Lower Richmond Rd Business Watch Takes Off

Putney businessman heads for the hills to raise money for local charity.....

Shopkeepers in Lower Richmond Road are setting up a local Business Watch with help from Putney’s Conservative Parliamentary Candidate Justine Greening following a spate of criminal damage and break-ins last month. Nathalie Bouvard, owner of Glamour, the fashion boutique based on Lower Richmond Road is taking a lead to get the Business Watch up and running.

The first meeting will be held on Wednesday 16th March and follows on from an earlier meeting organised by Justine Greening with shopkeepers, Inspector Ted Henderson of Putney police and Steve Jiggins, Wandsworth Borough Council’s Community Safety officer - held in Putney Tandoori, one of the shops also targeted.

The Business Watch scheme works like a Neighbourhood Watch scheme and helps local businesses in an area such as Lower Richmond Road work together to reduce crime by staying in touch and co-ordinating crime reduction measures across a number of shops at the same time. The Business Watch will be supported by local police and Wandsworth Borough Council as it gets off the ground over the coming months.

Justine Greening said she was delighted that shopkeepers were getting organised to fight back against crime.

“It was bad news when the Lower Richmond Road parade of shops were targeted by criminals last month. Like many Putney residents, I often shop there and it’s an integral part of Putney’s shopping facilities, not to mention the great restaurants. The fact that shopkeepers are now going to use this as an opportunity to get organised into a Business Watch means that we’ll have some long-term benefit which will hopefully stop this kind of criminal spate happening again. I’m really pleased that following the first meeting with the police we’ve been able to get a Business Watch set up.”

January 17, 2005