Business owners claim half of one main road near Peckham Rye has been left like a wasteland by the council.
One side of Choumert Road has been ‘neglected’, say the business owners, who claim there is ‘no parking enforcement’ and piles of rubbish, making it a hotspot for criminals.
Choumert Road stretches from the middle of Rye Lane to Copleston Road in Peckham – but despite being the same road, the two sides could not be more different.
Martin Ekeocha – who owns a business on the Rye Lane side – said it is clear the area has been ‘abandoned’ by the council.
“Everything after the cross-road is a mess,” he explained.
“There are no large bins so the street is full of piles of rubbish and cars parked everywhere blocking shop fronts.”
He pointed to the other end of the road (the Copleston side) and commented on the comparably clean street.
“How can the council treat the same postcode so differently?”
Another business owner, who preferred to remain anonymous, agreed that the part of the road seems like it has been ‘neglected.’ When asked about footfall, they replied: “There is no footfall.”
A waste collection sign produced by the council asks people to leave their waste out for collection – but since there are no large bins anywhere on the street, Martin says it is just dumped anywhere. “And it usually isn’t collected until around 1 am when trade is over,” he said.
He identified that the main daily issues, as well as the overall neglect of the area ‘massively affect his business.’
“Customers often say the area puts them off coming,” he said.
Martin added that it also means the area is a ‘hotspot’ for criminal activity.
In 2021 27-year-old Jobari Gooden was stabbed on Choumert Road his killer has since been jailed but last year, a CCTV camera was installed there in a bid to make it safer. However, Martin said this hasn’t helped. “People can hide behind vehicles and sometimes you get big vans here that block the camera.”
Relating to the criminal activity mentioned – the Met Police said the area is on their radar.
In a statement, they told us: “We are aware of concern in the area and will always do our best to act when residents report incidents to us. Our neighbourhood policing teams actively patrol residential areas and engage with the community to deter antisocial behaviour. They welcome input from residents and will act on intelligence provided to take preventative action to tackle crime when there are opportunities to do so.
“We are committed to working with local people to ensure they can feel safe and secure in their community.”
But Martin said when the police do come it is usually during the day, which doesn’t help the matter, “since most of the criminal activity goes on at night.”
He added that he has brought this issue up to the council ‘at least seven times’ – with no luck.
“I only ever had a response once – about a particularly bad pile of rubbish,” Martin explained.
“The council said they had sorted it out – but at the time of receiving that response I was standing next to it.”
He said the pile in question was eventually removed two and a half months later, only not by the council.
“I was there when it was collected – but it was by workmen who needed to get by.”
To solve the issues, Martin suggested that the area be pedestrianised to make it a path ‘people want to walk down.’
“I think if the road was closed, and pedestrianised it would solve a lot of these issues. It would clean up the street significantly – just make it a little less choked – weaving in and out of cars – people – make it a path people want to walk down.”
He said failing that there needs to be tighter enforcement to make the area safer. “So even though it may not seem a big deal, all the cars that park there and the waste – all that does is leaves this environment where none of the rules are being followed because there’s no enforcement,” he said.
We put all of these concerns to the council and they said from this week, there will be an extra bin collection time – which they “hope will make a difference.”
Councillor James McAsh, Cabinet Member for the Climate Emergency, Clean Air and Streets, said: “Despite our efforts to keep the roads clear and the streets tidy, a number of individuals continue to blight the Choumert Road area. Having listened to the concerns of local businesses, we’ve increased the number of patrols made by traffic enforcement officers to at least six times a day, and have added an extra collection at midday for the waste generated by the market stalls. But in order to see real changes, it’s important that motorists, traders and residents fully comply with the regulations in place. Those who choose to disregard these rules will be subject to enforcement action.”
They added that there were currently no plans to pedestrianise the street.