So fresh and so clean

I received a copy of Camberwell Renewal magazine this morning, a free publication which explains what is being done to renew Camberwell (duh).

Main features are on street drinking and crime; in the case of the former a ‘wet centre’ has been set up, in the case of the latter there’s a small team of police working out of the Police Station (duh, again).

Many local government campaigns start off with good intentions but have limited power, becoming mere talking shops before quietly fading away. I hope this one doesn’t go that way, as Camberwell is a great area to live in but does feel a little shabby in one or two places and could certainly do with a few renewal projects.

The micro-redevelopment of Butterfly Walk has finished; a new, lighter-coloured floor has been lain and (I think) the glass roof cleaned, so it seems much brighter and more open. Just little changes like that can make a big difference to how an area looks and how the people who live there feel about it.

Still no word on the Grove Lane development, however; how am I going to find out about that when the Southwark News doesn’t have a web presence?

Author: Peter

Long-time resident of Camberwell, author of this blog since July 2004.

5 thoughts on “So fresh and so clean”

  1. I disagree — Camberwell doesn’t need tidying up just like it doesn’t need shite bars like the dispensary. Grove lane development is truly worrying. Turning into bluddy Clapham if you ask me.

  2. Woah there slick, the Dispensary is all right if that’s your bag and if you think that Camberwell is not in need of some regeneration funds then you must be living in a different Camberwell…

  3. You’re right I was being unfair on the dispensary. However, there’s a difference between regeneration and gentrification. My point being that regenerating Crumberwell — i.e. providing jobs, cutting crime, cleaning the streets etc. is not a bad thing. The problem — and swanky bars are a good example of this — is that out goes the area and in comes yet another pizza express. BRB is bad enough, the developers who are looking to do the “grave lane” development seem to be in the gentrification game. Have you seen much affordable housing advertised on their website?

    Decent blog though.

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