Great news! Peckham Rye station to reclaim its public square by next year!

[mlteenie]

I'm excited to see the new square unveiled! There - pure positivity. 

[alice]

9 hours ago, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

Whose priorities?

Peckham Rye station is operated by Southern Railway. Southwark Council doesn’t own or operate the station, and it can't force Southern or anyone else to install lifts at the station.

I'd love there to be lifts at Peckham Rye. It would be very expensive.

The changes to the station need planning permission, given by Southwark Council. But anyway, any new build in public space is going to include access for all. 

[CPR Dave]

On 07/05/2025 at 14:21, jazzer said:

Anything that improves the front of the station has to be a good thing. Opening up the square in front is a superb idea, it will show the beauty of the architecture of the station, just as they did at Kings Cross when they ripped out the monstrosity of the 1960's frontage and now the station gleams. People probably go there to see the beauty of it. Now wouldn't it be good if once opened up and cleaned up, people visited to see how wonderful it then looks.

I guess there is a generally lack of trust that the station square will open by the end of next year, HOWEVER, when the current frontage is removed and the square is opened up as it originally was it will look grand.  

The reimagining of Kings Cross came with a huge amount of social cleansing. 

[Earl Aelfheah]

14 hours ago, CPR Dave said:

The reimagining of Kings Cross came with a huge amount of social cleansing. 

The King's Cross changes involved the creation of lot's of high end / expensive, private residences. This is an improvement to a train station. It's not really a comparable project either in nature or scale.

[malumbu]

14 hours ago, CPR Dave said:

The reimagining of Kings Cross came with a huge amount of social cleansing. 

Did you like Kings Cross when it was a red light and drug dealing location?  For younger readers in the 90s and perhaps later it was well dodgy.

[Angelina]

absolutely spot on CPR Dave - there is little point in making an area pretty if it's not in keeping with the area.

I very much doubt a new square will remain nice for long, unless there is an element of social cleansing, which I'm sure is on the cards

[Earl Aelfheah]

54 minutes ago, Angelina said:

absolutely spot on CPR Dave - there is little point in making an area pretty if it's not in keeping with the area.

You think efforts should be made to ensure public spaces in Peckham are ugly because it's 'more in keeping with the area'?!

57 minutes ago, Angelina said:

I very much doubt a new square will remain nice for long, unless there is an element of social cleansing

Dare I say that this is pretty disparaging towards the people you seem to think you're standing up for. Basically, less affluent people can't be trusted with nice things. 

Personally think it's great that there is going to be investment in improving the public realm and making the station more accessible. Why should only the wealthier parts of Southwark get funding for this kind of stuff?

[Spartacus]

Come on people, do you really enjoy the current dreary passages outside station or would you prefer a light airy entrance which, as one of the main ways in to Peckham, would welcome visitors rather than making them feel it's a grotty run down area ? 

The station building needs exposing after so many years of being hidden behind ugly facades and this will help change views of Peckham as a run down shopping area which may help bring more inward investment in the area, help reduce the perception of crime (open spaces are harder to grafitti for example) and help make it a destination again much like when it was called the golden mile (1960s)

Personally, the removal of the ugly buildings in front of the station is a good thing.

[Angelina]

I'm not saying that at all - I think it's great to have nice spaces. But it is already pushing out the smaller stalls - you can't deny there is a plan of gentrification

[Nigello]

Good - if gentrification means the application of general cleanliness and something approaching civic pride and responsibility. 

28 minutes ago, Spartacus said:

Come on people, do you really enjoy the current dreary passages outside station or would you prefer a light airy entrance which, as one of the main ways in to Peckham, would welcome visitors rather than making them feel it's a grotty run down area ? 

The station building needs exposing after so many years of being hidden behind ugly facades and this will help change views of Peckham as a run down shopping area which may help bring more inward investment in the area, help reduce the perception of crime (open spaces are harder to grafitti for example) and help make it a destination again much like when it was called the golden mile (1960s)

Personally, the removal of the ugly buildings in front of the station is a good thing.

Even a world-class restoration of the station would not translate to general beautification of the Lane. Business owners and the council care not a jot for its appearance. I’m all for the project to restore and improve the station but I have no confidence it will do anything to make Rye Lane even approach a decent place to be. 

[Spartacus]

Nigello, would love to revisit this in 10 years and see if the lane is the same, better or worse. Will be an interesting thing to watch and sometimes a simple change is the catalyst for bigger improvements to occur. 

Guess we can't at this time predict the future 

[Angelina]

Yet we can. Given the development of the shopping centre, the expensive flats, lack of social hosing, closure of the stalls and hairdressers around the station to make room for the new square, I think it's quite clear where this is going.

 

It's not improving the area for the existing, its removal of the existing to make it better for the upgrade of the area. 

