page 3
Issue 1806 Est: 1988
50p
September 17th 2026
EXCLUSIVE
southwarknews.co.uk
IT’S PATTY TIME!
INSIDE
EDUCATION GUIDE
MILLWALL NEWS
Essential reading if your child is going to secondary
UPPING ARMS
NEIL: MILLWALL HAD TO ‘STODGE’ IT OUT AT BORO pages 12-13
See page 4
Huge military tech factory coming to Bermondsey See page 4
Three schools. One shared vision.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Council Leader on his first 100 days
Find out about our schools’ Open Days: Or visit: chartertrust.org.uk/open-days-secondary
2 NEWS Contents NEWS Pages 2-13 OPINION Page 14-15 EDUCATION Page 16-19
OVER 400 NEW HOMES COULD BE BUILT ON BERMONDSEY ESTATE 89 social rent homes replacing existing garages and a further 319 mixedtenure properties
Avondale Square
By Ben Lynch
CLASSIFIED Page 21 PUBLIC NOTICES
Local Democracy Reporter A BERMONDSEY housing estate could see more than 400 new homes built as part of a major redevelopment, subject to funding from the Greater London Authority (GLA).
The City of London Corporation, which manages estates across the capital including Avondale on Old Kent Road, has submitted bids for potential schemes it is hoping to deliver over the next 10 years. Filed with the GLA in April under the London SPORT Strategic Affordable Housing Programme (LSAHP) 2026-2036, the indicative plans Pages 29-32 include 89 social rent homes at Avondale replacing existing garages and a further 319 mixed-tenure properties in a revamp of Longland Court. Collectively the proposals, which as well as new developments would involve the purchasing of some Right to Buy units, would see the delivery of 681 homes at a cost of £94.86 million. Contact us A City of London Corporation spokesperson if you have a said the schemes support its “long-term story on editor@ southwarknews.co.uk ambition to increase affordable housing on our estates”. The Corporation has responsibilities which go far beyond its primary role of governing the Square Mile. It manages spaces such as Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest as registered charities and oversees a number of housing estates across the city. We are a London The largest is Avondale Square Estate in Living Wage employer Bermondsey, which was constructed in the late 1950s/early 1960s and contains 680 DO YOU HAVE A STORY homes. for our news team? Others include York Way Estate in Islington, Call 0207 231 5258 William Blake Estate in Lambeth and the You can WhatsApp Southbank Estates.
Pages 23-27
The Corporation has faced criticism of its management of its social homes, which total around 1,900, and was issued a C3 rating by the industry watchdog in February this year. The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has covered these issues extensively, with problems on both homes within the Square Mile, such as at the Golden Lane Estate, and elsewhere. The local authority has committed more than £300 million to upgrading its housing estates, which it has said is already delivering improvements. The GLA bids, which are revealed in a paper due to go to a Housing Management and Almshouses Sub-Committee meeting today (Monday September 14), relate to proposed schemes the Corporation is aiming to complete over the next decade subject to the SPORT
Issue 1805 Est: 1988
50p
September 10th 2026
southwarknews.co.uk
WHITE ELEPHANT?
Editor: Kevin Quinn Reporters: Evie Flynn; Alex Orr Sports Editor: John Kelly Sports reporter: Will Scott Arts Correspondent: Michael Holland Digital Transformation Editor: Katherine Johnston Media Partnerships: Anthony Phillips Advertising: Clarry Frewin, Mandy Stong Design: Dan Martin, Ann Gravesen Finance: Em Zeki - Tel: 0779 883 3758 em@cm-media.co.uk Subscriptions/Announcements: Katie Boyd Managing & Commercial Director: Chris Mullany Managing & Editorial Director: Kevin Quinn Published weekly on a Thursday at: Community Matters Media Ltd 1 Bermondsey Square, London SE1 3UN. News and Sport: 020 7231 5258 Advertising: 020 7232 1639 News: news@southwarknews.co.uk Advertising: hello@cm-media.co.uk Printed by Iliffe Print. Tel: 01223 656500 www.iliffeprint.co.uk
Development facing the chop over 10% target See page 6
Peckham Rye frozen for 10 days as century-old landmark could fall
FAULTY TOWER! See page 4
Three schools. One shared vision.
©CityofLondonCorporation.
us on 07494 070 863.
Avondale Square Estate
See page 4
NO TEENAGE GIMMICKS AT MILLWALL EXCLUSIVE
BE A FRIEND OF DOROTHY’S
Meet the couple behind new lesbian pub See page 3
EXCLUSIVE
FREE SCHOOL UNIFORMS AVAILABLE See page 2
Find out about our schools’ Open Days: Or visit: chartertrust.org.uk/open-days-secondary
funding being approved.
