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2014

Peckham redevelopment 'could destroy area':ITV London News 3rd February 2014

Residents in Peckham say the capital's growing need for housing could soon destroy their local area. Currently there are plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment project around Peckham Rye Station, which will include blocks of flats. But locals are worried the regeneration could have a huge impact on the creative communities who live there. ITV News

Station Gateway consultation 18th + 20th January 2014

This next consultation will be on the design proposals for the station Gateway project:
Saturday 18th January at Rye Lane Baptist Chapel, 3pm public meeting architects’ presentation & discussion
Saturday 18th January at Rye Lane Baptist Chapel, 11am to 5pm drop-in exhibition
Further information on displays and feedback here.

2013

Peckham Vision Community Pop-Up 16th-18th December 2013

Peckham Vision’s 3 day community pop-up provided a pop-up cafe with snacks, and an exhibition with display panels on five consultations of significance for Peckham town centre. The pop-up was run by about 20 volunteers from the Peckham Vision team.

• Summary of the five consultations
• PNAAP Modifications proposed by the Inspector
• Major planning issues & Southwark Plan review
• Draft Conservation Area Management Plan & THI project
• Peckham Rye Station Gateway project & planning application
• Rye Lane Pocket Places

The exhibition included guidance and background material to make comments on each of the different consultations. Each of the panels can be downloaded individually here For the PNAAP modifications, a sample letter was provided for those who wished to support the Inspector’s proposals to strengthen the PNAAP’s protection of workspaces for the creative and artistic industries. The deadline was 5pm on 6th January 2014.

The Art Newspaper 'Unpolished Peckham has the X factor’ 18 October 2013

http://goo.gl/FVVWK7 "Cheap rents and community spirit attract artists and galleries to this vibrant area of south London. But … Meanwhile, in Peckham, the co-director of Arcadia Missa gallery, says that rents have doubled since 2007, but that it is still cheaper than east London. Will Peckham survive the coming tide? “The work of organisations that provide affordable workspace is absolutely crucial to ensure that artists aren’t squeezed out” Margot Heller says. Richard Armstrong, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, and an admirer of the area, looks to the art world’s survival instinct with hope. “The will of a few people—artists foremost, but also writers, dealers, curators and even collectors—can remake reality,” he says.

BBC TV London News 24 September 2013

Warren Nettleford BBC reported on a visit to Rye Lane Peckham of the effects of rising property prices - "Gentrification 'distorting' Peckham". The news item raised the questions whether this was gentrification and was it good or bad for Peckham. Peckham Vision was amongst those interviewed.

Peckham town centre + PeckhamVision get good publicity July + August 2013

• the Evening Standard Magazine 2 August 2013 has a 4 page spread about Peckham: Peckhamania: out on the town in London’s newest hotspot
• Peckham Takeover of V&A Museum on Friday Late 26 July 2013 Peckham Takeover programme and pictures of the event.

PNAAP Public Hearings 23 July–1 August

Examination in Public (EIP) Hearings will start on 23 July 2013, in Council offices in Tooley Street. Further details of the daily programme of topics and more information are here. These are important discussions open to the public.

Peckham Town Centre News January 2013

This is the first of Peckham Vision's community information news sheet Peckham Town Centre News. This covers the work on the original staircase, the Old Waiting Room, the station square and rear (the Council's Gatway project), and the historic builings in Rye Lane and the High Street (the Townscape Heritage Inititative project).

5th January 2013 Peckham inter faith walk

On Saturday 5th January 2013 between 11am and 3.30pm, people from all faiths and none visited Christian, Muslim and Bahai faith groups in Peckham town centre. It was a gentle walk, and an enjoyable and interesting way for us all to learn more about each other as neighbours. The unanimous conclusion was that this was an excellent way to develop good connections between people of different faiths and cultures in Peckham.Short report and photos here.

2012

4th October 2012 Rye Lane Traders’ Association being formed

Traders in Rye Lane have taken the initiative to come together to form a traders’ associationso they can combine their efforts to improve Peckham town centre. Peckham Vision welcomes this development and is contributing our experience of collaborative working in the town centre. We all have so many mutual interests. Working together strengthens the team of local people who want to improve the town centre.

October 2012 Latest news on the station square project

The money has been acquired and the plans are now being developed. The aim is

• to complete the restoration of the Old Waiting Room;
• to remove the shopping arcade in front and recreate the square;
• to create access from the front of the station on the ground floor to the rear of the station, and create lift access to all 4 platforms;
• to refurbish the arches to the rear of the station (behind Bar Story) so that they can be let for town centre purposes;
• to buy out any leases, and to organise and pay for the relocation of any businesses that need to move
• Sometime early next year the Council and Network Rail will reveal what they think they can achieve with the £12m+ in terms of those aims and ask for the public's views.

