South London district is ‘palace compared to Tottenham’ but no one visits

Residents of a once-neglected area in the shadow of the Shard say no amount of money would persuade them to move north of the River Thames. Bermondsey residents want Londoners to ditch their negative stereotypes of the district and start visiting.

Millions of pounds have been pumped into revamping Bermondsey’s historic town centre, known as The Blue, over the past few years. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan handed the area £2 million to build a new clock tower, fresh canopies for market stalls and a mural celebrating Bermondsey’s history. But locals fear people from outside the area are still reluctant to visit.

Ann Challis, 68, moved into a house in Bermondsey with her family 47 years ago. Ms Challis, who is originally from North London, said she’d never move back. She said: “It’s a palace compared to Tottenham. I would never move back no matter how much money you gave me. I used to get druggies asking for money every time I left the house there.”

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Russell Dryden, who has had a fish stall at The Blue for 40 years, said Bermondsey was on the up. He said: “It’s a tale of two cities here. You have the Bermondsey north of the railway track that people visit all the time but they rarely pass under the arches to here.

“Five years ago The Blue was very dilapidated. It used to be the town centre of Bermondsey with 200 stalls but the numbers had dwindled. After getting the funding, we decided to have the market at one end of the square and the rest for seating. It’s a lot better now. We just need people’s perceptions to change.”

The new clock tower paid for by City Hall money was opened in July 2021. It is based on the former clock tower at Bermondsey’s now closed Peek Freans biscuit factory. The tower is clad with 3,000 tin cans in recognition that Bermondsey was home to the world’s first tin can factory.

But the area’s revamp is not over. Around the corner from the square, a mural is being painted on the corner of an apartment block on the Rouel Road estate. The artwork features famous players from local team football Millwall and Ada Salter – the first woman mayor in London. Once it is finished in six weeks, locals hope it will attract more tourists into the area.

Meanwhile the former Peek Frean’s biscuit factory is set to be turned into shops, art space, offices and flats as part of plans to build 1,548 new homes in the area. Developer Grosvenor plans to create new walkways between the Blue and nearby railway arches to encourage more people to visit the area.

Although the district has improved, problems with crime remain. Ulku Ercen, who has lived in Bermondsey for 27 years, said since the pandemic antisocial behaviour has gotten worse. The 46-year-old said: “People here are generally lovely but it’s the new generation that’s the problem. We have kids going around smashing up shops and terrorising people. It gets to three o’clock when schools close and you start getting nervous.”

But efforts to change people’s perceptions of the area seem to be paying off. Mike Armstrong, an actor who works in Bermondsey’s The Biscuit Factory workspace, said he’d move to the area if he could afford it. The 44-year-old, who lives in Morden, said: “I quite like it. I think it’s really cool. There’s a nice diversity of people. I can’t see any reason I wouldn’t move here if the right place came up.”