peckham on the bbc

[KidKruger]

Arguably, the 'gentrification' that Louisa so detests is already happening in Peckham BUT within the existing 'cultural' community - a la the '?12 hamburger' bugbear. The Afro-Carribean eat-in/takeaway charges ?5 (yes, FIVE British pounds) for a plastic take-away container of Jollof rice. That's posh prices - comparable to the 'poncey' food prices on NorthX.

[????]

Every time. Every single time. Splendid again Louisa 10/10!

[El Pibe]

wot quids said

[Huggers]

Bellenden Road- the supermarket has really improved its stock, specially choice of veg. I use it more and therefore Sainsbury's less.

as for the lost shops of Bellenden- when we first moved here there was a dodgy second hand junk shop and now there are two better ones. There is the kebab chippy Sams on corner of Bellenden and Maxted that's been there as long as I have- fifteen years. Except for the plumbers which have now gone, all those 'missing' shops are represented, if under different names. The deli- if that was the Turkish one- was awful with terrible stale bread capitalising on its idea of a new middle class clientele. It didn't last long.

''Ossie the plumber, Dackecome car spares/ The

> turkish deli, Bakery, Chaz, Many small grocers.The

> Prince Albert. Mr Patel the papershop. The dry

> Cleaner, The very good cafe. Chinese takeaway.

> Takeaway foodshops. ''

[monica]

WE were part of the Bellenden Rd community from 92 to 2000. We had the cafe on Bellenden Rd, and back then, when the regeneration of Bellenden Rd started we saw so many different stores opening. Chaz hairdressers were the hub of the community. Nice to see the mix of shops now, and our old cafe, still doing so well.

[Louisa]

I point to Clapham and Battersea, Shoreditch and Islington. Hey even Notting Hill. All areas with high social housing and strong traditional working class British and first/second/third generation immigrant communities with 'roots'. When money pours in and an area becomes 'cool' those things matter not one jot, because ultimately and Peckham is a classic case study, a zone 2 location now on the map and finally connected up to the tube network with a good Victorian housing stock is ripe for development. And those of you who thought gentrification in ED was quick, you ain't seen nothing yet, cos Peckham will gentrify at such a pace it will become unrecognisable in the next decade, and yes even Rye Lane will join in. Those suggesting it is a natural transformation, he's maybe it is, but the extent to which it's happening in Peckham and other inner London areas is alarming. The deep rooted communities will move away as rents rise and push out into the outer suburbs and we will be left with another generic gentrified zone 2 community with crazy house prices. It seems a shame to me.

Louisa.

[DuncanW]

Out of interest Louisa, why do you think that the pace of change will be so rapid in Peckham?

[Mattsoper]

To come back to the Peckham Peculiar for a moment, my understanding is that it?s been put together by people who?ve lived in the area for quite a few years and, judging by the first issue, have interests besides the arty stuff (the Peckham Liberal Club, the hairdressers of Rye Lane and bringing empty private properties back into use as council housing, for example).

Whether you choose to read it or not is, of course, entirely up to you.

I?d urge anyone with concerns about the future of Peckham to take a look at the plans for redeveloping Peckham Rye Station and send their feedback in by January 26 as that?s likely to have a much more profound effect on the area than a free newspaper will - both to 'real' people and middle class ones.

http://peckhamryestation.com/

[Peckhamrye]

Wot Matt said.

[markmc71]

Hi there

I am one of the four co-founders of the freesheet 'The Peckham Peculiar' which launched earlier this week.

I have lived in and around SE15 for the last ten years including spells in Nunhead and East Dulwich. I love Peckham and the local area for its diversity and community spirit and plan to stay here for many more years to come.

Not sure if anyone's seen a physical copy yet in East Dulwich but please see link for our stockists (we do advise checking in advance if you're going out of the way to get a copy):

http://peckhampeculiar.tumblr.com/post/73816651840/looking-for-a-copy-of-the-peckham-peculiar

If you're a local business and wish to stock it, please email [email protected]

We've also put the paper online at issuu:

http://issuu.com/peckhampeculiar/docs/the_peckham_peculiar_issue_1

Personally, I think any feedback for a fledgling operation like ourselves can only be a good thing so would be really interested to know your thoughts.

