Improving Putney High Street is something I have consistently been campaigning on since my election working with Wandsworth Council and Putney BID.  

Empty shops 

I am concerned about shops on Putney High Street, and like many residents, I am frustrated at the frequency of vacant shop front. Whilst there is no quick fix, as the Council and Putney BID don’t have the powers they need to prevent shops becoming vacant, we are working together to encourage new businesses into the area. 

Many businesses tell me high rents and the current business rates model remain the number one factor in these challenging times. In parliament, I have called for reform of the rates system altogether. Both online businesses and shops should pay tax, rather than this falling unfairly on the shops and so effectively subsidising online retailers. 

Another key issue is owners ‘land banking’ old shop buildings – not renting them out, not allowing them to have a ‘meanwhile use’ and just keeping them as an investment. As it stands, local councils do not have the powers to do anything about this. I think that the law should be changed on this to stop shops not being able to be used in this way. The old M&S building is a major example of this as the owner won’t allow it to be used by another shop, leaving it as an empty eyesore on the High Street. 

I have met with the Deputy Mayor for Business and the Night Czar to discuss what they can do to bring more life to the High Street and pressure landlords who aren’t renting out to shop owners. 

Air quality 

 Alongside working on empty shops, I am also working to improve air quality on the high street. I have spoken about air pollution 27 times in Parliament since I have been elected. 

I have been tirelessly campaigning for Hammersmith Bridge to be reopened. The bridges closure increases congestion and pollution and makes cycling feel more dangerous. I have been working with the Deputy Mayor for Transport and Mayor of London to ensure buses going along the High Street are low emission. I am so glad that TfL are aiming to have a fully electric bus fleet by 2034. 

Local transport 

I have also worked on improving our local transport. My campaign to save bus routes 14 and 74 was successful and I have been meeting TfL to discuss improving District and Circle Line services- particularly the display boards, as well as writing to South West Rail about poor train services from our stations. 

Additionally, I have been working on improving active travel on Putney High Street. I held a public meeting on active travel last year and wrote an Active Travel Report 2023. 

Investment in our High Street 

There are three new projects coming to the High Street, funded by a £1 million high street grant. These will be start-up companies in a reconfigured library space which will also have a café, a rejuvenated Waterman’s Green connecting the High Street better to the river, and a re-done junction at the Bridge end of the High St so that traffic can flow better, the pedestrian crossing is easier and for bikes as well. This will make the High Street a better destination and so encourage more retailers. 

One of the three projects is to make changes to Putney Library to have a café downstairs and an entrepreneur’s hub upstairs. This will be a base for start-ups and new small business to have space, connections to each other, and carry out training. This is nearly complete now. 

Nicola Grant, Putney BID Director, and I went to Bromley recently to see this scheme in action and to meet staff who will be running this in Putney. I have been asking them to prioritise local businesses and those which could move into the high street shops. 

I have also met with the banks that have moved out and done what I can to ensure that they provide alternative provision for customers, such as in the Post Office, but I think this decline will continue. Instead, we should fill our shops with more leisure, arts and community retailers and organisation. They are doing this well in Southside where they own all the units, but the Council can’t do the same on the High Street. 

High Street crime 

I meet regularly with our local police teams to hear what they are doing to keep us safe and to raise my concerns and concerns on behalf of constituents. Keeping shop workers safe is something I have been working on with police along with business owners and Trade Unions. I have raised the need for more protection for shopkeepers in Parliament and will continue to do this. Additionally, I have met with the Council and Wandsworth Police team to ensure CCTV cameras in the local area are working and footage can be accessed. 

Met Police officers already regularly patrol Putney High Street, and I am really pleased that despite National Government cuts to policing numbers and funding, the Mayor of London has invested a record £1 billion in tackling crime and funded 1,300 more officers already. If he is successful in his bid for another term, he would put an extra 1,300 neighbourhood police officers on our streets.