Northcote Road, and parallel Webbs Road, is in Battersea, South West London, a stone's throw from Clapham Junction and between Wandsworth and Clapham Commons. In estate agency parlance it sits "between the commons", which has become shorthand for a prosperous area and a strong lure for incoming house buyers.Please CLICK HERE for a Streetmap location map of Northcote Road
Northcote Road is a haven of diversity, where multiples blend with the specialist shops and boutiques, all complemented by an assortment of market stalls. There really is very little reason to stray from the street - and few grounds to get in the car - since it has almost everything to serve residents' local needs. That means everything from honey to a homeopathic chemist; fish to flooring and flowers; books to baked goods; music to maternity clothes and organics to opticians. And of course plenty of coffee shops, bars and restaurants to take pleasure in along the way.
Many of the shops have a long history of trading in the street - some going back as far as the 1890s. Because the road is so varied - and increasingly rare - it draws visitors from much further afield to enjoy the shopping as well as the bars and restaurants.
In a listener poll conducted by Radio 4's Today programme in conjunction with CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment), Northcote Road was voted London's second favourite shopping street.
CABE's description of Northcote Road
"A market street with a mix of housing, commercial and retail, which is welcoming and friendly", sums up this south London street. "Wandsworth Borough Council has made great efforts to restrict non-resident traffic, provide smooth pavements with easy drop kerbs from prams and wheelchairs and plant seasonal hanging baskets," says one local. However, there is a negative side to this: The only problem is that the improvements to this traditionally working class neighbourhood have brought in the yuppies and driven up the rents, so the independent shops are now being driven out by the likes of All Bar One and Starbucks.