rated state schools include Belleville Primary. Top private schools are Thomas’s Clapham and Broomwood, both taking children up to 13 years and Finton House. For senior schools, parents now fight for places at Emmanuel and school buses run to London Park and Dulwich College.
Fitness and private members’ clubs
Join in a regular session with local fitness guru, known locally as “Fit Tom” and One Element Boot Campon Wandsworth Common. The hottest new ticket is the Third Space gym, in the refurbished Arding & Hobbs department store. The development will also have a private members’ club, The Arding Rooms.
On Belleville Road, Chez Bruce heads the roll call, retaining its one Michelin star this month, and Brinkley’s is an evening favourite with parents. There’s Mexican at Azteca, Lockes Bar next door for a nightcap, or Japanese at Kibou. Archer Street brings its Soho singing waiter vibe to SW11.
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