Peckham public meeting to update residents on Station Square redevelopment and accessibility upgrade

A public meeting next week will update residents on the redevelopments happening in and around Peckham Rye station.

The meeting will take place on Monday, 16 March inside the Rye Lane Baptist Chapel (main hall at the rear) from 6-7:30 pm.

It has been organised by the Rye Lane Labour ward councillors, David Parton, Jasmine Ali and Esme Dobson, who launched a petition last summer for Peckham Rye Station to be given step-free access.

Attendees will hear from Miatta Fahnbulleh, MP for Peckham, and Helen Dennis, Southwark’s Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development.

Other confirmed speakers are Andrew Wood, Senior Commercial Scheme Sponsor at Southeastern Railway, and Neil Kirby, Head of Sustainable Growth at Southwark Council.

There will also be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about the two projects – the accessibility improvements and the redevelopment of Station Square.

David Parton, one of the local councillors who organised the meeting, said: “Rye Lane’s Labour councillors organised this public meeting because many people who signed our petition wanted to know more about the plans for the station and to ask questions directly. The work on the separate project to build a new public square outside the station entrance has also picked up a lot of interest locally, and so we want residents to be fully briefed on the start of the construction works.”

Peckham Rye Station had been due for a £40 million upgrade which would have given it lifts for the first time – however this was shelved by Network Rail last summer on cost grounds.

The News highlighted the ongoing issues surrounding the lack of lifts last summer after we were told that it had left elderly and disabled residents ‘forced to slide down the stairs on their bottoms’.

The station recently received a £4 million grant from the government, and £1 million from Southwark Council, to address some of the issues around overcrowding – but this won’t be enough to put in lifts.

The funding boost will instead go towards building two more entrance doors leading into the station, additional ticket gates and widening platforms 3 and 4 to make them safer for passengers during rush hour.

Separately, there is a project to upgrade the area outside of the station entrance, which will involve pulling down the arcade to make way for a new public square.

However progress on the scheme, which was given planning permission by the Mayor of London ten years ago, has come up against repeated delays. The first phase, the refurbishment of the building on the corner of Blenheim Grove, was finished in 2024 – three years behind schedule.

The demolition of the arcade has lagged behind schedule after it had to be paused in 2023 due to ‘water ingress’ issues – otherwise known as leakage – and delays in relocating businesses.

Cllr Parton continued: “Rye Lane’s Labour councillors launched a petition last autumn demanding step-free access and action on overcrowding at Peckham Rye Station.

“Since then, our petition has picked up more than 1,100 signatures and secured £5m of new funding to tackle overcrowding, add new ticket gates and widen platforms. This includes £1m secured from Southwark’s Labour council.

“But we know step-free access is absolutely essential for our community. It is totally unacceptable in 2026 that disabled people, people with mobility issues or those with buggies and luggage are effectively barred from the busiest interchange station in the country without step-free access. Our Labour councillors’ campaign for lift access will continue until it is delivered.

“If you’re free on Monday 16 March, please come along to the Rye Lane Baptist Chapel, hear about the latest updates and ask your questions to council officers, our local MP and Network Rail.”