A shabby grafitti-covered railway bridge over the Old Kent Road in South London will soon look a lot brighter with a new mural and lighting scheme.
A plan to improve the appearance of the railway bridge which carries Southern and London Overground trains in Peckham was announced by the council earlier this year, and they’ve awarded the contract to local creatives, Yinka Danmole, Halina Edwards and Peter Hudson
Over forty submissions for designs were made before the shortlist of four was decided and the eventual winner was announced.
The brief was to create an inspiring piece of art, representative of the local community, of which local people and businesses could feel proud. The brief also stipulated that new lighting for the bridge should be incorporated into the design.
All three designers have local ties to Old Kent Road and were chosen for a concept that combines collage with coloured lighting. The mural will give the bridge the appearance of being decorated with the bright labels that come of fruit warehouse boxes, reflecting the local area’s wide diaspora.
The concept – not the final design – source the creative submission
Inspired by Polish artist, Adam Kossowski’s 1965 mural, which depicts the history of Old Kent Road, the team wanted to create a contemporary counterpart – one that celebrates the complex intersections of those communities that represent Old Kent Road as it is today.
The design team will work with pupils from Kender Primary School and residents from Harry Lamborn House to further develop their winning proposal, and it should be completed in Spring 2024.
The project is being funded through the Government’s Future High Street Fund and the council will also carry out its own repairs to the bridge at the same time as the artwork is installed. Refurbishing the bridge is a also component of the council’s broader plan to revitalise Old Kent Road as a neighbourhood high street.
The bridge steelwork and the new mural will be coated in an anti-grafitti varnish to protect it.
The railway bridge as it is today (c) Southwark Council
I’ve always thought at that very location should be a decent train interchange station for the South London line / London Overground…why am i wrong?
Because it’s nowhere near the South London Line, unlike, say Peckham Rye which already does offer an interchange.
Why don’t they put a station here?
It’s only a 10 minute walk from Queen’s Road Peckham station.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Kent_Road_railway_station#/media/File:Bricklayers_Arms_&_New_Cross,_Midhurst_RJD_91.jpg There used to be a railway station 😉
I believe a few inner south London (and east London) rail stations were closed during the First World War – as a wartime measure. But never re-opened as they were unable to compete, pricewise, with the trams.
And would now be very difficult to bring back due to the much longer station platforms that would be required, for the now much longer trains.
If it finally gets the go-ahead, the Bakerloo line extension will provide two new stations on Old Kent Road (so not far from this bridge) and run all the way through to Lewisham.