Deptford is among the last places near the centre of the capital to undergo gentrification, but developers say they are determined not to destroy the area’s unique appeal while improving its prospects.
The Victoria, Grove Street, SE8, is a typical London boozer. Three huge storeys, with wedding cake plasterwork on the façade, The Victoria was solid enough to withstand two world wars and the deadly redevelopments of the past 60 years. Internally and externally it has seen it all. Now it is about to see something quite new. The Victoria will soon enjoy a few happy years as a 4,000 sq ft super-funky business incubator before reverting – sometime around 2021 – to being a local Deptford pub.
The Victoria’s rise, fall and rise again is symptomatic of the first wave of a mighty demographic and economic change about to embrace Deptford. Yet this may not be gentrification as we have seen it before. Check the #deptfordnotdalston hashtag on Twitter to see how locals are anxious not to go the way of the East End. And their anxiety is shared by developers.
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