Station Gateway – GLA deadline extended

From Peckham Vision Facebook 26 February:  Thanks to everyone for a speedy response to Peckham Vision’s call: at the last count more than 100 local people wrote to the Mayor of London asking for the GLA’s funding deadline to be extended, and it succeeded! Fiona Colley said “Plans are now being developed to make local people full partners in shaping the redevelopment.” See below for the full text of the statement and the joint press release from the Council and Network Rail.  This gives us the chance at last to move forward to a new era showing, we hope, that there can be real partnership between the community and the Council, for the benefit of our Peckham. This fantastic result is just what Peckham Vision has worked for over many years especially the last two years on this project. 

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Dear Peckham residents, businesses and stakeholders 25 February 2014
Gateway to Peckham Update 3
Thank you to everyone for their continued support for getting the best possible improvement plans for Peckham Rye Station. A couple of things have happened since my update last Wednesday (for those of you who have emailed me since then, my two previous updates are pasted in at the bottom of this email).
On Thursday myself and the Leader of the Council had a good meeting with senior officers from Network Rail. This has resulted in the release of a joint statement (see below) with both Southwark Council and Network Rail welcoming the extended timescales for the project and committing to work with local people as full partners in shaping the scheme. We are also now confident that the extension will be confirmed by the GLA at their investment board next month and we are proceeding on that basis.
Later on Thursday I met with the local resident who very eloquently spoke for the deputation to Peckham Community Council and who has been leading the calls for a “codesigning” process of involving the community as partners in the project. We had an initial discussion about how that process might work and I was very grateful to have the benefit of her expertise and experience of
codesigning projects. We agreed to continue work together, along with representatives of local residents and businesses and Network Rail, to develop those ideas.
I will send out a further update when we have more news on the next steps.
Best wishes
Cllr Fiona Colley
Cabinet Member for Regeneration & Corporate Strategy
Labour Member for Nunhead Ward
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Press Release 25 Feb 2014
Peckham Rye station project extended to allow for more local consultation
Peckham residents and businesses will be asked to help shape the future of Peckham Rye station and the surrounding area over the coming months, following agreement in principle from the Greater London Authority (GLA) to an extension to the project.

Following conversations with concerned local residents and businesses in Peckham about the redevelopment of Peckham Rye station, Southwark Council and Network Rail asked the GLA for an extension to their current timescales. This has been agreed in principle, and although the decision needs to be finalised, the council is confident that this will happen. Plans are now being developed to make local people full partners in shaping the redevelopment. The GLA’s permission to extend the project is required, as they have promised to contribute £5million to the works, but only if they are carried out within a certain timescale.

Cllr Fiona Colley, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Corporate Strategy at Southwark Council, said: “The council had a very positive meeting with the GLA this week and I’m delighted that they have agreed in principle to the extension to our timescales. They understood why we feel it is important to slow things down a little, and give local people time to have a real say in the future of Peckham Rye station and the surrounding area. We are now proceeding on the assumption that the extension will be confirmed next month. We want to use this opportunity to include local residents and businesses as partners in co-designing the plans to ensure we get the best outcome for Peckham which incorporates our thriving creative industries?

More than 100 local people have written to the Mayor of London asking for the GLA’s funding deadline to be extended. Local people had told Cllr Colley that the initial plans for the redevelopment, displayed at a public meeting in January, had been rushed through, and that they had concerns about the scope of the project.

A Network Rail spokesman said:
“We understand the concerns that local people have raised and want to ensure that they are involved in the plans. The consultation to date has shown that people have strong feelings about some elements of the scheme and as well as listening to this, we want to share the different options for how this scheme can be made viable. It’s always been our intention to develop the station to benefit the people who live and work in Peckham, as well as the three million people who use Peckham Rye station every year.”

Southwark Council and Network Rail plan to hold a series of workshops in Peckham so that everyone can contribute to the vision for the station, and help develop a scheme that has the full support of local residents and businesses.

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