[Penguin68]

2 hours ago, Angelina said:

I very much doubt a new square will remain nice for long, unless there is an element of social cleansing, which I'm sure is on the cards

I very much hope 'social cleansing' is not on the cards - the great value of Peckham is its rich mix of people both living and visiting the areas. If you mean removal or discouragement of criminal activity (including vandalism) then I would agree of course - and I would be very much in favour of actual cleaning in the area - the fact that Peckham is 'mixed class' is a good thing, surely (which is what 'social cleansing' often refers to). Kings Cross (which stimulated this part of the debate) had a very significant prostitution and drugs culture - with some elements of rack-renting and significant criminality. It was also far more 'run-down' and over a wider area) than the area around our station - even if that could do with more investment.

[Dogkennelhillbilly]

Southwark Council upgrades the public realm in Dulwich: this is disgusting favouritism for the rich! It's disgraceful!!!

Southwark Council upgrades the public realm in Peckham: this is disgusting social cleansing! It's disgraceful!!!

#SouthwarkDerangementSyndrome is real

By the way, aficionados of prostitution and drugs will be happy to hear they remain a problem in the streets south of King's Cross station, just as they were when I lived there prior to gentrification. (To be clear: they weren't a problem because of my presence). I'm sure that will be a great relief to some of our friends on here that are scared knocking down a derelict building will turn Peckham into Royal Tunbridge Wells overnight.

[Angelina]

It is disgraceful if it means small businesses have to close and people are displaced.

[Penguin68]

15 minutes ago, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

Southwark Council upgrades the public realm in Peckham: this is disgusting social cleansing! It's disgraceful!!!

Nobody suggested this was what Southwark was doing or planned to do. I responded to a reference, possibly in jest, to the words 'social cleansing' but the almost MAGA like supporters of the council respond to any reference to Council actions as if it's some form of indefensible attack on the object of their passions. 

[Nigello]

4 hours ago, Spartacus said:

Nigello, would love to revisit this in 10 years and see if the lane is the same, better or worse. Will be an interesting thing to watch and sometimes a simple change is the catalyst for bigger improvements to occur. 

Guess we can't at this time predict the future 

I and you and everyone else should not have to wait that long to see the station and its surroundings approach anything like a commercial and leisure area ought to look. The Lane has been a midden for decades and the council leaves it be, neglecting some of the poorest and least sharp-elbowed residents and visitors while having no such qualms in other parts of the borough. 

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

19 hours ago, Angelina said:

It is disgraceful if it means small businesses have to close and people are displaced.

My dentist has moved to Peckham High Street.

They now have fab rooms and have employed more local people.

[rjsmall]

This doesn't sound to promising Peckham Rye station upgrade sees funding axed by government - Murky Depths and Mixed news for rail as government backs transport infrastucture projects | Rail Business UK | Railway Gazette International

Sounds like the project has been delayed / postponed.

 

[Insuflo]

45 minutes ago, rjsmall said:

 

The list of projects on the Railway Gazette link talks about “Peckham Rye congestion relief “ being delayed; is this the same as the redevelopment of the square in front?  Or is it internal changes to the station? Is there separate funding for the two or is it all one project?

Edited July 9 by Insuflo

[Eats Dulwich]

This piece seems to suggest the upgrade is about to grind to a total halt - "meaning it will retain its status as the busiest interchange railway station in the country with no step-free access." (scroll down to read it).

https://www.londoncentric.media/p/july-7-terror-attack-how-londons-bus-drivers-got-the-city-home?utm_campaign=email-half-post&r=8oe6m&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

 

[Insuflo]

The link below has further information suggesting that the shop demolition and square redevelopment is funded separately from the station upgrades, so will go ahead:

 

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/peckham-rye-stations-step-free-upgrade-has-been-put-on-hold-82360/ 

[FellbriggSam]

On 29/04/2025 at 12:19, Dogkennelhillbilly said:

Demolition of the crappy dishevelled shopping arcade in front of Peckham Rye station is going ahead, and by end next year there will be a public square on Peckham's main shopping street. This is excellent!

Hopefully it unlocks vision and funding for an upgrade to the station itself for lifts, accessibility etc.

https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/demolition-of-the-shopping-arcade-blocking-peckham-rye-station-to-start-this-summer-80737/

Pic looks amazing, nice improvement 

[CPR Dave]

It will look like that for about ten minutes. 

After that it will look the new build apartments and shops that went in at the other end of rye lane. Abandoned and covered in graffiti tags.

[Sue]

5 hours ago, CPR Dave said:

It will look like that for about ten minutes. 

After that it will look the new build apartments and shops that went in at the other end of rye lane. Abandoned and covered in graffiti tags.

Let's look on the bright side, eh 🙄