Southwark Defend Council Housing

Peckham Fight the Developers: Last Saturday, 31st May 2025 I went to a protest in Peckham against the proposals for the redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre in the heart of Peckham by developers Berkeley Homes.

Peckham Fight the Developers - May 2025 — *Peckham, London, UK. 31 May 2005*

Their proposals shocked local residents in various ways. They include a 20 storey tower over 250 ft tall, and while the site would included 877 new homes, only 77 of those would be ‘affordable‘. Only a quarter of the number required in the new London Plan which calls for 50% – and for these to be ‘genuinely affordable‘, something that there is no clarity that any of those meagre 77 would be. The plans also include a supermarket and car park, some space that could be used to provide various services or offices as well as shops and a “Drinking Establishment”.

Because of the widespread opposition, apparently including all three local councillors as well as various local community groups which have come together in the umbrella group of housing campaigns and activists from across Southwark – SHAPE – Southwark Housing And Planning Emergency – it seems likely that Southwark Council will reject the application. In which case Berkeley are almost certain to appeal.

Given the Labour Party’s new policies on planning it seems unfortunately likely that in the case of an appeal Levelling Up Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner is likely to wave their proposals through despite their obvious failings and disatrous effect on Peckham.

Peckham Fight the Developers - May 2025 Anna Minton — *Peckham, London, UK. 31 May 2005. Journalist and author Anna Minton*

One of the speakers at the event was authour and Guardian journalist Anna Minton, invited to speak after her article last week, A new kind of gentrification is spreading through London – and emptying out schools which had the subhead “Thanks to ‘placemaking’, thriving communities are hollowing out, to be replaced by luxury apartments and expensive restaurants.”

Much of her article looked at the consequences of the demolition and replacement of another area of Southwark, the Heygate Estate at Elephant and Castle. This large council estate was replaced by developers Landlease with ‘Elephant Park’ with many flats being sold off-plan to international investors. Lendlease made big profits but Southwark council actually lost both a hugely valueable asset in land as well as actual money in the process.

The new site had more homes than the old, with around 2,000 largely still council-owned flats and houses being replaced by 2,704 of which only 82 are social housing. There 25% were ‘affordable’ but at up to 80% of market rent unaffordable to most locals including the previous residents of the area – and only a small fraction of the site being ‘affordable’. Replacing family homes by luxury flats has led to a large drop in births in the area, forcing the closure of the local primary school at the end of the current term. It was an exercise in ‘ethnic cleansing’ with most forced out of the Heygate having to move long distances further from the centre of London to find properties they could afford.

Minton comments “The positive rhetoric and branding of placemaking is that it transforms run-down areas into vibrant and economically successful parts of the city. The reality is that it creates sterile places, emptied of so many of the essential aspects of urban life, except the expensive activities.”

*Peckham, London, UK. 31 May 2005. Outside the Aylesham Centre*

Rye Lane on which the Aylesham Centre stands was described in 1934 as “the Oxford Street of South London” with no rival outside of Central London. At the north end of this “Golden Mile of shops” was a whole block containing the department store Jones & Higgins of which only a small part containing its clock tower remain – and under risk.

Jones & Higgins closed in 1980 and in 1985 most of it was demolished to build the Aylesham Centre. Most of the other fine shops of the past have left, but their buildings mainly survive in new uses, and the street is now remarkably vibrant largely with small shops serving the area’s multicultural community. Rye Lane remains one of London’s busiest shopping streets and I always enjoy walking along it. Off to the side are several small street markets and the amazing Copeland Park and its former cricket bat factory the Bussey Building, now a cultural centre, along with Peckham Levels, a transformed multi-storey car park, though its Derek Jarman memorial garden was in a poor state when I last visited a few years back.

The Aylesham centre is perhaps now the low point on the street and its demolition would certainly be no loss, but it would be terrible for it to be replaced by yet another sterile ‘white Elephant‘. It is a site that could offer much to the local community, including making a significant inroad into the roughly 12,000 families on the local council’s housing waiting list.

More pictures from the rally and march in my Facebook album People vs The Developers – Peckham takeover – and if you don’t have a Facebook account (still free) you can view some of them on my Alamy portofolio page.

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On Saturday 3rd Novemeber I got to London earlier than anticipate and had time for a little walk before photographing the first protest I had come to cover, over the cuts to public libraries. Later I went to photograph another protest about the plans to demolish many London council estates under so-called ‘regeneration’ plans which involve demolition and rebuilding by developers with little social housing.

Euston to Kings Cross Coal Drops – Sat 3 Nov 2018

Problems on my railway journeys into London are rather common, often involving considerable delays. Last weekend a replacement bus for part of the way meant that my usually slow journey scheduled to take 35 minutes to travel 20 miles instead took an hour and a half. But on Saturday 23rd November 2018, there was something of a miracle. When I arrived at the station a train which should have arrived half an hour earlier was just pulling in and an announcement told me it would be running non-stop to Waterloo.

