Security guards in Lambeth

Which parts of Lambeth do we cover?

We cover Lambeth from end to end: Waterloo, the South Bank and Vauxhall on the river, Kennington, Stockwell, Brixton and Clapham in the middle, and Streatham, West Norwood and Upper Norwood in the south.

Waterloo and the South Bank are in the Central Activities Zone. Waterloo had 34,708 jobs in 2023, 23% of all jobs in the borough, and Lambeth supports it as a location for offices, creative and digital industries, healthcare, life sciences and higher education (GLA). St Thomas’ Hospital is in the same area. The London Plan rates the South Bank’s night-time economy as being of international or national significance (London Plan).

Vauxhall is Lambeth’s part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area, shared with Wandsworth. The area is delivering about 1,377 homes a year against a London Plan rate of 840 (GLA), and Lambeth’s Local Plan wants a new retail cluster there.

Town centres. Brixton and Streatham are major centres. Clapham High Street, Stockwell, and West Norwood with Tulse Hill are district centres, and Herne Hill, Camberwell and Crystal Palace are shared with neighbouring boroughs. Lambeth has seven BIDs: Brixton, Clapham, South Bank (covering the South Bank, Waterloo and Blackfriars), Streatham, Vauxhall, Waterloo, and West Norwood and Tulse Hill (Lambeth Council).

Industrial land. Lambeth has no Strategic Industrial Location. Its industry is in Key Industrial and Business Areas instead. A council review in 2020 looked at the 28 then designated, covering almost 48 hectares, found builders’ yards, small-scale manufacturing, food production and storage among their uses, and proposed four more (Lambeth Council). They range from the West Norwood Commercial Area to the Clapham North Industrial Estate.

Parks. The council’s events venue list gives Clapham Common a capacity of 40,000, Brockwell Park 30,000 and Streatham Common 15,000, with Kennington, Larkhall and Norwood parks at 5,000 each (Lambeth Council).

What needs guarding in Lambeth?

Outdoor events. Festivals and shows on Clapham Common or in Brockwell Park need gates, bag searches and crowd routes planned to the event’s licence and conditions. Our event security officers work to your event plan, alongside your stewards and medical team.

Nights out. The London Plan gives Brixton, Streatham, Clapham High Street, Waterloo and Vauxhall night-time economies of regional or sub-regional significance. Venues there need the right SIA licence for each role at the door.

Residential blocks. In Vauxhall’s new high-density buildings, concierge officers can run the front desk: residents, visitors, parcels and contractors signing in and out.

Building sites. With homes going up in the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea area well above the London Plan rate, a Vauxhall site needs its gate run while the trades are in and its plant guarded once they leave: that’s construction site security. Book traffic marshals where lorries cross a busy pavement to reach the gate.

Offices and labs. In Waterloo, office security covers reception and visitor control by day, and locking up and patrols out of hours.

Shops. On the high streets of Brixton, Streatham and Clapham, retail officers in uniform can help prevent stock loss and back up staff.

Small business units. With industry spread across many small Key Industrial and Business Areas, mobile patrols and keyholding and alarm response often suit better than an officer on site all night.

What should Lambeth buyers know first?

Licences at the door. You need an SIA door supervisor licence to guard licensed premises, meaning venues licensed to sell alcohol to drink on site or to put on regulated entertainment (SIA). Check the licence for every door role at a Brixton bar or a Vauxhall club night before the shift starts.

Planning rules for park events. Clapham Common’s events have been under planning control since 2017, when the council’s planning committee gave conditional approval for a full calendar year of them (Lambeth Council). In Brockwell Park, large commercial events now need full planning permission too (Lambeth Council). Build your security plan around the conditions that come with permission.

A BID security team at Vauxhall. Vauxhall One, the Vauxhall BID, has put CCTV cameras around central Vauxhall with Lambeth Council and TfL, and has a team of security officers based at the transport hub (Vauxhall One). If your building is in the BID area, agree how your own officers will pass information to that team.

Crowds at Waterloo station. The GLA notes that crowding and congestion are a significant issue at Waterloo station. If your office is nearby, plan visitor arrivals and deliveries with the station’s peak hours in mind.