Mattsoper

I'm guessing it's around 2008 as the flats on the corner of Ivydale and Inverton Road went up quite a few years ago now. The derelict building on the eastern side of Inverton Road was in that state when I moved here in 2007 and there were two prefabs just to the south of it, which have now all been replaced by terraced housing.

Here's an aerial shot of the Bredinghurst School site before the Newlands Academy was built. The people who've been living in the old buildings on the eastern side of the site will be moving out in mid-November ahead of the demolition (though no dates have been confirmed for that yet).

A letter about the consultation was sent to some houses but it must have been within a very small radius as I didn't receive one. I only found out because I happened to be in The Ivy House on the evening the consultation was held and overheard people talking about it. There are lots of things to consider in the plans for a new school on this site, not least the suitability of having two schools of a very different nature right next to each other on what is actually a fairly small plot of land. Sharing facilities such as the playground is out of the question so the Ivydale expansion will need its own outside areas, which, according to the proposals I saw, means it'll need the whole of the eastern side of the site and the existing buildings won't be retained. As for the old buildings (which I would love to see kept), the outlook is pretty bleak. Because the site is an educational one, the buildings would need to be used for school purposes - and the school says they can't use them as the rooms are too small, plus I was told by a representative from the company doing the demolition works that repairs costing around ?100,000 need to be carried out on Bredinghurst House alone. I was also told some time ago that converting the buildings to housing would require Secretary of State approval, which we can probably assume is never going be given even if it were to be sought in the first place. That said, I think it's worth anyone who cares about these buildings letting Southwark know their opinions as you never know where it might lead.

The campaign to protect the view that in recent summers it?s been possible to see from Bold Tendencies, Frank?s and the Bussey Building isn?t about opposing new housing - and it certainly isn?t in defence of the Aylesham Centre. Nor is it even about saving the multi-storey car park, which may yet be demolished, though that hasn?t been decided yet. What it?s really about is ensuring that the regeneration of Peckham is considered as a whole so that what gives the place its identity isn?t lost in the process. It?s also about increasing awareness of the huge changes that will be taking place in Peckham over the next few years. Improvement is necessary and more social and affordable housing should of course be a priority but the new towers being built all around London don?t tend to offer significant amounts of homes that fit into either of these categories. You can be sure that the upper levels of any tower built on the Aylesham Centre/Morrison?s site will be sold at a premium precisely because of the views on offer - which actually means that the view becomes the privilege of the few, rather than the many thousands of people (local residents as well as visitors) who visit Bold Tendencies, Frank?s and the Bussey Building in the space of around three months each summer. Those of us involved in setting up the petition were very conscious of the NIMBY accusations that might be directed at the campaign. It?s an inevitable criticism as a view does seem incredibly superficial when London?s housing crisis shows no signs of letting up. As mentioned above, this isn?t an objection to a complete redevelopment of the Aylesham Centre/Morisson?s site and the building of a large number of new homes. What I would say is that this is more about the area?s economy than simply about aesthetics. I?ve been researching press coverage of Peckham as a place to go out and it?s been featured in publications including Vogue, Conde Nast Traveller, Time Out, The Mail, The Evening Standard, The Guardian, The Times, British Airways in-flight magazine High Life and most recently in the September issue of Virgin Australia?s in-flight magazine Voyeur, and the one thing consistently mentioned is the view over London. Whether Frank?s continues indefinitely or the car park site is redeveloped, the view is now an important part of Peckham?s appeal for visitors, and very careful consideration should be given before selling it off. Peckham as a tourist destination even five years ago would have been hard to imagine - but that?s what it?s increasingly becoming, thanks in no small part to its rooftop venues and that view. That?s an incredible turnaround for the area?s reputation, though what we need to ensure is that the balance is right between bringing in newcomers (or ?blow-ins?) and meeting the needs of the existing communities. Not an easy thing to achieve, and only really possible if everybody knows what?s going on and has had their say. With that in mind, the clock is ticking on the Peckham CoDesign process so if you haven?t done so already then please give the team running it your opinions on what you?d like from the area in future. http://peckhamcodesign.org/ If you wish to sign the petition to protect Peckham's rooftop view then you can find it here. https://www.change.org/p/protect-peckham-s-rooftop-view

I was surprised to find an early consultation on the Ivydale expansion taking place at The Ivy House pub last night and it seems this is a lot further along than most local people realised. I don't think this event was very widely advertised as I live a couple of hundred metres from the Newlands Academy and I didn't get a letter about it. In short, an application to demolish Bredinghurst House and the terraced houses on the Inverton Road side of the site has already been submitted and initial drawings of how the site might be used were on display. If you have any concerns about these plans then now is the time to get in touch with Southwark as they're pushing this through at quite a speed.

Here's a link to details of the station area co-design launch event - in summary it's on Wednesday 20th August from 6pm to 8pm at Peckham multi-storey car park. http://peckhampeculiar.tumblr.com/post/93516460354/launch-event-peckham-gateway-co-design

I've no doubt that the redevelopment of the station area will happen at a very fast pace but local people still have a chance to influence it in some way, though it's not entirely clear to what extent at this point. The co-design process is in its early stages so I'd recommend you follow @PeckhamCoDesign for updates if you're on Twitter. There's supposed to be an accompanying website for the project too so I'll post a link as soon as I know what the web address is. I'd urge you all to get involved if you have the time as this is a major project that will make a big difference to the area - hopefully for the better, but you can never be sure.

I can't find anything on the Southwark planning register for this address so presumably that rules out conversion into flats. Such a great building so hopefully it'll be back open to the public soon, whatever it turns out to be.

