The ‘lifeline’ social club has been earmarked for redevelpment yet campaigners say they plan to fight to save it
A ‘lifeline’ Peckham venue used for free workshops and socialising is at risk of closure after developers have started a consultation to redevelop the space into flats.
SET social, in the heart of Peckham on Nigel Road, off Rye Lane, offers dozens of groups a free space, yet users have now launched a campaign to stop its closure after it was announced that the space may be redeveloped.
SET is a contemporary arts organisation that transforms vacant buildings across London into spaces for communities to gather and host groups with numerous venues across the capital. Yet GRID Architects and The Cherwell Group have now proposed a mixed-use development with shared living accommodation on the site of the former church.
While the formal planning application for the site will likely only be submitted later this year, Cherwell Group carried out a public consultation in July, which prompted the campaign to redevelop the building.
Connall Monaghan, 31, is one of the organisers of the campaign and has explained that he and his fellow members would be at a loss without the space, despite the developers’ promise that they could return to the community hub once the site is completed.
He said: “It started off the backs of the consultation that took place in July for SET social, I helped organise the garden for SET social, I spoke to a lot of the organisations that run groups within SET social, so 14 (groups)of us got together and agreed we would run a campaign born out of the realisation that if SET closed then we would lose the space that we have.
‘SET Social is the foundation of our resilience’
“We are willing to fight to keep the space. We wouldn’t be happy with closure for the two years on the basis that many of the groups would dissolve in that time, because there are not enough free spaces in Peckham as it stands for groups and parties to meet.”
“We have concerns about whether a community space would even operate given the developer’s history. We spoke to Cherwell at the consultation, and they told us that we needed to be resilient, but we feel that resiliency in the community comes from infrastructure, and SET Social is the foundation of our resilience, and this campaign is our attempt to express our quality to fight the protected communities that we built.”
The team are planning to apply to Southwark Council for SET Social to be deemed as an asset of community value, which would recognise that the site furthers social wellbeing, and would ultimately mean that if an asset is put up for sale, the community would have a six-month grace period to raise money and prepare for a bid.
Rory Allen,25, a member of SET Social for the past year, explained that he has found his social group through the space, yet he fears that without SET, the groups that meet there will no longer survive.
“It would have a really big impact. We already had a two-month closure when the space was being bought. We met in different places, but we couldn’t find anywhere as welcoming or as easy to drop in and out of. A lot of the spaces we tried feel very formal.
“I think if it closed, it probably wouldn’t affect the friendships of the people already there currently, but it would have a big impact on people who would happen upon it like I did, so even though we might get a space after the closure, it would impact it until the point where there wouldn’t be much left at the end.
“It would definitely be displaced (the groups within SET Social); there would be aspects of it that would fail to survive.”
Ellie Redpath, 26, who has joined the campaign to Save SET Social has talked about the void the venue would leave if it were to close, she said: “It’s honestly a lifeline in terms of finding new friends in London and for creative opportunities. It’s a really unique place to meet people through creative activity. It’s affordable as well. Everything else I see is about £30 a session, but you don’t even need to buy anything from SET.
“It’s a bit like a public living room, and there is nothing else like this in London, which just makes me so upset that we might be facing closure.
“The space they have put aside for a community just looks like a yoga studio. There doesn’t seem to be any cafe space or social space.”
While a formal application has not yet been submitted, MyLondon understands that another consultation is going to be launched in the coming months, but the campaigners do not currently have a date for when the venue may close.
The campaign awaits a formal application to be put forward and plans to object to the redevelopment proposals.
The Cherwell Group, GRID Architects and SET Social were all contacted for comment.