Where possible I like to arrive at events perhaps 10 or 15 minutes before the advertised start time make sure I don’t miss anything. Travelling across London is often a little unpredictable, with odd holdups so I usually allow plenty of time. I’d arrived at my station a few minutes early, and with the non-stop service got me to Waterloo around 25 minutes before I expected. The normal timetable schedule gives a 5 or 10 minutes slack to make it less likely that train operating company has to pay fines for late running, and without stops the journey is significantly faster. Together with an Underground train that came as I walked onto the platform I arrived at Euston with around three quarters of an hour to spare.

This gave me time for a walk to the newly opened retail development in the former King’s Cross coal drops. I’d photographed the disused coal drops many years earlier, taking pictures of the demolished bridges across the Regents Canal and the still standing drops on the north side where coal brought from the North in railway goods waggons was transferred into carts for delivery across London. At first the waggons were lifted and tipped, later waggons had opening doors in their bottoms to dischage directly in the waiting carts and lorries.

My walk also took me through Somers Town, which has some of inner London’s more interesting social housing and past the new Francis Crick Institute before reaching the canal and a new walkway to Coal Drops Yard and Granary Square, and gave some views of the gasholders relocated across the canal from Kings Cross, some of which are now filled with flats. I made my way back with just enough time to visit the toilets in St Pancras Station before going to the meeting point for the Library protest at the rear of the British Library in Midland Road.

Euston to Kings Cross Coal Drops

Save Our Libraries march – British Library, Sat 3 Nov 2018

The march and rally against cuts in library services, which are a vital part of our cultural services, especially for working class schoolchildren and young people was organised by Unison and supported by PCS and Unite, but they seem to have done very little publicity and the numbers were far fewer than expected.

Unfortunately the march clashed with another event I wanted to cover and I had to leave a few minutes before it was due to start. Perhaps more joined the protest for the rally at the end of the march outside Parliament.

Save Our Libraries march

No Demolitions Without Permission – City Hall, London. Sat 3 Nov 2018

‘Axe the Housing Act’ had called a protest to demand an end to the demolition of council estates unless these were approved by a ballot of all residents, and for public land to be used to build more council homes rather than being turned over to developers to make huge profits from high-priced flats.

Most of those who came were from London council estates under threat of demolition by Labour London councils and speaker after speaker from estate after estate got up and spoke about the lies, evasions and often illegal activities of London Labour councils bent on demolishing their council estates.

*Green Party co-leader and London Assembly’s Housing Committee chair Sian Berry*

Instead of looking after their working class populations Labour councils are time and time again forcing through demolition of council estates, enabling developers to make huge profits by building flats for sale largely at market rent, with a small proportion of high rent ‘affordable’ homes and a miserably small number of homes at social rent, promoting schemes which cut by thousands the number of council homes.

*Tanya Murat, Chair of Southwark Defend Council Housing*

Although a new policy was about to come in to insist their should be residents ballots, London Labour Mayor Sadiq Khan had responded to this by fast-tracking 34 demolition schemes by Labour councils before it was implemented. He allowed some schemes to go forward without a ballot, and had failed to insist that all residents were allowed to take part in such ballots.

*Former Lambeth Council leader and veteran Labour politician Ted Knight*

Among the groups taking part in the rally were Class War and the Revolutionary Communist Group, both very much involved in campaigns across the capital on housing, and among the most effective at raising the issues involved in London’s housing. For some reason the rally organisers would not allow representatives of either of these to speak at the event, which led to a loud confrontation when Labour supporter Ted Knight came to speak. More below on this.

At the end of the rally people marched around City Hall with their banners.

No Demolitions Without Permission.

Class War protest Labour Housing record – City Hall, Sat 3 Nov 2018

Although Class War supporters were one of the larger groups taking part in the ‘No Demolitions Without Permission’ rally at City Hall they and others were denied any opportunity to speak as a part of the official rally.

Class War have been the most active group in supporting and raising the profile of campaigns in London against estate demolition mainly by London Labour councils who are responsible for the great bulk of estate sell-offs and demolition involving over 160 council estates – social cleansing on a massive scale. Among those protesting at the rally with Class War was Leigh Miller, recently illegally evicted from Gallions Point Marina under orders from the Labour Mayor of London.

*Leigh Miller, recently illegally evicted from Gallions Point Marina and Lisa McKenzie hold the banner high*

It was no surprise that when a prominent Labour politician got up to speak, Class War erupted, shouting him down to make clear that it was Labour who was responsible for estate demolitions. It was perhaps unfair on Ted Knight, a former Lambeth Labour leader who together with other councillors defied Thatcher and was surcharged and banned from holding public office for 5 years.

*Ted Knight (right) and Martin Wright (left) shout at each other*

Knight has supported Central Hill Estate residents in their fight against Lambeth Council’s plans for demolition, singing from much the same hymn sheet as Class War on housing issues. As Lambeth council’s leader he was clear that “Nothing is too good for the working classes” and estates such as Central Hill reflect this. And there was a little of old scores in the verbal attack on him by Whitechapel anarchist Martin Wright.

*Finally at the end of the rally, Leigh Miller did get a chance to speak.*

As a number of those estate residents allowed to speak at the rally pointed out, homes will only be saved if people become more militant and engage in the kind of direct actions which Class War advocates – and not by rallies like today’s outside a closed City Hall.

Class War stood to one side at the end of the rally when most of the rest taking part marched around the empty offices, they were calling for a rather different revolution.

Class War protest Labour Housing record