An east London community group is preparing for what could be its final battle with a housing developer after a five-year fight against redevelopment plans.
Aylesham Community Action (ACA) has been protesting the proposed redevelopment of a 1980s shopping centre in Peckham since it was bought by developer Berkeley Homes in 2021.
The company’s plan to replace the Aylesham Centre with almost a thousand private homes was rejected by a planning inspector in May following significant community backlash.
Berkeley has since appealed the decision, and ACA is fundraising to take part in the High Court proceedings.
After raising nearly £65,000 over the years of its campaign, ACA recently announced another £5,000 of donations.
The group took to Facebook to announce the milestone, declaring: “The community voice is recharged! Thanks so much to everyone who has supported us and donated.
“Roll on high court battle!”
Development proposal
Berkeley submitted its official plans to demolish the Aylesham Centre in July 2024.
The redevelopment plans included 867 homes, as well as a new Morrisons supermarket. The new properties would be spread across 13 residential tower blocks reaching up to 20 storeys high.
Development of the area or destruction of heritage? Credit: Southwark Council
But by the time Berkeley officially submitted its planning application, the project had already become a contentious political issue in the borough and attracted significant opposition.
Community pushback
While the developer was applying for planning permission, ACA – which counts comedians James Acaster and Nish Kumar amongst its supporters – was fundraising hard to challenge the plans in court.
Councillor Victor Chamberlain, Southwark Council’s executive member for neighbourhoods, strategic planning, and wellbeing, criticised Berkeley’s approach throughout this period.
He said: “Not enough consultation was done initially. Not enough effort was made to explain how the development would deliver public assets and amenities.
“Berkeley didn’t take the chance to codesign the outcome, and their plan was ultimately not sympathetic to the design and character of Peckham’s townscape.”
Southwark Council initially rejected Berkeley’s planning application, prompting the developer to appeal the decision. The Planning Inspectorate rejected that appeal in May, with the inspector citing concerns about the development’s impact on local architecture and heritage.
The decision said the benefits of the development would not outweigh the harm to nearby heritage sites.
A Berkeley spokesperson said: “The planning inspector confirmed that the planning application offered more affordable housing than the project could viably support.
“The site is also being charged over £15 million to fund local services and infrastructure. This design for this site received no objections from Historic England over its heritage impacts.”
Affordable housing questions
Despite the planning inspectorate’s ruling, ACA’s campaign has come to be dominated by concerns around affordable housing.
The campaign gained significant momentum after Berkeley, citing deteriorating market conditions, dropped the project’s affordable housing allocation from 35% – the baseline set by the council – to just 12% in December 2024.
Councillor Chamberlain said: “There’s a really strong view in Southwark that we need to be maximising affordable housing.
“We need homes that are both sympathetic to the character of the area and meet the chronic need for affordable housing.
“In that regard, Berkeley Homes’ offer is not strong enough.”
Berkeley launched its judicial review challenge in June, arguing that the Planning Inspector made legal errors when refusing permission. The High Court will consider whether the inspector’s decision was lawful, rather than whether the development should be granted planning permission.
ACA remains confident about its chances.
In another Facebook post, it wrote: “Peckham won. Peckham can win again!”
Featured image credit: Aylesham Community Action
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