Clement Ogbonnaya
Owner of the Prince of Peckham pub and the newly opened Queen of the South in Tulse Hill.
‘Obviously Peckham has had its challenges and still does socially but there has always been something quite special about Peckham. It’s a big part of my journey. I was born in Nigeria and came here when I was six years old. For my mum, Rye Lane was her Oxford Street – that’s where she went every weekend to get all her food, and we’d be dragged there reluctantly. It was so vibrant and rich, a real melting pot of cultures. Now, every corner of London is being gentrified, but Peckham is trying to do gentrification responsibly, with the original residents and new locals being part of the conversation. At the Prince of Peckham, we’re very much a cultural hub. We want to ensure that we share information, because it can be hard to acquire. We use our space for a lot of action group meetings, we give away over sixties tango lessons, we try to get like-minded people in the same room together talking. When the people in the area can move with the progress of the area or at least be afforded the information – that’s when gentrification is done responsibly. Peckham’s awesome. South east London is the best part of London.’
