Residents and campaigners gathered outside Southwark Council as a planning inquiry opened into the proposed redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre in Peckham.
The seven-acre shopping centre, built in the 1980s, was purchased by Berkeley Group in 2021, with plans to replace it with a mixed-use development including 887 homes.
But the proposal has become a flashpoint in a wider debate about gentrification in Peckham, where house prices have risen by 86% over the past decade according to research by Homes & Property.
That rapid change has fuelled tensions between Peckham’s long-standing multicultural working-class community and an influx of middle-class professionals moving into the area.
Alongside concerns about displacement, campaigners say the development also threatens the future of local independent businesses based in the existing shopping centre.
The scheme initially proposed 35% affordable housing, but this was later reduced to 12%.
Campaign group Aylesham Community Action says homes in that category would only be affordable to around one in ten borough residents.
The application was rejected by Southwark Council following opposition from local councillors, the area’s MP and thousands of residents.
Berkeley Group has now appealed the decision, prompting protesters to gather outside the council offices on the first day of the inquiry.
Featured image credit: Oliver London
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