Regeneration begins

By the early 1990s Peckham was one of the most deprived areas in the country. Only radical action could force a turnaround in the area's fortunes.

In 1994 the council put in a bid for a huge regeneration scheme and was awarded a £60 million Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) grant for a seven year programme to run from 1995 to 2002.

It was to be the biggest scheme of its kind in Europe, attracting millions in additional funding. To run the project the Peckham Partnership was formed. It included private, public and voluntary sector partners.

The scheme was focused on housing with the demolition and redevelopment of the old five estates to provide a more human scale environment, reducing density from 3,000 to 2,000 homes and providing housing built on traditional street patterns.

Not just about housing

The programme is more than just housing redevelopment, with the knock-on effects to include reducing Peckham's high unemployment, improving opportunity, reviving an ailing town centre and making the area safer and a more attractive place where people wanted to settle and raise their families.

In the past, Peckham as a whole has been a place where communities have moved into, worked hard but then moved on. Before the big regeneration of the nineties, surveys showed some 70 per cent of residents in the five estates area wanted to leave Peckham. After the work this fell to 35 per cent.

The drive to improve the quality of life for all residents saw several projects come to fruition in addition to the redevelopment of the five estates. The creation of the new town square, with the award winning Will Alsop designed library put Peckham back on the map.

Future Peckham

We are aiming to achieve an excellent place for Peckhamites, the best places and spaces with a focus on improving life chances for people living or growing up in Peckham. To do this we need to transform the physical appearance of the neighbourhood and harness the strength and creativity of our community for the course of the journey.

We want the residents of SE15 to have a clean, safe, attractive environment with quality buildings, open spaces, arts and leisure facilities and pockets of local interest. We want new transport links. From small neighbourhood quick fix greening schemes to the major redevelopment of the centre of Peckham and some 2,000 new homes by 2016 we will work with the community to transform our space.