Flats to rent in Battersea & SW11 and Houses to rent in Battersea & SW11

In times past Battersea was so working class and poor that the railway men who slung a very useful junction station there refused to name it after its actual home - which is why Clapham Junction confuses so many first time visitors to the area. But Battersea now is just as upmarket - and perhaps even a bit more genuinely genteel - than Clapham, and its housing and facilities are absolutely as good.

Battersea is superbly stocked with a huge array of places to eat and drink, as befits an area which in the 1990s became a steadfast hangout of the urban middle class. Local restaurants on the main social drags of the area - St Johns Hill, Lavender Hill, Latchmere Road and the like - cover every cuisine you can imagine, and probably some you can't. There are superb cafes to linger on Sundays over a newspaper, and great shops in the centre providing all the usual high street names as well as a few little boutiques. There are also, here and in the more outlying areas and the streets leading towards Wandsworth, Clapham and down towards the Park - excellent local pubs as well as great local grocers and supermarkets. There are excellent clubs in the centre, comedy venues, and the excellent - people come from all over London to go there - Battersea Arts Centre.

The suburb has excellent green space nearby, with Wandsworth and Clapham Commons very near, though its principal open space is the lovely Battersea Park - a wonderful area leading down to the river, where the locals spend their weekends, which contains a zoo amongst other attractions.

Property in Battersea covers most of the bases you'd expect to see in a once-working-class area. Properties are now, since the area has been middle class and demanding for some while, generally excellent in repair and maintenance. Most streets around the centre of Battersea are brilliant for late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, with great maisonettes and flats also present. The area of Battersea between the two commons (Wandsworth and Clapham) is filled with wonderful two and three storey Victorian and Edwardian houses, and an area of great calm and quiet.

There are wonderful flats in the gorgeous mansion blocks that face onto Battersea Park. However impressive these flats are, however, they are put slightly into the shade by the incredible new developments on the river. There are older riverside developments, of course, the Plantation and Morgan's Walk, but the new buildings, such as the Albion and Montevetro, are startling, wonderful new constructions that embody the best in new apartments - and are highly sought after.

Battersea has a vast array of flats and houses to view and choose from. It's cosmopolitan, excellently provided for, and its undesirable days are definitely history now.

Battersea is in the Borough of Lambeth which holds the responsibility for delivering services in your area.
For specific information on this borough, or to contact individual departments please click here to visit their website.

Borough of Lambeth website: Borough of Lambeth

In General:
The London boroughs are administrative centres responsible for collecting local taxes (Council Tax and Business Rates) and then spending the funds received on local services. They are run by Borough Councils who are elected by borough residents on a four year cycle. The totals that they spend will depend on the rates of tax that they levy plus funds allocated from central government and other sources.

While many of the services (schools, roads, planning, rubbish collection and social services) are standard, levels of provision will vary according to the overall political will as expressed by the voters.

Your tax liability (as a resident) will be based on the council tax band of your home. These bands are set by Valuation Officers and there is scope for appeal. The rate bands are then used to determine the amounts of tax levied. So, while the bands will remain largely constant the levels of tax can go up and, in theory, down.

You may claim discounts or exemptions based on your circumstances. For example, as the only adult in a property you can get a 25% reduction on your bill. Other reductions are available for qualifying second adults and Council Tax Benefit claimants.

There is more information available at the HM Customs & Excise website.

Borough of Lambeth Council Tax