Balham has undergone much change as young professionals and families, priced out of Clapham, moved in to the area. But the town centre and streetscape was in need of improvement. The scheme to overhaul the public realm included transforming Hildreth Street into a vibrant market square with a cafe strip and finding a creative solution to the ‘ugly wall’, a flank wall that is now covered in mock-Victorian green faience tiling as a nod to the Northern Line.