Peckham MP visits London’s first space dedicated to Afro-Caribbean hair and beauty – Peckham Palms

7 June 2019

Harriet Harman MP paid a visit to London’s first dedicated retail space for Afro-Caribbean hair and beauty – Peckham Palms - today (Friday 7 June).

She was joined by local London Assembly member Florence Eshalomi and Leader of Southwark Council Cllr Peter John to take a tour of the new centre, which was the brain-child of Southwark Council.

Cllr Johnson Situ, Cabinet Member for Growth, Development and Planning, who organised the visit, explained what the project was about. He said: “Peckham is fantastic and vibrant place to live and one of our long-term ambitions to build on this was to revitalise the area around the beautiful, Grade II listed Peckham Rye Station and make it a more open and inviting gateway to this wonderful and creative heart of London.

“As part of the project a number of retail tenants, mainly Afro-Caribbean hairdressers and nail bars, currently residing in the units along Blenheim Grove had to be re-located.

“Ensuring local people benefit from growth and development is a key part of our approach, so working with the stylists we developed a new centre on an underused car park just a five minute walk down the road to bring together the businesses in a new space, and provide dedicated business support to help them thrive.”

The council hired Something & Sons to run the Palms and offer that one-to-one support to the hairdressers.

Harriet Harman MP said: “This is an important new initiative for an important aspect of the community. Let’s all give it our full support.“

Stylist Muna Williams was one of the first businesses to move to the Palms in February. She said: “It is great here, I love this place. It’s made such a difference to my life because when I was at Blenheim Grove there were a lot of challenges, from arguments in the streets to the physical difficulties of standing all day. It’s also been wonderful working with Something & Sons, I’ve been getting extra support and with the new booking system I am always working.”

Page last updated: 07 June 2019