Agenda item

7.1  Simon Bevan; Head of Planning and Transport and Darryl Telles; Neighbourhoods Manager, presented the Town Centre strategies report, focusing on Camberwell, Peckham and Walworth, briefly. The chair then invited members to ask questions.

7.2  A member asked what would be the impact of the loss of Aylesbury PFI on retail delivery. The Head of Planning and Transport commented that although regeneration of Aylesbury may be slowed by this loss of funding, the regeneration of Elephant and Castle has a high potential to impact positively on the retail environment. Studies show that it is difficult to spend your money in Southwark because there is a lack of retail capacity. Therefore there is room for growth in retail capacity and this can be supported by local spending power.

7.3  The officer was asked about progress on the Elephant and Castle regeneration deal with Lend Lease? The Head of Planning and Transport responded that they are developing a master plan and this should be ready for a planning application in about a year. A draft plan should come to the council in about two months. Members indicated that they would like Lend Lease to attend a meeting to explain how they are going to consult with the community.

7.4  The officer was asked if Transport for London (TFL) was a major partner in the Elephant and Castle regeneration plans.  The Head of Planning and Transport responded that TFL is a big and complex organisation; however investment in transport can make a major difference to regeneration programmes. The council was successful in applying for £200,000 funding for Camberwell. This is to fund initial consultation work, with the substantial chance of additional funding.

7.5  A member asked if East Street market is likely to attract more funding. The Head of Planning and Transport responded that the £250,000 referred to in the report is likely to be the extent of the investment.

7.6  Officers explained that they are bringing forward an Area Action Plan for Peckham. This will aim to work with TFL and utilise development sites for regeneration.

7.7  The chair commented that Peckham could benefit from more commercial investment in the high street. Other members agreed that residents often lobbied for this. It was noted that Peckham has had various refurbishment work, and whilst this has improved the local environment, it has not led to significant commercial investment. The chair suggested a different approach was needed and suggested inviting developers to a scrutiny meeting to look at regeneration from their perspective. The Head of Planning and Transport noted the capacity of Peckham to host extended retail provision and suggested looking at the potential for using the council’s landholdings to leverage in commercial investment. Members welcomed this suggestion and it was agreed that the council’s Property division would be invited to present on this issue.

7.8   The Neighbourhoods Manager noted the good work that is currently taking place in tacking social deprivation and unemployment in Peckham.

7.9  Members commented that it would be valuable to consider good practice in over Town centres, particularly comparable areas such as Brixton, Brick Lane and East Dulwich.

7.10  The chair thanked the officers and asked that they take action on the points discussed and report back in a year on progress in developing the town centres of Camberwell, Peckham and Walworth.

RESOLVED

Lend Lease will be invited to the next meeting. A report outlining how Lend Lease intends to engage with the community will be requested.

The committee decided to focus on developing recommendations for revitalising Peckham by:

• Inviting officers from Southwark’s Property division to outline opportunities to use land holdings to regeneration Peckham; particularly how these could be used to encourage commercial investment in Peckham.

• Looking at good practice form other Town Centres with a similar profile to Peckham, in order to identify drivers that could be utilized in Peckham to regenerate. 

A follow up report on town centres was requested for a year’s time.