“Nefarious activities” like “public urination and fly-tipping” along the Bermondsey Beer Mile must be tackled, a Southwark councillor has warned.
North Bermondsey Councillor Emily Tester has urged Southwark Council, The Arch Company and Network Rail to “spruce up” the popular drinking spot to deter people from ruining it.
She said the area’s unattractive appearance – including viaducts with weeds growing out of them and flaking paint jobs – was encouraging anti-social behaviour.
The Arch Company, the only organisation to respond, said it was working to “minimise antisocial behaviour and make the Bermondsey Mile a great place to live, work and visit”.
The Bermondsey Beer Mile is a stretch of railway arches and viaducts featuring a string of craft brewer pubs.
While it’s been praised for boosting the local economy, councillors say local residents often complain about drinkers urinating in public and generally causing a nuisance.
Cllr Tester said the answer may lie in making the area more attractive and that it needed a “jet wash, sprucing up and a fresh lick of paint”.
She added: “When places are looking nice it makes people treat them better. If you see litter that’s been dropped you’re more likely to drop litter and the same goes for fly-tipping.
“So we know nice, welcoming places make people feel better and make people feel safer as well.”
The problem has become so severe that Cllr Tester raised it at Council Assembly on November 22.
The Liberal Democrat councillor told the Assembly the parts of the area were “an absolute eyesore and used for all sorts of nefarious purposes like public urination and fly-tipping”.
In response, Labour Council Leader Kieron Williams said landlords had struggled during the pandemic but they and the council were doing “intensive work” to improve arches.
“I think it’s fair to say when Arch Co took over those arches they promised to do various bits of work with us,” he said.
“Like many other landlords, they then got hit by the pandemic… now we are on the other side of that we are doing intensive work to look at… how they can bring up the quality of the arches that they own.”
While The Arch Company does own many of the arches along the Beer Mile, they’re not the only party responsible for maintaining the area.
According to The Arch Company, Network Rail is the “principal organisation” responsible for maintaining the tunnels and viaducts along the route.
Southwark Council, meanwhile, is responsible for ensuring fly-tipping and littering is tackled.
A spokesperson for The Arch Company said: “The Bermondsey arches are home to around 30 eating and drinking establishments, which has remained broadly the same since we acquired the estate in 2019.
“We work closely with those establishments, Southwark Council, local residents, the police and Network Rail to try to minimise antisocial behaviour and make the Bermondsey Mile a great place to live, work and visit.”
The Arch Company has already revitalised many railway arches spaces in the borough including through a £1.5million investment at Crucifix Lane, a £600,000 investment at Druid Street and a £4.2 million investment at Raymouth Road.
Network Rail was approached for comment.