Night Time Strategy

We are pleased to announce the launch of London’s first ever night time strategy: Night Time, Our Time, A Night Time Strategy for Wandsworth. The strategy sets out how we, working with internal and external partners, can make the night time (everything between 6pm and 6am) a better experience for everyone living, working, and visiting the borough.

About the strategy

We want to make sure Wandsworth continues to be an attractive place for people to spend time at night, as a destination for socialising, arts and culture, work, sport, and eating and drinking.

Night Time, Our Time is a document that looks at issues like conditions for night workers as well as the economic and cultural development of night time activities. It includes ways we can plan for safety, design, lighting, and transport at night.

The strategy is made up of recommendations that help support our town and local centres to ensure they are vibrant, resilient, and safe, and help businesses to continue to recover from the pandemic and beyond.

Why we have done this

From celebration and entertainment, work and rest, travel, safety, and enjoyment of public spaces, the night time is a place for many things that cover all parts of life.

Whilst night life is an integral part of London as a city, our purpose for this strategy is much wider. We have sought to understand the intricacies of the night time as it changes and identify services that could be provided or improved. In terms of opening times, this might include a broad range of businesses who could benefit from extended hours, such as shops, restaurants, and laundrettes.

We also want to make places where people feel vulnerable safer, improving them to create a more inclusive and welcoming environment for all.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has recommended all boroughs produce visions for their night times, for more information read the GLA’s guidance.

How we got here

Working with the GLA, we have been collecting data for two years on how our town centres and high streets are performing at night.

Consultation

Between January and May 2022, we held a Night Time, Our Time consultation to hear your views on the night time. Read the consultation report to find out more about this consultation, our methods and a summary of the feedback we received.

From September 2022 to February 2023, we held a follow-up consultation where we asked you to provide comments on specific places on an Ideas Map to show us where and what type of improvements or interventions were needed. This included our businesses, streets, parks and buildings.

Trainee designers from Shapeways, a Wandsworth based Technology Hub for people of all ages to learn new digital skills, were commissioned to produce flyers and digital illustrations.

The findings informed a first draft Night Time Strategy, which set out a vision and recommendations for Wandsworth at night and was consulted on between June 2023 and September 2023. View reports on the Ideas Map consultation and the first draft Night Time Strategy consultation.

As part of building an evidence base, we have created a business opening hours map to understand how active our town centres are and how many businesses operate late into the night.

Creative engagement projects

As part of the engagement programme, we commissioned two creative projects. Hanna Benihoud Studio and Publica worked with local people to better understand local experiences in Wandsworth at night. The insights and data we collected were used to produce the Night Time Strategy.

Find out more about the creative engagement projects.

New strategy

The final Night Time Strategy was launched in November 2023. Download the Night Time Strategy or flick through the interactive document.

Next steps

Following approval of the Night Time Strategy, the Economic Development Office will produce a checklist and assign responsibilities for the range of stakeholders and Council departments involved in taking the recommendations forward.

The High Streets team will establish a night time working group with the police, TfL and Licensing to begin conversations and work with internal departments, town centre Business Improvements Districts (BIDS), individual businesses, youth clubs and community groups to address the town and local centre specific recommendations.

The strategy will now also be considered in planning and licensing decisions, as well as by the Community Safety, Transport and Highways teams.

Night time status report

This night time strategy has been shaped by stakeholders, residents, businesses, visitors and night workers and endeavours to balance the needs of the wide range of people using Wandsworth at night.

The strategy is not static however, and due to the changing nature of resident needs, demographics and the night time economy, a night time status report will be completed annually, informed by data collection and consultation.