Security guards in Southwark

Which parts of Southwark do we cover?

The whole borough, from Bankside, London Bridge, Bermondsey and Rotherhithe on the Thames to Walworth, Peckham, Camberwell and Dulwich in the south.

By the river. London Bridge, Borough and Bankside sit in the Central Activities Zone. In 2022 the area had more than 180,800 jobs, the second highest of any Opportunity Area in London, and in 2023 it held 63% of all the jobs in Southwark (GLA). The London Plan rates Bankside and the Borough as a night-time destination of international or national significance, and London Bridge as one of regional significance (London Plan). Guy’s Hospital is on Great Maze Pond, inside the London Bridge BID area.

Town centres. Peckham, Canada Water, and Elephant and Castle with Walworth Road are major town centres. Lordship Lane in Dulwich is a district centre, and Camberwell and Herne Hill are district centres shared with Lambeth. Five BIDs work in the borough: Better Bankside, Blue Bermondsey, South Bank, Team London Bridge and We Are Waterloo (Southwark Council).

Regeneration areas. Three large programmes run south and east of the river:

• Old Kent Road. The council’s draft Area Action Plan proposes around 20,000 homes and 10,000 jobs over 20 years (Southwark Council). Between 2016 and May 2023 the council recorded 1,825 homes built there, and the council-led renewal of the Ledbury Estate is among the schemes adding more (GLA).
• Elephant and Castle. The town centre scheme, part of Southwark’s regeneration programme, includes 983 homes for rent, a new building for UAL’s London College of Communication and a larger tube station (GLA).
• Canada Water. Homes were completed at about 395 a year between 2019 and 2023, well above the London Plan rate (GLA).

Industrial land. Southwark’s only Strategic Industrial Locations run along the Old Kent Road into Bermondsey and over the border into Lewisham. The London Plan calls them the last remaining significant areas of strategic industrial land close to the Central Activities Zone.

What needs guarding in Southwark?

Offices by the river. In the London Bridge and Bankside office cluster, office security can cover front of house: greeting and signing in visitors and controlling who gets past reception. After hours, officers can lock up and patrol.

Building sites, and the streets around them. Sites on the Old Kent Road, at Elephant and Castle and around Canada Water need construction site security on the gate and through the night. Where deliveries cross a busy pavement or a cycle route, traffic marshals control the vehicle movements.

New homes. Blocks finished at Elephant and Castle and Canada Water may need a staffed desk; our concierge officers welcome residents and visitors, take in parcels and sign contractors in and out.

Industry serving central London. The GLA’s map of Old Kent Road industry ranges from warehouses, open storage and self storage to dark kitchens, film studios, wholesale markets, and waste and recycling sites. New light industrial and logistics space is being built there too (GLA). Warehouse and industrial security covers gate checks, yard control and night patrols.

High streets and nights out. In Peckham, on Walworth Road and at Canada Water, uniformed retail officers can help prevent stock loss. Around Bankside and London Bridge, event security suits functions and venues, from the door to the end of the night.

What makes Southwark sites different?

BIDs with their own teams. Better Bankside runs a team of uniformed wardens on its streets (Better Bankside), and Team London Bridge lists safety and resilience among its services (Team London Bridge). If your building is in one of these BID areas, swap contact details so your officers and the BID’s team can share what they see.

A cycleway at the gate. Cycleway 4 runs between Tower Bridge and Greenwich. A site with a gate on a cycle route needs a clear plan for holding vehicles while cyclists pass.

Transport limits on the Old Kent Road. TfL says transport is significantly holding back development there, and the Bakerloo line upgrade and extension is unfunded. Expect building work along the road to come forward site by site, and plan cover for each one.