CAMBERWELL STATION ROAD
CLIENT: Southwark Council
LOCATION: London
YEAR: 2025
Transforming a hard-working street into a beacon of resilience and sustainability.
Image: Camberwell Station Road newly designed public realm, photo credit: Thomas Adank
Reworking a complex street to support people, businesses and nature.
JA Projects, with collaborators BBUK and BHA, have transformed Camberwell Station Road to better support its dynamic everyday life. Funded through the Mayor of London's Good Growth Fund and delivered with Southwark Council and local stakeholders, the project responds to local priorities through a more welcoming, accessible and climate-resilient public realm.
Camberwell Station Road is a hardworking street within a busy urban neighbourhood. Railway arches occupied by mechanics and craft workshops line one side of the road, while terraced homes, a bus depot, Royal Mail facilities, flats and light industrial units define the other. Together they create a distinctive mix of industry, commerce and everyday life along a constrained urban corridor that accommodates an unusually diverse range of people, businesses and services.
A new public landscape was needed to balance these competing demands, better connect the street's many uses, provide the infrastructure to support its diverse activities, and create a safer, more generous environment for movement, gathering and exchange.
Today, the street's everyday rhythms are supported by a public realm that strengthens its distinctive character and provides the infrastructure for businesses, communities and everyday life to flourish.
Delivering change
The design responds to four interconnected ambitions, developed through the street's distinctive character and informed by engagement with local businesses, residents and stakeholders.
Movement and Connectivity – improving safety, accessibility and movement through traffic calming, realigned pavements and a more legible public realm.
Enterprise and Servicing – supporting businesses and essential services by balancing the operational needs of independent traders, residents, Royal Mail, Go-Ahead buses and other street users.
Climate Resilience – introducing planting, sustainable drainage and new habitats to improve environmental performance and strengthen resilience to climate change.
Arts and Learning – working with local schools, artists and community organisations to embed creativity and learning within the public realm.
The project reworks the full length of Camberwell Station Road, using a phased approach that concentrates investment where it can deliver the greatest public benefit while establishing a framework for future improvements.
At the junction with Knatchbull Road, where the street meets Camberwell town centre, footways were significantly widened to create a welcoming gateway animated by outdoor seating, new planting and spill-out activity of local businesses.
Adjacent to the former station building, a new public space provides a generous setting for gathering, pausing and everyday use, improving the character of an area that had previously felt neglected and unsafe.
Beacons and street furniture
A family of sculptural beacons establishes a clear identity along Camberwell Station Road, marking gateways, supporting wayfinding and creating visible landmarks throughout the route. Integrated lighting improves visibility after dark while reinforcing a sense of continuity and safety.
Developed in response to concerns raised during engagement, the beacons combine lighting, signage and seating within a single civic element that helps organise the public realm.
Quotes gathered during Sacred Heart School's walking tours are engraved into stone plinths and paving, embedding local voices within the public realm.
Bespoke street furniture defines the threshold between pavement and carriageway, improving accessibility while establishing a distinctive family of elements that contributes to the street's identity.
The former station building will be animated through a series of murals by a local young artist, celebrating the people and character of Camberwell.
Shaped through collaboration
Collaboration shaped the project from the outset, ensuring the design responded to the everyday realities of Camberwell Station Road.
A dedicated women and girls' walk and workshop explored lived experiences of safety, comfort and accessibility. The insights gathered informed key design decisions, including improved sightlines, clearer pedestrian routes, and the careful placement of lighting, planting and street furniture.
JA Projects worked with students from Sacred Heart School and Southwark Young Advisors to co-design and lead a public walking tour, identifying opportunities to strengthen green spaces, celebrate the area's railway heritage, support local enterprise and foster a more welcoming and inclusive public realm.
Alongside community engagement, dedicated workshops with key stakeholders, including Go-Ahead London and Royal Mail, ensured the design balanced the operational needs of one of Camberwell's busiest working streets with the aspirations of the wider community.
A climate resilient street
Greening is integral to the project, replacing areas of hardstanding with a robust palette of climate-resilient planting. Rain gardens and sustainable drainage features manage surface water, helping address long-standing drainage issues while improving biodiversity and environmental performance.
Existing London Plane trees are given renewed presence through drought-tolerant understorey planting, extending their contribution to the streetscape and strengthening the avenue's identity.
Together, these landscape interventions soften the robust character of the railway arches, define spaces for movement and gathering, and establish a greener, more comfortable environment throughout the year.
