A decade ago, Southwark was the second most deprived local authority area in England and Peckham stood at its heart as one of the borough’s worst affected areas.

The Peckham Partnership’s programme had 9 objectives (all of the projects supported by the Partnership fell into one of these objectives) addressing:

In addition, the Partnership was also responsible for the management of a Capital Challenge Infrastructure Programme of £11m of which the majority was spent in Peckham.

This in conjunction with Infrastructure and Traffic Team in the Regeneration department involved working on related initiatives that are Borough wide such as 'development' of a major local Park - Burgess Park (Master plan), the Cross River Transit Link, and the East London Line.

Further, towards its end the Partnership sponsored a further bid for SRB funds to meet the objectives and costs of a wide ranging local social engagement programme - the Greater Peckham Alliance or GPA.

This too was successful and over 3 years £1.5m was allocated for spending on further community development, jobs training, working with local young people and on supporting affordable childcare.

The Peckham Partnership was a round 1 Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) scheme which was implemented over 7 years.
£59.9 million was made available in the form of a Government Single Regeneration Budget Grant. In the final year it had a total value of £290 million The scheme was overseen by a 20 Member partnership board comprising representatives from the statutory, private and community sectors.

Newer housing estate areas
The target area was centred on an urban locality which, in 1994 when the SRB bid was prepared, consisted of five pre and post WWII housing
estates, plus the commercial and shopping area of Rye Lane/Peckham
High Street.

A key driver in the selection of the area for intervention was the level of local deprivation- at the time it was the third most deprived part of Southwark – and the need to address the poor reputation of the area so as to improve this in whatever way possible.

The Partnership’s physical vision for the area was housing renewal,
community safety, the creation of a mixed tenure community as well as physical improvements to enhance the attractiveness and viability of the local Town Centre.

Measures which proved to be most successful included building well designed low level housing and the creation of a Town Square with public facilities such as a Healthy Living Centre and the Stirling Prize winning Peckham library designed by Will Alsop.

Less successful were the programmes providing community development.

From the start of the scheme it was recognised that sustainable regeneration could not be achieved by concentrating efforts on housing alone. For these reasons the Partnership pursued a comprehensive and integrated strategy covering employment, education, community safety, enterprise, health, culture, sport and accessibility and community involvement and development.

In what form and to what extent are private investors financially involved in the urban planning strategies in the deprived area?
The Partnership’s physical vision for the area was set out in a Master plan. This was supplemented by documents and guides related to Environmental issues and sustainability, Design and style guides, Safety guides and consultative arrangements with the local Police Community protocols and consultation and evaluation practices and processes. Regular community audits were undertaken by MORI.

Several partners were involved including selected house builders from the private and public social sectors, private investors, the police, tenants, traders and local councillors.

The relationship between the Council and its housing partners was also laid out in a Strategic development Agreement (SDA).

In every regard the programme was subject to Regional and local Planning and was also dependant on gaining Planning approvals as required.

To assist with the overall integration of the programme a Partnership Board - on which all stakeholders were represented - met regularly to review progress in relation to Master plan objectives and targets. This work was supported by the secondment of officers from key council departments or employed to undertake specific tasks.

Regular community audits were undertaken by MORI.

Physical regeneration was prioritized, but it was recognised that sustainable regeneration could not be achieved by concentrating efforts on housing alone.

Peckham Partnership aimed to transform Peckham into a place where people choose to live, work and visit.
In its final year the Partnership reviewed and independently evaluated this vision and achieved a range of positive results.

The Partnership’s social and economic initiatives helped to bring about a dramatic improvement in life chances and opportunities for Peckham residents. The education programme contributed to an amazing 126% increase in literacy among key stage two pupils in Peckham and a 114% increase in the number of pupils gaining five or more A*-C grades in GCSE exams. Various employment and training programmes resulted in a 26% reduction in unemployment between 1994 and 2002, while community safety initiatives halved fear of crime in the area.

Most objectives targets – 95% - were achieved.

The scheme was conceived in response to then government criteria for such programmes which placed overwhelming emphasis on the need for bidders to maximise physical outputs of regeneration, Thus - in retrospect - it would seem that insufficient attention was given to addressing the social and community development factors during the early phases of the programme. However, at the mid way period - following a comprehensive review - steps were taken to address such deficiencies and this was appreciated.

Also, some concerns were expressed about the development process, decanting of tenants, and on the need for more information about the change process.

All sections of the community were beneficiaries. These ranged from tenants, to members of the local community seeking jobs, better education and health facilities.

The impact of the programme is demonstrable in the physical appearance of the area. In addition to environmental improvements homes have been provided and a home ownership market created.

The Partnership’s support to schools within the area has seen attainment rise with year on year improvements exceeding the Southwark and in some cases national average. The Partnership’s support has brought significant investment in public infrastructure. As well as new public open spaces such as Peckham Square and Sumner Park; and investment in the transport infrastructure.

Successful outcomes from other elements of the programme include creation and safeguarding of over 520 jobs and enabling nearly 1,000 local residents to access employment; to start their own business and to gain an accredited qualification.

The Town Centre itself previous investment is beginning to bring about desired changes, on the back of the upswing in property values and incomes in the area; as well as a 40% decrease in street crime since the introduction of CCTV cameras at the start of the programme

In the final year the total value of the programme was considered to amount to £290 million, £59.9 million in the form of Government Single Regeneration Budget Grant.

The council provided some £20m in capital and £4.5m in revenue over the period. SRB grant was significant as it enabled the process to be ‘kick started’

The objective related to training and employment was able to benefit from funding from Europe. This was used to commission a range of provision for skills development, retraining and language learning for migrants and others.

In addition bridging programmes with education providers were developed and an intervention programme facilitated through funding being made available to community organisations that were then able to work directly with members of local communities to address specific needs.

Southwark Council
Russell Profitt (Head of the Peckham Programme), tel. +44 7525 1016

//1994

case

Urban Policy > Urban environment

Urban renewal