Old Mill Building
Contents
November 2022 Local List nominations
The Council's long awaited consultation on the nominations for the Local List began in August 2022 and concludes on 30th November 2022. They have listed many buildings and ask for comments on them. They also ask for local people to nominate buildings.
- See here for information about the Old Mill Building nomination. from Peckham Vision and PHRP.
- All the information about the consultation is on the Council website here.
- See here for information on many buildings in Peckham town centre nominated by the PHRP (Peckham Heritage Regeneration Partnership) and supported by Peckham Vision.
January 2022 Old Mill Building saved
Peckham Vision’s campaign since 2017, to secure planning protection for the Old Mill Building (OMB) at 72 Copeland Road, succeeded at the Public Hearings in 2021 into the New Southwark Plan (NSP). The OMB was threatened with demolition by the Council’s redevelopment plan for the Blackpool Road area in the draft NSP. The Inspectors’ report on the Examination in Public (EiP), published recently, says the NSP should include a reference to the Old Mill Building as an important heritage asset of local interest. This will be valuable evidence to support the case for including the Old Mill Building in the Heritage Local List. The Council will be consulting in the summer this year (2022) about the buildings to be included in that. Local people will be able to support the OMB nomination, and suggest other buildings and spaces they know that have local heritage value for the Local List. We will be publicising this when the details are known and explaining how to make the nominations. This will be a significant opportunity for local people to seek protection for their valued buildings and spaces.
2020-2021 Examination in Public (EiP)
The Council published the 'submission version' of the NSP in January 2020. But the Inspectors directed that there should be a further consultation on many of the changes. This took place in October 2020, as did all the subsequent stages, during the pandemic and various stages of the lockdowns. The Examination in Public (EiP) took place over February to April 2021, and there was a consultation on the Inspectors' recommendations during August-September 2021. The Inspectors' report was received by the Council in November 2021 and the NSP was amended to include the Inspectors’ recommendations, and adopted by the Council in February 2022. The future of the Old Mill Building and how it would be referred to in the NSP was an item at each stage. Further details of some of this on these pages:
6th November 2019 Public Meeting
This is a local community meeting especially for those who live or work around the Blackpool Road area between Consort Road and Copeland Road, and also open to anyone interested in Peckham. The meeting is part pf Peckham Vision's preparation for the Public Hearings into the New Southwark Plan expected in early 2020. The building is open to visit 6.30pm to 7.00pm before the public meeting, and to complete a survey on its value to the community.
2019 open for visits
- Wednesdays 6.15-7.15pm: An opportunity for drop-in visits to the Old Mill Building has been arranged with Community Outreach Ministries starting on Wednesday 13th February to 20th March 2019. The building will be open on Wednesdays each week from 6.15pm to 7.15pm when you can drop-in and see the building from the inside and the exhibition of photos and history about it and its restoration and its uses.
- Saturday 9th March 9.30am - 3pm: fundraising BootSale with refreshments and games on Saturday 9th March 10am-3pm. Doors open at 9.30am. Funds raised are for the homeless through ThamesReach.
- Wednesday 20th March 6pm-9pm: Also a public meeting on Local Heritage is being arranged for Wed 20th March 2019 -6-9pm in the building. Exhibiton 6-7pm, and meeting from 7-9pm with invited Speakers and Discussion. More info here.
- Wednesday 3rd July 6.30pm drop in, 7-9pm Local Heritage workshop in the OMB.
To join the mailing list for the Old Mill Building campaign, please email info@peckhamvision.org.
Introduction
The large imposing Victorian building at 72 Copeland Road, next to the bus garage, was built in the 1870s to manufacture British wine, and continued until the 1950s. More of the history here in the Peckham Society News. It is an important part of Peckham’s industrial history, along with the Bussey Building and the nearby brick rail arches.
- Demolition threat: It came into Council ownership and was part of the demolition planned by the Council for the tram depot site in 2004-2009. That would also have demolished Copeland Park, Bussey Building, Khan’s Bargain stores, Holdrons Arcade, Old Mill Building, Build Base and more. After Peckham Vision’s long campaign, this threat was finally lifted in 2009.
- Building restored: The building has been restored by Community Outreach Ministries and has great potential for community activities for decades to come. It is now under threat again by new Council plans for the redevelopment of both sides of Blackpool Road.
- Protecting local heritage and community assets: The case for preserving it as a community asset and as a heritage building will be put by local people at the Public Hearings in 2019 into the New Southwark Plan (NSP).
- Help save the building: You can support the community case by completing Peckham Vision’s short survey - see below - to give your views about the building. The comments will be collated as evidence to put to the Inspector at the NSP Public Hearings.
- 'short video about the building,' which is entered from Copeland Road opposite Bournemouth Road.
- LOCATION: The building is on Copeland Road opposite Bournemouth Road and opposite the entrance to Copeland Park and the Bussey Building. It is between Blackpool Road and the railway bridge. See picture here.
- HISTORY: Article in Peckham Society News January 2018.
