New garden for Northfield House

Residents of Northfield House celebrated the completion of a new garden and play-space at the weekend.

The plan to improve the communal garden outside their block of flats, located just off Old Kent Road, was devised by the Northfield House Tenants and Residents Association (TRA) and the detailed design was drawn-up by one of the residents themselves, professional architect, Harry Leung.

The TRA worked with Southwark Council to put in a successful bid to the GLA’s Grow Back Greener Fund in 2022.

The project was awarded £35k which was then match-funded by the council with Section 106 money (money raised from local development) bringing the total to just over £70k.

Now, 18 months or so later, the revived garden has been officially opened by Peckham local, the Mayor of Southwark, Cllr Michael Situ.

Through the efforts of residents, the separate, central amenity space, at Northfield House, had already been converted into a successful wildflower meadow and orchard (and recently recognised as a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation in the Southwark Plan). However, the community garden, at the rear of the site, had become overgrown and unusable and was attracting anti-social behaviour.

The TRA plan was to revive the garden and provide the children with space where they could play, amongst nature, in sight of their parents. It also provided an opportunity to help develop the gardening club for the children who could learn about nature while keeping the garden in good shape.

The project includes a climbing wall, a soft play surface and sensory planting. It also incorporates new walkways and seating in and around the established trees and a space which can be used for open-air events, such as film nights, musical performances and much more.

The materials used are porous to ensure that the space drains well, which will make the garden more sustainable and easier to maintain in future.

The Grow Back Greener Fund was created to support community projects that plant trees, create and enhance green space and increase climate resilience.  The Northfield House residents have certainly done their bit to help tackle the climate emergency – not to mention created a beautiful space for children and adults, alike – and they’ve also demonstrated just what can be achieved with a relatively small budget

Next door, at Frensham Street, the council has plans to convert what was an old depot into a new public park for the whole neighbourhood, part of the Greener Belt strategy for Old Kent Road. Work is due to begin in 2028.