Lewisham put Deptford High Street pedestrianisation on hold
Lewisham council have announced a number of measures for Deptford High Street but have put pedestrianisation on hold for now.
The authority ran a consultation in April and May this year as covered earlier this year.
The plan was for a pedestrianised area at Reginald Road and closing Hales Street & Frankham Street to most vehicles.
In an update they state “no pedestrianisation scheme will come forward without further engagement.” Almost 3,000 people responded to the survey and the authority list a number of changes:
- Deep cleaning and removal of graffiti
- Removing street clutter such as old phone boxes, damaged signs and poles
- Extra enforcement to tackle illegal parking and anti-social behaviour
- Improved waste and fly-tipping management including more bins
- Introducing additional planting in the area including new sustainable drainage systems and rain gardens
- Improved lighting especially under the railway bridge
- Enhanced signage and wayfinding to make it easier to get to businesses
- Installing cycle hangars
The council state that a surveys revealed that 93 per cent reach the High Street by measures other than a car.
Nearby growth in housing
That number will likely increase as many homes are built in the vicinity of which most will be car-free.
In the recent past hundreds of homes have been built on the former Tidemill School site while 3,500 homes will be built – one day perhaps – at Convoy’s Wharf.
Other major sites are underway such as those along Creekside as well as a redevelopment of the old Lewisham College at Deptford Broadway.
Sun Wharf has also just seen revised plans submitted. The Bird’s Nest pub has housing plans as do art studios over the road on Creekside.
Another walkable site to the High Street is “Deptford Landings” with more than 1,100 homes.
Deptford station sits in the middle of the High Street on a viaduct.
It was rebuilt around 15 years ago as part of a new housing development which also includes commercial units within arches.
The High street last saw a major upgrade in the early 2010s.
Revenue for the project comes from TfL and Section 106 revenue from new developments.
Deputy Louise Krupski, Cabinet Member for Climate Action, Transport and Environment said: “Deptford High Street is an amazing and historic space. We have been working with the community at every stage to ensure local people are shaping this iconic area’s future. Our goal is to celebrate what makes Deptford special while ensuring it meets the needs of the entire community.”
Councillor Ese Erheriene, Cabinet Member for Business, Jobs and Skills said: “Residents and businesses have spoken clearly and we have listened carefully – their views have genuinely shaped the future of Deptford High Street. Guided by their feedback from our consultation, we are ensuring the area is even more welcoming, cleaner and safer and a fantastic place to trade and do business.”
The council made 9 proposals, All were rejected by significant majorities, indicating the council had no idea (interest?) about local concerns. This is not mentioned in the press release. Pedestrianisation rejected 57% to 35%, but the press release suggests they still want to push for it. The council is short of resources but has wasted lots of time and money (ours) on this badly thought out set of proposals. No wonder people have little faith in local democracy. Deptford High Street is vibrant and has low vacancy rates, I am a regular user.
It’s been genuinely saddening seeing the community whipped up into a frenzy by the lies and misinformation spread by Save Deptford High Street, Matchstick Piehouse, and Adam Pugh of the Green Party. Yes, the Green Party opposed pedestrianisation. Utter hypocrites.
They somehow convinced well-meaning local left-leaning people that pedestrianisation is some kind of evil ploy by the council to gentrify the high street and ruin Deptford, despite the fact that pedestrianisation has been wildly successful all across the world in hundreds of cities and thousands of streets, including places that are absolutely not gentrified (Powis Street in Woolwich comes to mind).
Also, Deptford’s gentrification is already very well established. Stopping pedestrianisation won’t stop anything. All it does it keep the high street dangerous and car clogged.
As a local resident who has followed these proposals from when they were first floated in 2023, I’m genuinely devastated that it’s come to this. We had a chance to make the high street safe for everyone, and it was torpedoed at the last second.
Have Lewisham run out of money? Presumably they’ve spent it all on the basics like weeding and refuse collection…
Oh, hang on..
@ Dave, That is paid for out of the council tax we pay. If they have run out of money they have wasted. Councils need to be held to account by their residents. To ensure services we pay for has part of our Council tax payments like tefuse collection, road sweeping and street lighting are not reduced or withdrawn. Otherwise the need to cut our council tax bills accordingly. They cannot have it all ways.
DAVE. That is paid for out of the council tax we pay. If they have run out of money they have wasted. Councils need to be held to account by their residents. To ensure services we pay for has part of our Council tax payments like tefuse collection, road sweeping street lighting and highways are not reduced or withdrawn. Otherwise the need to cut our council tax bills accordingly. They cannot have it all ways.
I think this goes to show the divide between #locals and #transplants. I am a transplant having in or near to Deptford for 6 years, and don’t know a single person who would drive to the high street to buy something. They’d walk or cycle. Obviously, for people against the proposals, driving in the city is a normal part of life, for me and the people I know its a rarity and the idea of driving to instead of walking or cycling to the High Street bordering on preposterous.
I hold my hands up and a confused newcomer who was looking forward to the pedestrianization, but since its dead and buried I’m more interested in:
– Where are people driving from? The high street has a decent amount on offer but at the end of the day they’re local shops and I can’t imagine being outside of walking distance from the high street and from other nearby high streets or precincts. Do people drive there from Peckham or Lewisham? 🤔 When I walk down the high street I assume everyone I pass lives within say a 15-20 minute walk (obviously I can imagine driving being the best option for the less mobile, even from far afield)
– How many people actually drive vs walk there? The stated opposition from local businesses for these kind of things is always that it’ll kill their businesses because of lower foot(car?)fall but the idea that a decent chunk of the people that go to e.g. Terrys to buy a few plastic boxes have driven there doesn’t seem right to me. Maybe it is and I’m clueless, or maybe the actual argument is harder to quantify ‘we don’t want to become the new Hackney’ so the footfall thing is what they use publicly?
– Did any local businesses look over at e.g. Broadway Market and think to themselves hang on I want a bit of that – or was it a united front in everyone assuming they’d get lost in the transition? I think if you play it well, you can become Cherished Local Institution and survive the gentrification. Not a bet you should necessarily /have/ to play, and not the thing that long running businesses are used to doing but its a possibility