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BSAP's involvement in the redevelopment of Bermondsey Village
In 1993, prompted by a proposal to move the world-famous Bermondsey Antiques Market to a private site, the Bermondsey Street Association instigated a study of the Bermondsey Street area from the railway viaduct in the north to the antiques market in the south, and from Tower Bridge Road in the east to Weston Street in the west following roughly the Conservation Area, but with soft edges of interest. This was funded by English Heritage and Southwark Council, and carried out by the Civic Trust Regeneration Unit during 1993 and 1994. It produced a regeneration strategy and provided a framework for the development of the area.
Extensive local consultations were held, with a number of exhibitions. The culmination was the 'Bermondsey Village Partnership Day' on 1st March 1995, held at Delfina Studios. The Civic Trust produced a 50-point 'Action Plan' for the area that was adopted by the council in 1995.
With the strength of the Action Plan in place, the Bermondsey Street area was the first in Southwark to successfully form a Conservation Area Partnership (CAP) scheme involving English Heritage and Southwark Council. This enabled £1M to be spent on historic building restoration grants and environmental improvements over a five-year period.
The Civic Trust Study produced six action programmes. These were concerned with:
- • A development strategy
- • Urban conservation
- • Environment
- • Traffic
- • Local economy
- • Community development
After a while, BSA frustration about lack of progress in implementing the proposals persuaded the council to employ a 'Village Manager' who was in position from October 1996 for three years. The Leathermarket Rose Garden was refurbished and replanted; new street lighting replaced motorway standards; York Stone replaced original rough concrete paving to the top part of Bermondsey Street; the derelict Watch House, on English Heritage's 'Buildings at risk' list, underwent a £50,000 refurbishment with S106 Agreement monies; new railings next to the Watch House, copied from the few that remained after the rest had been melted down to help the WW2 war effort, etc. The area began to feel that it was on the move again and getting some loving attention.
The small-scale property developers, the artists and creative people who appreciated the cheap available space, acquired property and created 'live-work' lofts for themselves. The BSA persuaded the Council Planning Department to loosen the hold on the area being classed as an employment area, as it then was, and allow new developments to have a 'live-work' element in building conversion, to get the buildings back into use. Then the larger Property Developers moved in to transform the area mainly with residential development, as the fashion had become, and to increase its density. Only with considerably more population would cafés, restaurants, specialist and food shops once again line the pavements of Bermondsey Street and make the area come alive.
Under 'local economy' the Bermondsey Square antiques market site was identified as seriously needing attention. In the summer of 1997, the Village Manager established a watching panel to oversee a design competition for the possible development of Bermondsey Square. The Civic Trust had said that if this derelict open space was in France, it would be tree-lined with paving and a fountain, benches, perhaps a flower stall, café and lavatories. But this was England. Several Public Open Meetings were held. A scheme by Urban Catalyst was chosen, which included a three-screen cinema. Eventually a planning application was submitted in October 1999 to the Council Planning Committee, but without the cinema. However extensive investigations and protracted negotiations meant that the scheme did not get full planning permission until January 2004. The whole property market had changed in the interim.
A flood of Planning Applications followed the early, gated, residential development at Leathermarket Court over the past five years for residential development across the whole area. The Council maintained a policy of 'other than residential' along Bermondsey Street to allow future commercial uses with 'living above the shop' and always a 'live-work' element to developments to retain a mixed-use area of living and working.
The Bermondsey Street Association members felt that its name implied its area of interest was only for people in Bermondsey Street. After several years of deliberation of a new more inclusive name being used it was decided at the meeting on 03 August 2000 to change the Association's name to the Bermondsey Street Area Partnership to reflect our wider area of interest and our positive relationship with Southwark Council.
Guy Street Park and Tanner Street Park have been refurbished after many public consultations and lots of commitment from spirited local people. The refurbishment of Bermondsey Street tunnel has been campaigned for since 1998 and twice nearly happened. All the railway tunnels need to be cleaned up, re-paved and re-lit and made to feel safe. In consultation with the BSAP, The Pool of London Partnership and the Cross River Partnership are pursuing the refurbishment of some in our area in the near future.
The Delfina Studio Trust was established early In the rebirth of the area by Delfina Entracanales as a studio complex for artists on bursaries, with a restaurant attached, adapted from a former disused chocolate factory. The former 'Yorkshire Grey Public House' became the 'Honest Cabbage', an award winning gastro-pub, one of the first in London, which after five years has now become the very successful 'Garrison'. Then came the Bermondsey Kitchen and rumours of more restaurants to follow. Zandra Rhodes bought an old 1970's 'cash and carry' warehouse and appointed internationally famous Mexican Architect Ricardo Legorreta to restyle it as a flagship Fashion and Textile Museum, a huge personal commitment and undertaking, that has created a focus to the street. Kurt Geiger acquired an empty building to house eighty staff in their European Headquarters in Bermondsey Street. The MORE London site, with the Mayor's City Hall and the new 66 storey London Bridge Tower at London Bridge Station, which will begin construction next year, have put this part of Southwark firmly on the map, part of the new South Central London.
The area has acquired a 'buzz'. The critical mass of people, new residents supplementing the previous existing population, will soon support more new shops, restaurants and activities. The development of Bermondsey Square, which will begin towards the end of 2004, will produce a new 'heart' at the south end of Bermondsey Street.
At the BSAP Annual General Meeting it was decided to develop a web site for the BSAP to communicate information more easily and widely. This would allow having less than monthly formal meetings and allow instead more social events to be arranged, where business and residential members could meet informally and get to know each other - the basis of any community. We were successful in our application for a grant to develop a community web site from Southwark Council through the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund, to whom we thank all those concerned.
The BSAP would next like to address the review of the boundaries of the Conservation Area to include Snowsfields School and the Victorian shopping parade on Tower Bridge Road, south of Bermondsey Street to the roundabout on the Old Kent Road. We watch with interest the creation of a Business Improvement District (BID) later this year by the Pool of London Partnership. We hope this might be appropriate for the whole of our new extended area. We are also campaigning for the completion of environmental works - lighting, pavements, tunnels and parks. We will oversee and monitor the Bermondsey Square Development as well as all the Planning Applications to develop property in the area, hoping that the past can be respected yet allowing new life to blossom.
Over the last thirteen years, since the re-formation of the Bermondsey Street Association, many, many people have given considerable amounts of their quality time to contribute to BSAP meetings and endeavours, and have strived to maintain a robust and strong feel to this very special part of London. The history of this area is unique and fascinating. We have helped re-build a sense of community amongst residents and those who work here, but things can always get better! We would like to invite interested people who live or work here to get involved and have perhaps some influence on how this wonderful part of the world might evolve.
Michael Davis (Chair of the BSAP)
Volunteers required
How you can help for the Bermondsey Street Festival
Time Out guide
Time Out have produced a guide to enjoying Bermondsey Village.
Download PDF (1MB, opens in a new window)
