- A lively town centre providing a range of daytime and night time activities on Rye Lane including a library, a leisure centre, cinema, market traders and many independent retailers which specialise in West African goods. Bellenden Road is a quieter alternative. Much of the town centre activity spills over to busy side streets and the area is further enlivened by active faith and other community groups;
- An area with a burgeoning sector of small and medium enterprises, many of which are creative industries. Copeland Park and the Bussey Building, the railway arches, Peckham Rye Station and Peckham Levels have become a focus for these industries;
- An area of heritage value, particularly in the conservation areas with many interesting Victorian, Edwardian and inter-war buildings, including Peckham Rye Station, and the Baptist church with the former Jones and Higgins department store at the heart of Peckham town centre. Outside designated conservation area the historic residential layout remains intact;
- A place for sports and activities with local parks which support leisure and cultural activities. Examples include Peckham Square, Peckham Rye Station Square, Peckham Rye Common and the Surrey Canal Walk connecting Peckham to Burgess Park and beyond;
- Accessible by rail from central London and wider London with stations at Peckham Rye and Queen’s Road along with many bus routes. Peckham is very accessible for walking and cycling.
Development in Peckham should:
- Complement and improve the town centre with more large and small shops, market stalls, and entertainment, cultural, community and leisure spaces alongside new employment space for small and medium enterprises including start-ups;
- Provide as many homes as possible of all tenures including social housing while respecting the local character. Residential development must not compromise the operation of existing commercial and night time uses, particularly in the town centre;
- Support new educational centres which will increase education and employment opportunities and bring new footfall to the town centre;
- Increase or improve the quality of local open spaces and squares, particularly Peckham Rye, Peckham Square and Peckham Rye Station Square to meet the needs of the growing population and provide new opportunities for recreation and leisure;
- Prioritise walking, cycling and improve public transport, including accessibility to Peckham Rye station from the new square, while improving servicing and waste management on the high street;
- Contribute towards the development of the Low Line and the Peckham Coal Line, new public realm corridors adjacent to historic railway arches, with lively accessible spaces for creativity, new jobs and retail;
- Reveal and enhance Peckham’s underlying historic townscape.
Growth opportunities in Peckham:
- The Peckham and Nunhead Area Action Plan was adopted in 2014 and identified 24 sites for development. These have mostly been completed, are under construction or approved. They have delivered 350 homes, 300sqm employment floorspace, 1,900sqm retail floorspace and 14,500sqm community and education facilities including the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts and an extension to Bredinghurst School. Sites approved or under construction will deliver 433 homes, 940sqm retail floorspace and 3,000sqm community facilities. Larger town centre sites not yet developed have been included in this plan.
- Site allocations in the Peckham Action Area will provide around 1,400 new homes, around 22,200sqm (gross) retail, community and leisure floorspace and around 19,000sqm (gross) employment space. There are also many smaller development sites that could accommodate new homes and new employment space. Peckham Major Town Centre will deliver around 7,000sqm (net) new retail floorspace
For more information please see the Southwark Local Plan 2022