OFFICERS WROTE THEY WERE EXPECTING A RESPONSE TO THE REQUESTS THIS MONTH. THEY INCLUDE:
• 40 new social rent homes at Sumner Buildings in Borough on the ball court and air raid shelter site; • Redeveloping Longland Court on Avondale Estate to deliver 319 mixed-tenure homes, of which 111 are to be affordable, plus 89 social rent homes on existing garages; • 40 new social rent homes on the community centre site at Windsor House on Avondale Estate A small sites programme is also detailed, with the Corporation seeking a grant to deliver 40 social rent homes across Brixton
Almshouses, Holloway Estate and Pakeman House. Officers wrote: “Securing funding at or near the levels requested would significantly improve scheme viability and strengthen the City Corporation’s ability to deliver affordable housing across its estates.” Commenting on the bids, a City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “These proposed housing schemes support our longterm ambition to increase affordable housing on our estates, and continually improve the quality of our homes. “It will also support the Mayor of London and the Government’s aims to increase social and affordable housing in the capital. If funding is secured, delivery is likely over the next five to 10 years.”
The Southwark News is proud to be the only independent, paid for newspaper in London Southwark News started life as the Bermondsey News in 1987, as an A-4 photocopied sheet of paper and rapidly grew to cover the entire borough and the surrounding area. As the borough grew, so did the newspaper. It is owned and run by Chris Mullany and Kevin Quinn. Former reporters for Southwark News, they bought the title in 2002, after the founder Dave Clark died suddenly from cancer four years earlier. A dedicated team of staff work tirelessly to cover as much of what is going on as possible and strive to ensure that a community-led, independent newspaper can survive and excel in a market dominated by national and multinational media groups.
Follow our social media to be updated on local news
southwark-news
@southwark_news
Southwark News is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (which regulates the UK’s magazine and newspaper industry). We abide by the Editors’ Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think that we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact 0207 231 5258. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you would like more information about IPSO or the Editors’ Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk
NEWS 3
IT’S TIME TO PATTY!
Flake Bake_ Paul and Mike Williams
Father and son from Peckham behind viral patties launch £3.99 Aldi ready meals EXCLUSIVE By Evie Flynn A PECKHAM father and son whose Jamaican patties became a hit in Aldi are launching two new ready meals.
Paul and Mike Williams, who run Flake Bake from their bakery in Peckham, launched two £3.99 ready meals in all Aldi stores yesterday (Wednesday September 16). The new ready-made meals are Jerk BBQ chicken with rice and peas and BBQ beef with sweet potato mash. The pair first shot to fame after winning Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing in 2024, securing a deal to sell
their Jamaican beef patties in more than 1,000 Aldi stores. More than 100,000 of the Jamaican baked treats sold out within 10 days of launch The patties quickly sold out, with Aldi later making them a permanent part of its range. More than one million Flake Bake patties had been sold through the supermarket by March 2025. The new products add to Flake Bake’s existing Aldi range of 99p BBQ Beef and Jerk Chicken patties. Flake Bake was founded by Paul and Mike in Peckham, where the family’s bakery business dates back to 2008. The pair began specialising in Jamaican patties after Mike joined his father in 2012.
SE15 WETHERSPOON’S CLOSES PERMANENTLY WITH PLANS TO TURN IT INTO A BINGO HALL
The Kentish Drovers on Peckham High Street has been a pub for 50 years
© Google Street view
LIONS DIG DEEP SPORT page 30
THE WETHERSPOON’S on Peckham High Street has permanently closed, with plans to convert the site into a bingo hall currently under consideration. The Kentish Drovers, at 71-79 Peckham High Street, has been a pub for half a century and a Wetherspoon’s for 25 years, but it celebrated its final day on Sunday. It was first put up for sale in July last year, reportedly listed at £1 million and later reduced to £750,000. On August, 19, an applicant called LCE Property Ltd submitted a planning application to convert the ground floor
Tuesday 29 September 2026 Everyone is welcome to join us for the King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Members’ Meeting on Tuesday 29 September. The meeting will run from 5.30-7pm and is being held in the ORTUS Building, 82-96 Grove Lane, SE5 8SN, located at the Maudsley Hospital.
The Kentish Drovers on Peckham High Street
By Alex Orr
Annual Members’ Meeting
and basement into a bingo venue. According to a planning statement, the applicant’s aim is to “attract patrons of all ages” and create a “community orientated venue”. The statement said the plans represented a “sustainable reuse of an existing building” and would maintain the “quality and character of the local environment” while supporting a “vibrant town centre” in Peckham. The change of use application is currently under consideration by Southwark Council’s planning team, with a decision expected soon. A Wetherspoon’s spokesperson previously said the pub would continue to operate until it was sold.
Doors open at 5pm, and refreshments will be provided. Find out about the work that we do at King’s through a series of presentations about our services, as well as a round-up of the past year. There will also be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the meeting. Email kch-tr.FTO@nhs.net by 5pm on Friday 25 September if you would like to put forward a question for the Trust Board in advance.
4151 Annual Members' Meeting quarter page ad 170 x 130 v1.indd 1
17/09/2024 11:00:21