PLUSHSE16 DEMOLITION DAY: CAPTURING A MOMENT

Today was not supposed to be a day about endings.

We were in Southwark Council HQ in support of Peckham attending the Berkeley Homes and Aylesham Peckham Inquiry, continuing our work listening in and standing up for communities facing displacement across London.

In the middle of those discussions about regeneration and accountability, we received word that demolition teams had arrived at the PLUSHSE16 site.

The news stopped us in our tracks, for a moment.

This was the same site that had served the community for over two decades — a place where people came for haircuts, food, music, conversation and support. A place that held memories, livelihoods and culture. And now, despite there being no approved planning permission in place, the physical space that held all those years of community life was being taken apart.

We decided to go.

When we arrived, the reality was hard to absorb.

Watching a place that meant so much to so many people , across all ages being dismantled piece by piece is something you cannot easily describe. It felt like witnessing the erasure of a chapter of our lives and of the community that grew there.

But instead of simply standing there in silence, we chose to respond in the only way that felt right.

We held an impromptu sidewalk portrait session.

People who passed by stopped. Some who had known the space for years joined us.

Together we stood on the pavement opposite the demolition site and began documenting the moment. These portraits are not just photographs — they are reflections of memory, resilience and witness.

The images captured today will be shared later as part of a future exhibition event, allowing the community to reflect on what was lost and what continues.

Because even when a building is gone, the story is not lost.

PLUSHSE16 was never just a set of walls.

It was and is people, culture, and connection.

And that cannot be demolished.

PLUSH

#NoPriceOnCulture