Tea Factory gets makeover

The Tea Factory is one of Brockley's most important developments and was meant to herald the rebirth of Brockley Cross. Despite providing a home for Brockley's community art gallery and securing an architecture practice and a new cafe, it has been let down by the pavement outside, which is in very poor condition and regularly used as a car park.

However, one of the positive consequences of work being "finished" at Brockley Station is that it will enable work to begin on fixing the Tea Factory's front garden.

Lewisham Council confirmed in a letter to Cllr Dean Walton that:

Planning permission for the Tea Factory development was granted subject to a S106 Agreement. The Council will carry out a complete reconstruction of the footway outside the Tea Factory, using funding from the Section 106 agreement, after the footbridge accessing Brockley Station has been re-opened.

When the footway is reconstructed we will remove the existing vehicular crossovers and also resurface the forecourt area. We intend to use a high kerb face and bollards at either end of the new footway to prevent drivers accessing the area for parking.

This is great news and will hopefully be followed by more extensive work to improve the roads and pavements in the immediate area. At long last, we may see the transformation of Brockley Cross.