Plans to revive part of the route of the old Grand Surrey Canal have been unveiled for a regeneration project at Malt Street near the Old Kent Road.
Parts of the Grand Surrey Canal–an old timber transport route–would connect London’s Old Kent Road with Burgess Park.
The Grand Surrey Canal was originally named the Kent and Surrey Canal. It opened to the Old Kent Road in 1807, to Camberwell in 1810 and to Peckham in 1826.
It closed progressively from the 1940s, with all but the Greenland Dock closing in the 1970s.
Much of the route is traceable, as it has been turned into linear parks and many of the old bridges remain.
Part of the canal was filled in the 1970s to become an industrial estate (now defunct).
Berkeley Homes is now trying to link the Old Kent Road to Burgess Park along a section of the old canal route, as part of a project to build new homes and make the area more accessible.