£9.7m boost for Old Kent Road from Future High Streets Fund

Old Kent Road will receive £9.7m from the Government to help transform the high street and aid recovery from the pandemic.

In 2019, Southwark Council bid for a share of the Future High Streets Fund designed to transform local high streets and create modern, vibrant, community hubs.

Last week, the Government announced that the bid has been successful and Southwark will receive just under £9.7m to help with its regeneration plans for Old Kent Road.

The Future High Streets Fund was set-up to help local leaders implement bold new visions to transform their town centres and make them fit for the future. The money can be used to improve properties on the high street, improve transport and access into town centres and for building new homes and creating jobs.

Southwark will use the money to fund several projects along the south-eastern stretch of Old Kent Road, including:

729-733 Old Kent Road

A project to refurbish a parade of semi-derelict Victorian buildings near Devon Road and bring them back into use as shops, workspaces and, hopefully, a new community cafe or pub.

The land around this site will be redeveloped to provide more than 200 new homes alongside additional commercial space. Find out more.

The Livesey Exchange

A scheme to create new workspace and community space at the corner of St James’s Road. The Livesey Exchange is a community project, led by PemPeople, that will deliver skills development and cultural programmes. Find out more

The Kentish Drovers

A heritage project to restore the historic mural at the former Kentish Drovers pub. This 19c mural, which adorns the building at the junction with Commercial Road, is a reminder of Old Kent Road’s past as a market route into London for produce from Kent. Find out more

Parks and connections

A new pocket park to be built on Murdock Street and a new pedestrian crossing between Peckham Park Rd and St James’s Rd which will help deliver the new linear park tracing the route of the old Surrey Canal.

Ilderton Road Railway Bridge

Lighting and public art to make this railway bridge (near the junction with Ilderton Rd) a safe and pleasant route for pedestrians and cyclists.