Forgive me if this post doesn’t go into as much detail on the complex issues around gentrification in south London – I’m off to Corfu in 12 hours and mainly I’m googling sea-facing olive sheds to buy, and trying on my snorkel. However I just wanted to give MFH readers a ‘you heard it here first’ moment about a scheme to restore an iconic bit of Peckham – and one which I’d totally failed to notice until this week.

I was ambling round my old ‘hood in search of a Senegal woven plastic mat (another post for another time), and so visiting all the African grocer’s and homeware shops. Many of these are housed in Peckham’s numerous arcades, situated around Rye Lane Station and The Bussey Building. Wandering into Kahn’s Bargain Store and the arcade behind, I found a curious mix of old and new Peckham. The shops selling batik-print fabrics, many with expert seamstresses running up amazing church outfits on industrial sewing machines, were intermingled with a handful of new businesses – a vintage homeware shop (cat nearly ended up with a nice new antique carry basket), a record shop and a hipster cafe. Also in one of the spaces was a community organisation promoting various local projects, including the campaign to maintain Peckham’s gorgeous views of central London, and one dedicated to restoring the Art Deco heart of the town.

Art Deco hey? I hadn’t even noticed that I was in Holdron’s Arcade, once a swanky outpost of Selfridges, and now occupied by (the brilliant) Khan’s Bargain Store. Although there isn’t much to see of the once-innovative Deco interior, architects and campaigners are working with Mr Khan to restore the building to it’s former glory. Their website on it is fascinating – Rye Lane is so crazy, with people everywhere and narrow pavements, that it’s easy not to notice that Iceland, Mighty Pound and numerous other shops around the station are housed in lovely Deco buildings. Just look up for a moment – and try not to trip over anyone’s granny trolley full of salt fish. You can find out about the project here, and see all the other building’s in Peckham’s Deco Quarter.

I wonder whether it will in time transform as Brixton’s covered market has – itself a lovely Deco building – into a mix of hipster restaurants and local businesses. And of course whether that’s desirable, and what’s the alternative and so on. I got a cab back from Brixton the other night, from the excellent Ackee Cabs, and was asking my driver what he thought of Brixton’s gentrification as it creeps down Coldharbour Lane towards their office. To my surprise he was all in favour – a bit of money in the place is just what’s needed he thought. Fair enough. My crystal ball is cloudy and I don’t know what’s for the best. Instead I refer you to this Pathe news footage of Brixton Market in the 1960s – the veg shops and the plastic bucket shops remain in Brixton and Peckham… but for how much longer?