Peckham Levels – a project by the team behind Pop Brixton to convert Peckham multi-storey car park into a pioneering cultural workspace – was set to launch in October 2016, but this week brings good news for those of us eagerly awaiting Pop Brixton Mark II…

Despite securing planning permission in the summer, plans for Peckham Levels ground to a halt while lease agreements were finalised. This week, Southwark Council has provided Make Shift (formerly Pop Community Ltd) with a lease, meaning that construction can now begin immediately.

Peckham Levels is scheduled to open its doors in August 2017 and there are plans for it to remain in place for six years.

Over the coming months the empty structure of the car park will be transformed to house a mixture of creative workspaces including 50 private and shared studios, a handful of larger offices, shared making spaces, manual workshops, music rehearsal studios, print rooms and ceramics facilities.

The site will also include open public spaces with food and drink outlets and a community café, an event and exhibition venue, and wellbeing and fitness studios. The alleyway that runs along the side of the car park will be converted into a community garden and host regular markets.

‘We are thrilled to have overcome this hurdle, and to finally be in a position to start bringing Peckham Levels to life,’ said James Leay, Managing Director of Make Shift. ‘Delays are always frustrating, but we’re now fully prepared to begin construction, and look forward to building our new community of members.’

In total, the project will cover more than 90,000 sq ft and house a working community of up to 600 people, taking up six levels. Levels one through four will house some 20,000 sq ft of artists’ studios and workspaces, while levels five and six will provide over 20,000 sq ft for performance, events and gallery space.

Peckham multi-storey is expected to ride the wave of the successful community hub Pop Brixton as a haven for artists, entrepreneurs, and locals

Peckham multi-storey is expected to ride the wave of the successful community hub Pop Brixton as a haven for artists, entrepreneurs, and locals. The legendary rooftop hangout Frank’s Cafe and arts organisation Bold Tendencies will continue their operations on the upper floors and Peckham Plex cinema will operate on the lower levels, untouched by the new plans.

‘We’re delighted to see this key project get underway which will create 600 jobs in the heart of Peckham,’ said Cllr Mark Williams. ‘Peckham is a huge success already and making better use of the unused parts of the multi-storey car park will help the area go from strength to strength, and I look forward to seeing the Peckham Levels opening next year.’

Want to get involved?

Applications for studios, offices and coworking space will open on 1 March 2017 and close on 30 April. Members will be able to move in shortly before the project opens to the public in August. A large waiting list for these memberships is already in place, with more than 500 people registering their interest in advance.

Earlier this year Peckham Levels ran open applications for operators who wanted to manage key spaces within Peckham Levels, including the shared creative facilities, event spaces and more. Now that Peckham Levels has its lease, it will be able to formally allocate space and issue leases to Operators, so the team will be re-contacting applicants and formalising agreements over the coming weeks.

Find out more at peckhamlevels.org