When it comes to plants you can't expect most garden centres to stock everything as that requires a vast amount of space that only the out-of-town, online suppliers can hope to accommodate. I used to buy what I could from Dulwich Garden Centre and then get the more specialist stuff online, though I now have a longer list of alternatives thanks to the recommendations on this thread. Good to have local shops as well as online stores, of course - and it's perfectly reasonable to use both without being a hypocrite.

I didn't even know that one was there worldwiser so thanks for the recommendation!

The best one nearby is probably The Secret Garden in Crystal Palace. There's a small one on Landsdowne Hill, West Norwood, too. Otherwise it's B&Q on Old Kent Road, though I order online instead from Crocus or Beth Chatto - which can work out a fair amount more expensive, but they have a much better range of plants.

The survival of Nunhead?s Land-that-Time-forgot pubs adds to its appeal for me. I?m sure few people would describe The Man of Kent, The Pyrotechnists Arms or The Golden Anchor as ?nice? - and that?s no bad thing as they?re great places if it?s boozer as opposed to gastropub that you?re after. As for restaurants, admittedly there are few - though the Peckham Bazaar will be back very soon, as Jeremy says, and the Old Nun?s Head now has three different pop-ups throughout the week so there?s definitely more choice than there was when I first moved here seven years ago. There have been rumours about the former Page 2/Costa Smerelda reopening as something new but I?ve not heard anything more on that for a while. As for the ?Nunhead Village? name, it?s estate agent puff, of course, and I?m not sure the streets around Nunhead Green will ever be ?better? than East Dulwich, if by that you mean number and variety of shops. It?s a different place and thankfully has its own identity - and I certainly hope that remains to be the case.

One last pic of the Nunhead Lane holm oak before it went.

I agree that it gives character to the area, JMT, but if I were the owners of the buildings next to it then I'm sure I'd want it gone too, given the subsidence problems it?s evidently causing. It's a shame to lose established trees that will take a lifetime to replace with anything of a similar size (though with less invasive roots) but sometimes there's no alternative. Here?s a link to the planning application: http://planningonline.southwark.gov.uk/AcolNetCGI.exe?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=9554232

Give Persepolis in Peckham a try. They've certainly stocked local honeys there in the past, though I don't think they come with any guarantee of relieving hayfever symptoms unfortunately. http://foratasteofpersia.co.uk/

To come back to the Peckham Peculiar for a moment, my understanding is that it?s been put together by people who?ve lived in the area for quite a few years and, judging by the first issue, have interests besides the arty stuff (the Peckham Liberal Club, the hairdressers of Rye Lane and bringing empty private properties back into use as council housing, for example). Whether you choose to read it or not is, of course, entirely up to you. I?d urge anyone with concerns about the future of Peckham to take a look at the plans for redeveloping Peckham Rye Station and send their feedback in by January 26 as that?s likely to have a much more profound effect on the area than a free newspaper will - both to 'real' people and middle class ones. http://peckhamryestation.com/

Nunhead Cemetery is back open as usual. Best wear your boots as there are plenty of lingering puddles!

Great result for The Ivy House at today's English Heritage Angel Awards: it won the award for Best Rescue of Any Heritage Building or Site. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about/news/winners-eh-angel-awards-2013/

Hence the low-key opening: get the place up and running and deal with any outstanding work first so that when news of the opening does spread, customers have the best possible experience and hopefully don't feel compelled to post negative feedback on local forums. There's clearly still some work to be done on the front and back outside spaces but that won't spoil your enjoyment of the excellent selection of beers (Frontier lager has become a new favourite for me), ciders and wines and classic pub food once you get inside.

Thanks for the update, Renata. I'd definitely recommend responding to the consultation (thanks for the link, Longshanks) - it only takes a couple of minutes. However the lights are supposed to work it's clear they're causing confusion and frustration for many motorists. As for pedestrians, most follow the green man and beeps rather than looking at the traffic lights so it's not great to feel hurried to such an extent - less of a problem in the summer months but what about in wet and icy conditions?

Bad news for motorists and pedestrians. I'd also like to add that the time allowed for pedestrians to cross before the beeps stop and the green man light goes out is much too brief - even for someone who walks at quite a fast pace. Puts people with kids and buggies or with mobility issues in quite a precarious position.

Just past the job centre, same side of the road. It's called the Cinnamon Tree Bakery. http://thecinnamontreebakery.co.uk/

The Ivy House was on Newsnight yesterday (13/08/13) as part of a feature on the decline of the British pub and what's being done to slow it. You can see it here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23691156?SThisFB If you're quick about it you can also see the pub on The One Show, available on iPlayer till 8PM on 14/08/13. It was included in a story about localism (around 50 minutes into the programme). http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b038bj2n/The_One_Show_07_08_2013/

I'm certainly not criticising that spot - just saying it's less ideal than the locations of The Herne, The Clockhouse and The Rye, which benefit from being right on the edges of the park so tend to get more people passing by on foot. That's made The Rose more appealing to me at times as I've been sure I'd get a table when the other pubs have been a lot busier.

I've no idea whether the rumour's true or not but it'd be a shame if it does close, though it sounds as if things aren't going brilliantly if the beer supplies are running out. I've always found The Rose to be a great alternative when The Herne is a bit manic, as it often can be on a summer afternoon. It's a lovely building and the owners have been nothing but welcoming whenever I've been there. That said, it's not in the ideal location and I've never seen it even half full in all the times I've been so it wouldn't be a huge surprise if it isn't making enough money to keep going. Tough times for some of our local boozers - I wish I could support them all but there are limits to my beer fund.