The plan would be to complete the works by 2015/2016. First 'spade in the ground' might be late 2013 or early 2014 perhaps. In the meantime, the current restoration of the Old Waiting Room, led by Peckham Vision and Benedict O’Looney Architects, is continuing. The next stage is to unbrick the windows in the two towers in the forecourt and restore the original staircase so that towards the end of 2013 it will enable some access to the Old Waiting Room.

2nd to 4th August 2012 Town Centre exhibition in Old Waiting Room

entering the Old Waiting Room at last from platform 3

We had a non-stop stream of visitors to the 3 day exhibition, about Peckham town centre in the Old Waiting Room, as part of the Peckham Cultural Olympiad. Over 600 visitors all keen to know more about the Old Waiting Room, the station restoration, the new public square and the town centre generally. It is clear that there is great local enthusiasm for the planned changes. See more for an insight into the magical experience for three days.

27 July-10 August 2012 Peckham Cultural Olympiad

From the brochure: "This is a collection of some of the thoroughly exciting events that are taking place in the ever-lovely Peckham over the time of London’s Olympics. We are a collective of organisations and individuals, all with the aim of creating and exhibiting artistic projects of Peckham. We hope to see some new faces in our spaces, enjoying the events and getting to know those that have made them happen. Details in the brochure 'Peckham Cultural Olympiad', which gives individual contributors' websites for further details on timings of events and locations." Peckham Vision's exhibition in the Old Waiting Room is a contributor to the Olympiad.

8th June 2012 Exhibition 2-4 August in Old Waiting Room

Peckham Vision is arranging an exhibition about the town centre in the Old Waiting Room in Peckham Rye station on 2nd – 4th August as a Peckham Rye Lane contribution to the Cultural Olympiad. There will be talks and more each day.

Exhibition times: Thurs 2nd Aug 5pm – 9pm. Fri 3rd Aug 1pm – 9pm. Sat 4th Aug 11am – 3pm. Volunteers are needed for a few hours during the afternoon or evening on Thurs 2nd Aug or Fri 3rd Aug, or morning or afternoon on Sat 4th Aug? To find out more, email: owrexhibition@gmail.com. Read more…

16th May 2012 Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) success

Peckham was one of 12 UK bids to get through the competitive first round for the Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI):see the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) announcement This highlighted “An impressive range of community-led complementary initiatives will be implemented, including traditional skills training and community events”. The scheme, to be run by Southwark Council will repair and restore historic buildings on Rye Lane & Peckham High Street and contribute to the opening up of the historic public square in front of the station. The hard work now starts to develop the detailed proposals for the second round. These have to be submitted within 12 months. As Peckham Vision initiated the process with the HLF, and contributed significantly to parts of the bid, we are now working with the council officers concerned on the next stages.

2nd April 2012 Portas pilot bid submitted

The Council has submitted a Portas pilot bid for Peckham town centre. See accompanying video. The Peckham Vision town centre meeting was the background to several of the interviews. The video is full of hope and optimism about our town centre. But we could do with just a bit of help! The Government has said it will extend the number of pilots because of huge demand across the country. 26th May: Peckham not among first 12 towns as Portas Pilots. There were 370 applications from around the country, showing the extent of local enthusiasm for town teams to revive their town centres. See Government announcement.

14th March 2012 Rail industry support for community initiatives

This was a fantastic community meeting celebrating recent achievements for Peckham town centre. Over 200 locals from Peckham's diverse social, economic and ethnic communties crowded in to the CLF Art Café in the Bussey building, to hear the latest news from Peckham Vision and the Council. Senior figures from Network Rail, Southern Railway and the Railway Heritage Trust voiced their support for community initiatives at Peckham Rye station in Peckham town centre; see video clip.

8th March 2012 Council chooses Peckham town centre for Portas Pilot bid

The Portas Pilots are a Government programmeto bring High Streets to life for the twenty first century. The Council is putting together a bid for Peckham to be one of the pilots. They have accepted Peckham Vision’s expression of interest as a potential key partner. The bid has to be submitted by 30 March 2012.

26 January 2012 Harriet Harman MP visits Copeland Cultural Quarter

The visit was arranged by Peckham Vision at Peckham & Camberwell MP Harriet Harman’s request to visit the now well known Bussey Building venue, and to see the small creative enterprises growing in the Bussey and the Copeland Quarter. See more.