Culture and Place
Arts and culture play an integral and valuable role in making prosperous, healthy, and attractive places. By bringing people together, arts and culture provide a sense of vitality in our neighbourhoods, on our high streets, and in regeneration areas - contributing to the health and growth of where we live, work and play.
By investing in creativity, we are shaping a more vibrant, inclusive, and connected Wandsworth and the communities that live here. Place-shaping through creativity connects communities, nurtures cultural infrastructure and supports organisations to flourish locally, playing an active role in Wandsworth’s wider cultural offer.
We support arts organisations to thrive in Council owned buildings alongside working with our planning department to grow the cultural offer in Wandsworth through cultural planning to bring forward cultural and creative quarters.
Cultural Planning supports place-making through considering what arts and cultural provision and infrastructure can be secured through redevelopment and the planning process. This can be provided through a developer's community contribution (Section 106), keeping creative activities and cultural opportunities accessible to local people - ensuring the delivery of inclusive arts programmes whilst safeguarding affordable cultural space within the heart of the community.
Culture & Communities
Randall Pattern Play
Cultural Anchor Tenants
Wandsworth's Cultural Anchor programme works strategically with developers and partners to bring cultural organisations into the Borough. In May 2021, London Children’s Ballet was Wandsworth’s first cultural anchor tenant to open its doors in Battersea, followed by a cohort of cultural organisations including Matt’s Gallery, World Heart Beat Music Academy, Chocolate Films and Theatre503 Studio in Nine Elms, and BLINK Dance Theatre in Battersea.
These spaces are integrated into new developments, and supported through the planning process by S106 agreements, a developer's community contribution that allows for subsidised rent and long leases whilst delivering social value.
Creative and Cultural Quarters
Spaces for Cultural Organisations
There are several cultural organisations in the borough that are housed in council-owned buildings, and are subsidised by grants and service level agreements, offering a vibrant mix of cultural opportunities for both residents and visitors to the borough.
In addition to the above organisations, we work closely with the Royal Academy of Dance and the Royal College of Art, who have community engagement posts in place that were initially secured via the planning process and S106 agreements.
We work to secure new funding and project delivery, and participate in working groups to champion and embed arts and culture through new urban design improvements. Find out more about Wandsworth's Cultural Planning and Place-shaping policy:
Culture and Place News
Our Beautiful Neighbourhood
1000 Londoners: How One Community Transformed Derelict Land into a Public Park
This short documentary film explores the transformation of a derelict piece of public land in Wandsworth, London, into a valued community greenspace through the efforts of local residents.
In the mid-1970s, Eloise’s parents, Eileen and Brian, were among the first residents of Carey Gardens Estate. With no garden space of their own, they recognised the potential of a neglected area across from the estate. Together with neighbours, they took direct action, laying turf, planting trees, and installing play equipment, to create a usable green space for local families.
Brian, an artist, also contributed creatively by painting murals around the area, including a prominent piece on the wall of the green space. These works aimed to make art accessible and relevant to the community, celebrating local life and identity. Although the park was later closed and returned to council control, it has recently reopened with support from Wandsworth Council. As part of the relaunch, a new mural was commissioned from artist Pins, who involved local children in the creative process, echoing the community-led spirit of the original project.
This film was created by Wandsworth-based film-makers Chocolate Films, and is part of 1000 Londoners, a ten-year digital project which aims to create a digital portrait of a city through 1000 of the people who identify themselves with it.