Southwark (Parliament Politics Magazine) – A new community gallery and kitchen in Peckham moves closer to opening after securing £1,000 in building materials to transform a disused Southwark building.
The group, known as Arcade, just obtained a ten-year lease on a property on Hatcham Road, which it intends to convert into a bustling community kitchen and gallery with workshops, events, and accessible amenities.
Events will be held in the open-plan, wheelchair-accessible kitchen and gallery to draw visitors from all over the Southwark neighborhood. The Selco prize has provided the initiative a much-needed boost as it prepares to launch later this year.
Christian Mooney, Arcade CIC founder, says they have ‘already crowdfunded £32,000 and these materials from Selco will help us to carry out important renovations to the building’s interior.’
Since establishing itself as a Community Interest Company (CIC) in 2021, Arcade has concentrated its gallery operations on creating neighborhood-based events, most recently in the neighboring Bellenden Road.
“It will help to support youths at risk while promoting disability inclusion, food justice, and social care,”
Mooney said of their new building.
In addition to giving £57,000 to charities, Selco is choosing 40 local heroes to receive £1,000. Additionally, the overall winner will receive £10,000. The runner-up will receive £5,000, and the third place will receive £2,500.
After five months of operation, Community Heroes 2025 has “already awarded an amazing £25,000 worth of building materials to some tremendous good causes,” according to Simon Humpage, Head of Multi-Channel Marketing at Selco.
How will Arcade use the £1,000 in building materials for the Hatcham Road space?
Arcade plans to use the £1,000 worth of building materials to carry out important renovations to the interior of their new Hatcham Road space. This includes transforming the disused building into a vibrant, open-plan, wheelchair-accessible community gallery and kitchen.
The materials will support improvements that enable the venue to host programmes, workshops, and events for people from across the community. The renovations also aim to help Arcade promote disability inclusion, food justice, and social care while supporting youths at risk.
The £1,000 prize from Selco complements a larger crowdfunded amount of £32,000 already raised to help bring the space to life as a welcoming community hub in Peckham.