We're also on twitter (@peckhampeculiar) so you can give feedback there if you wish. We will also put an anonymous survey up at surveymonkey in a couple of weeks, once we've managed to circulate a good few thousand copies (we're printing 8.000 of the first issue).

Many thanks

Mark McGinlay

The Peckham Peculiar

[lozzyloz]

Good luck Mark. I hope it's a big success. I think a venture like yours can only be a positive thing for the area, informing people about local issues.

[sophie_d]

-- moved topic --

[Cyclemonkey]

Mark, great news paper, readable and relevant to the whole community. Well done to all involved. It would be great to see some more items on Peckham history including the background to some of the more recent communities, we know a lot about the Brixton story but less about Peckhams.

[lousmith]

We've just taken delivery of The Peckham Peculiar - available at Captured on the Rye on Pellatt Road

[PohSuan]

I will be tracking a copy down this afternoon.

I live in Peckham and attend monthly local residents meeting where we discuss local issues.The association have campaigned on various issues over the years to get funding to help improve the area and have made a valuable and positive contribution to the community. Many of the members have lived here all, or a majority of their lives. Meetings often end with them reminiscing about all the changes they have seen over the years (Rye Lane used to be a shopping destination that people would flock to, a 2nd Oxford Street one of my older neighbours used to call it). I think it would be really interesting to hear their stories and learn some of the history of Peckham from their perspective. There are huge changes happening all over Peckham now, some good and some bad I am sure.

I think many residents get frustrated with how Peckham is often portrayed in the media with such negativity ,crime rates,gangs etc. When the riots of 2011 occurred there was a large focus on Peckham but I heard (and feel free to correct me if I am wrong,I didn't witness it first hand) that Lordship Lane was actually vandalised more but this wasn't reported on in the media.

As one of my neighbours who has lived here over 40 years said very proudly 'People can slag off Peckham, but I love my Peckham'.

[jimbo1964]

Every restaurant review is still usually prefixed with a paragraph about how extraordinary it is to find anything decent to eat in Peckham.

[Cyclemonkey]

PohSuan - Good post.

I moved here from New Cross just about the time Damiloa Taylor was killed and I remember the media were falling over themselves to brand Peckham representative of everything that was wrong with inner city life. People used to sneer at me for living in Peckham and no one i know would dream of comming here for a night out (althougth we were happy with the pubs in Peckham and Nunhead and started goign to the newer venues such as Bar Story and the Bussey building as they opened)

The area has changed a lot over the last ten years i have lived here - businesses and locals have developed real offers often in the face of adversity. Most of the business people like Micky at the CLF cafe and the guys behind Bar Story are locals and care deeply about the area. There is obviously tensions as more expensive places move in and particularly as more and more people crowd in in the Summer for Franks and they need to be sorted, whilst it still has its issues generally Peckham is a very exciting place to be right now.

However the big issue is not expensive cushion shops in Bellenden Road, ?12 burgers or the hordes of middle class tourists flocking to Franks of a evening. What may kill Peckhams vibrancy is house prices. I moved here because i liked the area but mainly because it was cheaper than many other areas (i certainly couldn't have afforded Brixton let alone North London)

It is them with a heavy heart that we have to seriously consider leaving the area soon. We are lucky enough to be in a position to buy a place soon but cannot afford to stay in SE15 let alone SE22. To be honest i don't think we could afford to stay if we carried on renting as our landlord has recently advertised one of the flats in our block at a good few hundred a month more than we are paying. I don't think we are unique and a lot of young couples and families who are committed to the area and often involved in the creative scene will be leaving this area over the next year or so because we simply cannot afford to stay.

[sophie_d]

More arty trendy middle class stuff detached from reality. So much is happening in Peckham? Maybe if you're on the cool carriage first class from Shoreditch or Dalston, but what about the real Peckham?

Louisa.

just the kind of positive and informative post i was hoping for when i shared the link about a new free local newspaper - damn you peckham peculiar and your free newspaper - coming over here, giving us free stuff, promoting local shops and artists, who do you think you are with your free interesting paper, how are the locals of peckham supposed to afford this free interesting local paper...id much rather sit and stare in to space being cross about the world, take your free interesting local paper back to where you came from...which is ..erm...peckham

[JoeChuff]

I'm reluctant to post, but I sent Louisa a PM expressing support and now feel guilty for not supporting her in "public".