Community survey on preserving the building
The ‘Old Mill Building’ was built between 1870 and 1890 as a ‘British wine manufactory’. It is a fine example of an attractive sturdy Victorian brick building, close by the amazing Victorian brick arch of the Consort Road rail bridge and the Bussey Building across the road in Copeland Park. It continued in the wine manufacturing business until the 1950s, passing into Council ownership by the 1960s (from the 'Peckham Society News’ Winter 2017.) It became derelict and was threatened with redevelopment by the Council in 2005. Community Outreach Ministries have restored the building since 2008 for use as their church and also for community events and facilities.
It is now threatened again with demolition through the Council’s proposal in the New Southwark Plan (NSP) for the redevelopment of all the land on both sides of Blackpool Road.. The case for preserving the Old Mill Building as an important asset for community uses and as a heritage building will be presented by local people at the Public Hearings into the New Southwark Plan (NSP) in 2019.
Please email info@peckhamvision.org , with your name and postcode, to give your views on the points below This information will be collated to submit as evidence in the NSP Public Hearings to support the community case that this building should be preserved for uses in the future and as part of the local heritage.
- 1. Is this building an important part of Peckham’s heritage? YES / NO . What is important to you about the building?
- 2. Does this building provide a place for the community to come together? YES / NO . Please say what uses you think might be appropriate.
- 3. Do you have any further comments to make about this building or the Council’s plans for the demolition and redevelopment of all the land on both sides of Blackpool Road?
Blog
March 2019
Community Outreach Ministries are holding a fundraising BootSale with refreshments and games on Saturday 9th March 10am-3pm. Doors open at 9.30am. Funds raised are for the homeless through ThamesReach. This is another opportunity to visit the building and give views about its value as a heritage and community asset.
December 2018 open for visits in 2019
An opportunity for drop-in visits to the building has been arranged between February to April 2019. They will be on Wednesdays each week from 6.15pm to 7.15pm when you can drop in and see the building from the inside and the exhibition of photos and history about it and its restoration and its uses. A public meeting on Local Heritage is being arranged for Wed 20th March 2019 -6-9pm in the building. Details will be publicised. To join the mailing list for this please email info@peckhamvision.org.
9th September 2018 Open for visit
The Old Mill Building 72 Copeland Road, SE15, the home of Community Outreach Ministries, a Pentecostal church will be open between 12pm – 1pm on Sunday 9th September for the start of the Southwark Inter Faith walk. There will be a talk about the Pentecostal church Community Outreach Ministries and their work to restore the historic building, and then the walk will visit other faith places in Peckham and on to Bermondsey and Burgess Park. To book a place register on eventbrite here. Click here to print a copy of the poster with the map of the walk.
18th November 2017 Community Outreach Ministries community event
This was a boot sale and event for the local community in the lovely spacious Old Mill Building which is part of our local Victorian industrial heritage, near the Bussey Building across Copeland Road. It has been restored by the Community Outreach Ministries church over the last few years. Peckham Vision had a stall at the event to give information to Church members and local residents about the Council’s redevelopment plans and the local efforts to save the building from demolition.
Photos from the community event:
8th October 2017 Meeting the congregation
The Old Mill Building is one of the few remaining parts of Peckham's industrial heritage along with the neighbouring Bussey Building and the former Holdrons warehouses in Copeland Park across the road. The building has been restored over the last 10 years by a church of the Community Outreach Ministries. On 8th October 2017 the Peckham Vision team met the congregation to share their mutual interests in saving the building from demolition. PICS
17th September 2017 PV Open Studio
Representatives from Community Outreach Ministries attended the workshop in Peckham Vision studio in the Peckham Festival to hear more about the redevelopment plans for Blackpool Road. They reported the restoration work they had done on the Old Mill Building over nearly 10 years. In discussion it was agreed to work together to present the case for preserving the building.
Background
Blackpool Road re-development site
This is an industrial site with Blackpool Road running across it from east to west. This site is the second half (the other half being Copeland Park, including the Bussey Building) of what 10 years ago was proposed for redevelopment as the tram depot. The site is still occupied as it was then in the north part by the bus garage, Council streetworks base, a large Victorian industrial building (now restored by and occupied by a church), and a small block of flats; and in the south half by Buildbase a large builders’ merchants.
In the New Southwark Plan (NSP) the council propose to turn both halves of this into a site for a mixed development of housing and small office type business. This is one of 4 sites in Peckham town centre that were in the Council's 'preferred option' stage of the NSP in early 2017. Peckham Vision led a walk around the 4 sites on 1st April. As a result of local objections and comments following the walk two of the sites were removed from the NSP when the next 'submission' stage was published in October 2017. These were Choumert Car Park site and the Peckham Multi Storey site. The Blackpool Road site, including the Old Mill Building, still remains in the NSP for redevelopment. Local objectors to this may have an opportunity at the Public Hearings expected in 2019 to argue the case against including the Old Mill Building in the redevelopment plan.
A key issue here is that London is losing small industrial sites like this for housing at a very alarming rate and much faster than envisaged in the London Plan. It is alarming as the London economy and social structures need land like this all over London for necessary functions. So there is a case for saying that this land should continue to be allocated as light industrial space and not given over to housing and office type uses. This is about land use designation preserving it for light industrial uses into the future. Local people are exploring ideas about the way the building merchants use of the land could be linked with horticultural uses so encouraging more environmentally friendly construction. There is also a very strong case for keeping the Victorian mill building as it is part of Peckham’s industrial heritage and is a good solid building with potential for many uses in the future.