Monday 16 August 2010

Rye Passage Fri 20 Aug 2.30pm

Improvements to Rye Passage: a celebration
Friday 20 August 2.30pm
in Rye Passage near the Peckham Rye end
If you are around, do come and join us to celebrate the completion of phase one of the Rye Passage improvements.

WHERE IS RYE PASSAGE?
As you walk along Nutbrook Street in the direction of Peckham Rye and pass Anstey Road, you come to a road sign saying Troy Town and a passage way called Rye Passage.
The Troy Town road name plate is all that is left of some Victorian terraced houses bombed during the second world war, and now occupied by the senior residential home formerly called Wilkinson House and now Cherrycroft. We think also that what is now Dewar Street was also called Troy Town originally. To confuse matters further about names, in 1952 after the war, the new block of flats built by Camberwell Housing Association for the elderly between Rye Passage and Nigel Road was named Troy Town flats.
Rye Passage runs alongside and between the boundaries of Cherrycroft and Troy Town flats, and crosses the end of Relf Road, and comes out opposite the Rye Hotel, at the northern triangle of Peckham Rye between East Dulwich Road and Nigel Road.

HISTORY
It has a very long history as a public right of way before the houses and streets were built in the 19th century. Now it provides a lovely oasis from traffic in the hurly burly of the surrounding roads, as well as a very important pedestrian route between Peckham Rye and the surrounding area to the west.
For many years the part of the Passage, which is near the join with the path coming from Dewar Street, has been a mess with corrugated iron, deteriorating fences, rubbish dumping, a blind corner which people could hide behind and anti social behaviour of various obnoxious sorts.
During the Bellenden Renewal Scheme (1997-2007), local residents suggested improvements to Rye Passage, especially to remove the blind spots caused by the line of the fences. But we were unsuccessful in getting it into the programme. However, we successfully applied for funding from the council's Cleaner Greener Safer initiative, for which we are very thankful.

IMPROVEMENTS
Phase one has now been completed by the Council. In agreement with the Camberwell Housing Association, there is a new fence and gates along the Troy Town flats boundary, and new gates at the entrance from Relf Road to stop car parking which was the source of some of the anti-social behaviour. Phase 2 will create improved visibility through the design of the fence on the other side of the passage once the Japanese Knotweed in the Cherrycroft garden has been eliminated.
Public safety has already been boosted, and the appearance of the area substantially improved. See the pictures in the attached poster, and also at http://www.bellenden.net/category/road/rye-passage The dream we always knew was possible is slowly taking real shape.

For further information contact: Eileen
Bellenden Residents' Group (BRG) http://www.bellenden.net

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