Anyway, I have absolutely nothing against the Peckham Peculiar, it's great to see print journalism making a comeback, it's a good read covering a range of issues, and I'm very pleased that they featured the Liberal Club and held their launch party there. I don't think it's the right target and I wish them luck.

But I am also glad that we have Louisa to burst the occasional middle-class balloon. "More stuff me and my mates like" is always nice for me and my mates, and why shouldn't we enjoy it - but it does not automatically equal "better for the area". It is simply unneighbourly to act as though it does, especially when it is part of a process edging some of your neighbours out. I don't want to deny anyone their private pleasures, but please don't try to make them into a public virtue.

[Louisa]

I think you misunderstand me sophie_d. I wish markmc71 and all the co-founders/contributors to this paper the very best, it surely will be a positive step for print media and the local area. That isn't my gripe. My gripe is aimed more at an 'idea', one which is often taken by the middle-classes (especially the recent influx searching for cash buy do-me up Victorian terraces) as some sort of virtuous crusade. The artists and creatives mean well and obviously do a lot of good for an area, Peckham included, but they aren't the issue, it's what follows behind them which is the transforming factor in the inner city which eventually prices whole communities out of an area. It seems to be concentrated solely in zone-2 currently too which is quite alarming. I think JoeChuff sums it up well.

Louisa.

[Cyclemonkey]

I agree Louisa (see my post above) house prices and house price speculation will kill many decent areas in London. whilst nothing wrong with either group, communities comprised of the rich and poor are not particularly sustainable.

I have had an alert on Rightmove that last month for 2 bed properties within a three mile radius of SE15 for up ?350,000 - it is rarely anything in SE15/SE22 comes up.

[dontpanic]

What Matt said, and of course what Mark said...

You might be interested in the results of a paper by Emma Jackson at the Department of Geography, King's College London.

Its all about comparing the 'gentrification' of Peckham with another broadly similar area - Brixton. Turns out we're a little bit different...

Paper: Gentrification and its other: moving beyond social tectonics

Emma Jackson & Tim Butler

Here she is interviewed:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ljk4r

[spanglysteve]

KidKruger Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Unlike Jeremy, I believe Rye Lane will change

> drastically in the next 5-10 years. I believe the

> retail rents will go up with the influx of

> residents from outside the area and the existing

> 'cultural'-centric shops will slowly be forced

> away, as a result the demograhic will get, shall

> we say, paler.

Except for the fact that I am sure I remember reading somewhere that most of the businesses in Rye Lane own their buildings. Apparently years back, Peckham was the desired route for High Speed 1 (ie the line into St Pancras. British Rail bought up all the properties under compulsory purchase rights. When the route changed they sold most on cheaply to the existing tennents so it seems unlikely that rents will push them out. If anything, it will be commercial developers who are willing to buy up the properties, knock them down and then rebuild, but that is a much slower process.

There was even an episode of Desmonds about it http://www.channel4.com/programmes/desmonds/4od#2922212

[KidKruger]

"Except for the fact that I am sure I remember reading somewhere that most of the businesses in Rye Lane own their buildings".

You can own the whole street of shops, that's fine.

But if the demographic is changing rapidly and your existing retail leases to businesses are already contracted, or your self-owned business/commercial property sells to those who are increasingly no longer there, you have a dilemma.

I don't want it to happen, I prefer that it will not, but my fear I believe will unfold.

[Otta]

It's just what London is becoming unfortunately. I moved from ED to Sydenham in 2006, and LOVE Sydenham, but prices are zooming up there too. We're about to buy an ex council flat in Penge, and I reckon in a year's time that would be beyond us too.

It just feels like "real" places are being wiped out. People may shoot me down for saying that, but frankly they're exactly the sort of people that are supporting the wiping out.

You couldn't pay me to live in East Dulwich at the moment, and slowly but surely Peckham, Forest Hill, Sydenham, Penge, will all go the same way.