Latest Walworth News – Early February 2026

1. Walworth Society – February meeting (in person only) – 7pm Weds 18th February. A reminder that our next general WS meeting will be held at 7pm on Wednesday 18th February in person only at The Crypt, St Peter’s Church, Liverpool Grove SE17 2HH. We are really sorry but on this occasion we are not able to make this meeting available online and so it will only be in person. Our draft agenda for the meeting is: 1. Action points from our January meeting and matters arising. 2. Castle Leisure Centre – community events programme – Andy Kidd 3. 123 Crampton Street redevelopment – presentation by developer Bywater. 4. Town Centre Action Plan and Walworth Road High Street – update Najmah Ali (Southwark Council). 5. 5.Planning matters. 6. Other issues. 7. AOB and date of next meeting. Minutes of the January meeting are here Link to the presentation that John Doherty from the Forest Hill Society gave on the impact of aircraft noise on our part of South London is here

2. 123 Crampton Street redevelopment – drop-in sessions. Bywater, the new developers of the Royal Mail sorting office site at 123 Crampton St, are holding two drop-in/consultation sessions at the Draper Community Hall, Hampton St, SE17 3AN, on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th February – both days 4-7 pm.  For more information click here or to provide feedback email 123cramptonstreet@kandaconsulting.co.uk or phone 020 3900 3676.

3. Southwark cargo bike webinar for local businesses. Peddle My Wheels along with Our Bike and Try Before You Bike are running a free online webinar for businesses operating in Southwark as part of the Southwark Cargo Bike Campaign.   The session is designed for small/medium local businesses, sole traders and local organisations who want to understand how cargo bikes can replace short car and van trips for everyday business needs — including deliveries, stock movement, tools and equipment, recycling and local errands.   The webinar will run the first Wednesday of each month, 2–3pm starting Wednesday 4 March ending Wednesday 1st July.   To register click here, for more information contact info@peddlemywheels.com.

4. News Snippets.   1. A couple of Walworth related items in the latest Southwark Council Resident’s News   a. Surrey Square Primary School is Southwark’s first School of Sanctuary.   b. There are a number of Free February events at Una Marson Library.   2. Portland Street improvement project – consultation lasts until 11th February. Survey link is here   3. Britain’s changing High Streets. Guardian feature that allows people to see how their high streets (inc E&C and Walworth) are evolving over time. Link here   4. Future of the E&C Tube Station. The E&C station is mentioned in the TfL draft business plan – page 136 out of 210. Link here   5. Changes to the Old Kent Road. Birds-eye view of development happening in Old Kent Road. Link here   6. Thames Tunnel – short film about the Thames Tunnel at Rotherhithe “the oldest underwater tunnel in the world”. Instagram film here   7. New £5 million investment announced to transform Peckham Rye Station   …but still no plans for lifts – Southwark News article here

5. Cinema Museum – Kennington Bioscope Presents No Blood Relation (Japan 1932). Wednesday 25th February @ 7.30pm. doors open 6.30pm. No Blood Relation (Japan 1932) (Digital) Written and directed by Mikio Naruse. Starring Yoshiko Okada, Shin’yō Nara and Yukiko Tsukuba.   An actress returns to Tokyo after a successful stint in Hollywood to reclaim — with the help of her gangster brother — the daughter she abandoned years before.   Mikio Naruse was one of the most important directors and screenwriters in what has become known as the `Golden Age’ of Japanese cinema (which, unlike its Western counterpart, continued to be silent for some time into the 1930s). His focus on `common people’ drama and fusing of traditional and modern Japanese motifs have drawn comparisons with his more celebrated contemporary Yasujirō Ozu. Much of his earlier work, mostly from the 1920s, is considered lost. No Blood Relation, photographed by Suketaro Inokai, is his earliest surviving feature-length film. Based on a novel by Shunyo Yanagawa, No Blood Relation is a gripping early example of Mikio Naruse’s cinematic boldness, featuring a screenplay by Ozu’s famed collaborator Kogo Noda.   For the first part of our programme the film historian Ian Christie will celebrate the 130th anniversary, almost to the day, of the Lumière films’ UK debut screening at the Marlborough Hall, Regent Street, and the presentation later on the same day at Finsbury Technical College by British pioneer Robert Paul. This was the first time the British public had been asked to pay to attend a film screening (admission: one shilling!). This part will include some recently discovered Robert Paul films.   Live piano accompaniment. Silent film with intertitles which may be suitable for the deaf and hard of hearing. Hot food will be available as well as other refreshments from our licensed cafe/bar. Tickets: £8, for tickets click here, Subject to availability, tickets will be sold on the door. However, seats are limited so please arrive early. For more information click here.  The Cinema Museum: The Master’s House, 2 Dugard Way (off Renfrew Road), London SE11 4TH.