‘It has the best tacos in the country, one of the best pizzas in Europe, and the best bagels in London’
The streets brim with the smell of delicious foods, music and lots and lots of people. Peckham is renowned not only for being “cool” but also for being one of London’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. “It’s a cool place, it’s nice, I like it. I think the mix of cultures is great because I can see every single race here – I see Brazilian, Portuguese, African descendants, Caucasians, Latinos,” says Juan Manuel, who owns the taco stand Guacamoles.
“It has the best tacos in the country, you can get one of the best pizzas in Europe, you can have the best bagels in London and you can get really good pupusas and Peruvian food.” Despite Peckham’s diversity in both food and culture, Juan says there is a lot of crime in the area and a lot of people in the area he “wouldn’t mess with.”
“I always see things on the spiritual side, I think Peckham needs Jesus. If we learn to love each other like Jesus did, there won’t be fighting, robbery, gangs or anything like this. That’s what it needs,” he says.
Peckham is one of Southwark’s most deprived neighbourhoods, with an unemployment rate of 11.1 per cent in the Peckham ward itself. But despite feelings that there are higher levels of crime, it has an incidence rate similar to the rest of the borough.
Syed Ali, who works at a fruit and veg shop in Rye Lane, says that he “isn’t sure if he feels safe in the area.” He told MyLondon: “Lots of people say Peckham isn’t good because of the crime levels. If you leave your bike unlocked for even two minutes its gone.”
He says that he prefers Luton, where he lives, because it is “less crowded.” Peckham also has lots of “rubbish” and a lot of people “don’t know how to safely cross the road.”
“But it’s definitely a cool place to be. There’s lots of bars, the food is really good, the food quality is really good. The meat is also ten times better than in Luton,” he adds.
Ruth Hunte, who often comes to Peckham, says that she loves coming here to get her hair done and to do her shopping. She said: “The coolest thing in Peckham is the variety of food. You can always find different fruit and vegetables there. They also have a lot of restaurants. But they need to regenerate and fix it up because it does look a bit rundown and they need more of a variety of shops.”
“I don’t feel safe at nighttime because it’s not a place where there’s a lot of police around or anyone to protect you. It’s quiet at night so it can feel a bit lonely.”
Peckham is one of the fastest-changing areas of London. It has become popular for nights out and with young people, especially those who have moved to the city. While it has a reputation for being ‘cool’, this does bring some problems for local people originally from the area.
“I can see it happening. Someone who was brought up here should be able to afford to stay here. That’s the important thing, it needs more affordable housing for local people, ” she told MyLondon.
Shah Zadsafi, who has lived and worked in Peckham for 22 years, says it is his “second home.” He loves the variety of nationalities in the area, which makes it a “good place to live.”
“There’s people from the West Indies, Ghana, Jamaica and they’re very good people. Before it was different but now Peckham is so good,” he tells MyLondon.
He would like to see some things change, like bigger businesses in the area such as high street chain H&M and shops which sell things for mothers and babies.
“If we have more retail, more people will come to do their shopping in Peckham. The more people who come from outside the area the better and everything would be in one place.”
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