Deptford: A colourful high street loved by locals

"This man is going to paint my coffin for me in the summer."

It is not a conversation you would expect to hear in a street market, but in one corner of south-east London, it is less out-of-the-ordinary than anticipated.

Artist Patricio Forrester is more commonly found painting walls than he is coffins. At Deptford Market, he shows traders his latest plan for a mural in the area.

He first decided to brighten the neighbourhood 25 years ago with a necklace and tie mural off Deptford High Street, and there have been many more works since, thanks to his community interest company Artmongers.

Forrester's patchwork blanket of colour has widened across south-east London, with each piece rooted in the people who work, shop and live there.

He says the murals are only part of the story.

"The high street comes together as a community," he explains. "Everybody is surviving together. In the hard times people look after each other, and in the thriving times, we share as well."

In the coming weeks, the government is promising a "turning point" for the nation's high streets, with a new strategy set to be announced.

Mary Portas, the so-called Queen of Shops, was high street adviser to David Cameron's coalition government.

"It's not about what those high streets sell, it's about the social interaction above anything else," the retailer and consultant says.

"We've got an ageing population, where you've got young children and families that want to connect.

"Particularly post-Covid, people have woken up to how important it is to connect, commune, meet."

Connection and community lead the way when it comes to Forrester's murals - and how they are funded.

Residents chip in through crowdfunding, and local businesses donate materials. Neville Johnny, owner of Johnny's DIY shop, often donates the paint. He remembers when the square felt very different.

"[It was] run down, unkept, it wasn't a place you wanted to hang around," he said.

"Now you want to stay there. It's a place that attracts people. It's great, I love it."

Forrester adds: "When people come to Deptford, they know they're going to get a bargain, they're going to get people talking to them, [and] looking at the artwork is part of that experience."

Portas says "London has always been good at regeneration".

"What makes a great high street has changed," she says. "But it is always about a great real mix of stuff."

With the government promising a turning point for the nation's high streets, and a new strategy in the coming weeks, Dr Jack Brown, King's College London lecturer in London Studies, says the issue often comes down to funding.

"Ultimately, lots of this comes down to the market or to spending a bit of money, and we know there's not a lot of that about," he says.

At the start of the year, the government said it would commit £150m to supporting high streets "most in need of being brought back together".

While the government promises investment, Deptford shows there is something else at play - community involvement.

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