Peckham – once known as the dodgy side of London, now seen as one of the most thriving areas to date. But why the sudden rise in this new hipster location? It may have something to do with the vast number of modern art and music scenes available in the area, as well as the immense number of restaurants, cafes and coffee shops opening up every day.
I’m sitting at the Old Spike Roastery, observing the number of people sitting down with their super-skinny soy hexagon latte’s about to crack open their MacBooks and get down to work. Peckham may be the new wannabe Shoreditch but is certainly living up to the standard.
Incredible architect Will Alsop – whom was also one of Purespace Group’s oldest friends – designed Peckham’s new library as part of the regeneration scheme taking place.
Peckham is only a 20-minute drive from central London and 10 minutes away from Canary Wharf with Peckham Rye station giving direct access to stations like London Bridge and London Victoria.
Away from the busy Rye Lane is Queens Road and Bellenden Road which are the quieter areas. These are now thriving in recent weeks… Bellenden Road in particular is now full of vintage shops and young people that fill the street on a Friday and Saturday night, partying at the Bussey building. Students from nearby colleges in Camberwell now stay in Peckham because rent is cheap and the entertainment scene is at an all-time high. The youngsters even managed to turn a multi-storey car park into a major arts venue.
Some of the independent spots have now become quite popular with students with a variety of different restaurants and coffee shops within Peckham. The Old Spike Roastery also supply other coffee shops with locally sourced beans.
‘Cemal Ezel’ came up with the idea for the Old Spike Roastery when he visited a silent tea house in Vietnam run by deaf women. The non-profit company works with homeless people in order to help them secure future jobs. Old Spike also run a delivery service through their website where they drop off fresh coffee beans straight to your door.
Puzzle Organico sells a range of handmade chocolates and organic groceries. Five years ago that might have been a risk but, as the manager, Renato, explains: “I knew lots of people were moving in from north London. Peckham is an area that is changing.”
As a result, the huge influx of young hipster tenants to areas such as Peckham is pushing up rents in south-east London quicker than any other part of the capital, a new study shows. It’s even managed to catch up to New York’s West Village and the über-trendy Noord in Amsterdam.
While tenants continue to venture out to the south-east for their living needs, Landlords will also see a dramatic improvement from their investments in the area as money starts to pour in.