On Wednesday I was invited to attend a workshop organised by Eileen Conn’s Peckham Vision, the aim of which was to share ideas on the revitalisation of Peckham town centre. Many people living in Peckham Rye tell me that they prefer Lordship Lane for shopping; that Rye Lane is too hectic and congested or doesn’t sell the things they want to buy. This is a view shared by many local residents, so it’s clear something needs to be done to improve Peckham town centre. It needs to better serves the needs of local people, while still maintaining the unique special character it has.The workshop brought together 30 or so local people, each of which had been invited as they had a positive contribution to give to help improve the town centre. Council officers were also in attendance and were able to receive suggests and give immediate feedback to participants.It was a highly informative and very useful meeting. It felt like the beginning of something really exciting for Peckham town centre – here was a room full of people who all wanted to contribute something to help regenerate Peckham.

We broke up into groups and discussed and threw suggestions around – playing off each other’s enthusiasm for different ideas. There were a host of good practical ideas in my discussions, and I only managed to speak to a handful of people there. I could have carried on speaking to people all night sharing ideas. Luckily, the ideas were being written down and the organisers will be collating and sharing the suggestions.

I’ll give some examples to give an indication of what was being said. For example, to improve the presentation of Rye Lane, why can’t the council offer a cash prize for best shop display? At the same time council officers could organise retail specialists who could offer advice to shop-keepers. This way, they’ll improve their sales, and Rye Lane will be smartened up.

A major outdoor street market could be set-up in Peckham, to take advantage of the reputation it already has a fresh food destination, and also it’s location as an interchange on several train lines.

Another idea could be to organise and host a Peckham Jazz & Blues festival; bringing together all sections of the community over a shared love of great music. We need to only look to Camberwell’s fantastic Jazz in the Crypt club, which is always packed, to see the popularity and demand locally for such events. Music and the arts have a huge potentially in shaping Peckham’s character.

The idea of a brand was suggested – like Elephant & Castle’s elephant, Peckham could have a symbol which everyone associated with it. There could be a competition in local schools to design a new brand. This played into a wider theme of discussion – that of Peckham’s image and reputation, something that must be improved to attract outside investment.

These are just a few of the different ideas I heard personally – I could go on all day with others I heard. I still look forward to hearing those that I didn’t hear. I really can’t say enough how many worthwhile ideas were shared. I know there will also be a host of Cleaner Greener Safer bids to come out of the workshop.

It’s a credit to the council and Michael Carnuccio (who is running the Peckham & Nunhead Area Action Plan, or PNAAP) that they’re trying innovative community-led consultation methods, and also to Eileen’s Peckham Vision for having the willpower to bring so many diverse people together. There is a real energy in Peckham, powered by various groups and individuals and it’s crucial that these are drawn upon when creating the PNAAP.

It’s also exciting as too many ‘regeneration’ schemes simply involve demolishing old buildings and putting ‘posh flats’ in their place, and hoping that nice wine bars follow in their place (gentrification rather than regeneration). We have a real opportunity here for community-driven regeneration, which takes in account the needs of local people, and not just the needs of property developers.

The energy and ideas are there. The council are listening. It’s now time for us to make things happen.