Review of the Year 2013 - July to September

Britain was bathed in sunshine as a wet June turned into a baking hot July with the fine weather set to carry on throughout the course of the summer.

Events organisers were particularly pleased with thousands turning out to soak up the rays at fairs on Clapham Common, Northcote Road, and many many more.

David Cameron, the prime minister of Malaysia and Boris Johnson were among dignitaries who turned out to officially mark the beginning of redevelopment work on Battersea Power Station.

There was some controversy as local press were barred from the event, a move event organisers later apologised for, while campaigners stage a protest outside the event against government cuts.

Residents reacted angrily after plans to redevelop the Ram Brewery site in the heart of Wandsworth were approved, despite seeming to go against the council’s own planning policies.

Company Delancy is planning to construct a 36 storey tower block in place of the former beer brewery though a number of grade II listed buildings on the site will be left intact.
The proposal will see close to 700 new flats built in the town.

August

A month of sporting activities ended with the Ride London Festival progressing through the borough.

Thousands of professional and amateur riders shot through the streets of Southfields Roehampton and Putney on the final leg of the 100 mile cycle.

Many turned out to celebrate, though others complained the road closures made travelling on the day impossible.

The calm silence of a quiet suburban neighbourhood was shattered as thousands of you revellers took over an empty warehouse to stage an illegal rave.

Residents in Earlsfield were shocked to see hordes of youngsters partying the night away, with the merriment beginning at about 10pm Saturday and continuing unabated throughout the night.

Shortly afterwards the council was able to force squatters who had set up shop in the building to leave.

Wandsworth’s next generation showed the future is exceedingly bright.

While GCSE and A-levels results were on average down across the country, in Wandsworth our 16-19 year olds were breaking the mould recording above average results across the board.

A report publish by Ofsted revealed 94 per cent of the borough’s schools are rated good or outstanding making it one of the highest achieving authorities in the country.

September

An inquest revealed the son of the former leader of the council Sir Edward Lister, now a chief advisor to Boris Johnson had a cocktail of drugs in his system when he died in Thailand.

Andrew Undy-Lister, 28, had only been in the country a matter of hours when he went out to a full moon party with friends. He was found dead in his hotel room.

The inquest revealed that despite insistence from the family at the time of Andrew’s clean living, he had been taking a number of Class A drugs including heroin before his death.

There was controversy after it was revealed a 9/11 memorial opened in Battersea Park in 2011 was not on a scrapheap in Leicestershire.

Investigations revealed Wandsworth Council had originally accepted to house the memorial for a temporary period, but no permanent site could be found for the artpiece, which was made from an iron girder taken from the World Trade towers. 

Mayor Boris Johnson stepped in after the scandal was unearthed to place it in the Olympic park.

Teenager Kyle McDonald was gunned down in broad daylight in an alleyway on a Battersea housing estate.

The young rapper, from Fulham, was walking through the Kambala estate with a friend when he was shot dead.

Early police appeals for help finding the killers were met with a wall of silence but arrests were made of two men after almost a month of investigative work.