Following almost two months of weekend road closures, Wandsworth Council has agreed to continue pedestrianising the Northcote Road until October.

On July 11, a trial period of closing the road to cars on Saturdays and Sundays was introduced, to support local businesses by helping them reopen safely.

In light of positive feedback, the Council has said it will extend the closures until the clocks go back (October 25), using Coronavirus traffic regulations.

The decision is dependent on considerations such as the weather and the TFL bus diversion.

Initially, there was a delay in diverting the G1 and 319 buses onto Bolingbroke Grove from Northcote Road, which came into effect on August 22.

There are now temporary bus stops on Bolingbroke Grove, outside the Bolingbroke Academy near the junction with Belleville Road.

Jonny Dyson, Chairman of the Northcote Business Network, has thanked residents who have been impacted by the closures.

"Whilst the first couple of weekends were a bit fraught, the whole operation has become much slicker and we now know what to expect, and how to deal with it every weekend," he said.

He added that the closures have been vital for keeping the hospitality industry alive.

"Nine of the hospitality businesses would have ceased trading if the street closure had not happened. One business in particular arrived with a van to remove all their equipment on a Saturday, only to find they couldn't park outside due to the closure. They were so astonished to see the footfall that they reversed this decision which in itself has saved nearly 20 jobs.

"There have been 42 people de-furloughed on the Northcote Road since the start of the closure, and 29 new staff unemployed."

"Hopefully we can just have a few more sunny weekends between now and the end of September!" You can get in touch about the proposals by emailing Socialdistancing@wandsworth.gov.uk