Elephant Park development background

This is a phased, mixed-use redevelopment of the existing Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre (East site) and London College of Communication (West site) sites. 

History

Elephant and Castle's town centre was severely damaged during World War II, especially the Victorian homes near the railway station. After the war, the London County Council (LCC) bought this land for redevelopment. The LCC built the Heygate housing estate in the 1960s and 1970s, which was later managed by the council.

The Heygate estate was initially designed for car owners. It had elevated walkways called ‘streets in the sky’ that aimed to connect the Heygate and Aylesbury estates. But the walkways were confusing and became areas with high crime rates.

In the 1990s, we looked into improving the estate and found that refurbishments would cost £53 million, but would not fix the layout issues. In 1998, we decided to redevelop the estate. Before that, we built other affordable housing in the area to offer Heygate tenants alternative places to live.

We also sought public opinion on the redevelopment. This received 500 responses, with 96% in favour of major regeneration. We secured £25 million in government funding to improve the area's social, economic and environmental conditions.

The Greater London Authority (GLA) included Elephant and Castle as a growth area in the first London Plan in 2002. Based on this, we developed supplementary planning guidance (SPG) in 2004. The SPG aimed to restore the old street patterns and promote mixed housing developments.

The SPG was adopted after public consultation and an inquiry. It led to the construction of 650 new affordable homes, 525 of which were let at social rent levels. In 2007, we partnered with Lend Lease (now Lendlease) to redevelop the estate.

The 2008 financial crisis led to contract renegotiations, completed in 2010. The new terms increased the amount of affordable housing from 11% to 25%. Additionally, we will receive a share of any extra profits made from the redevelopment project. 

Relocating residents

In 2007, we introduced a choice-based lettings system for allocating council housing across the borough. This new system used banding to make the allocation process clearer and more transparent.

As the Heygate estate was slated for redevelopment, its residents were given band 1 priority for relocation. This allowed them to bid on any available council property in Southwark, including new affordable homes specifically built for them in and around Elephant and Castle.

The Heygate estate consisted of 1,212 homes, out of which 1,020 were council-owned and 192 were privately owned due to the government's Right to Buy scheme. The council stopped letting homes in the Heygate estate in 2001.

By 2005, 595 of the council-owned homes on the estate were occupied. All these tenants were given band 1 priority for relocation. An overwhelming 99% chose to remain in Southwark when they relocated. 

While they had the option to stay in Elephant and Castle, many chose to move to other areas within the borough. Additionally, all tenants were given the option to return to the area after the redevelopment.

Homeowners on the Heygate estate were offered compensation based on the statutory land compensation code. For more details, download the Compulsory Purchase Order below.

Heygate Estate Compulsory Purchase Order

Recognising that this might not be enough for everyone to stay in the area, the council offered additional support. This included 20 homes in the Strata building for shared ownership and other options for qualifying leaseholders.

Redevelopment consultations

In 2011 and 2012, we held extensive consultations on the new development's planning application. One outcome was the decision to preserve as many mature trees on the estate as possible. 

The planning committee approved the application in January 2013, which included:

• 3,000 new homes 
• 50 retail spaces 
• office areas and public spaces 
• a new energy centre.

The redevelopment aims to better connect the community with surrounding areas and make it more pedestrian-friendly. Nearly half of the new development is public space, including one of central London's largest new parks.

Demolition was completed in July 2014. Construction began on Lendlease's new development, Elephant Park. The council still owns the land and has given Lendlease a long lease for the redevelopment.

Public input helped name the new streets and buildings, many of which honour local history or individuals connected to the area.

The first phase completed in 2015 was Trafalgar Place, which includes 56 affordable homes designed in a tenure-blind layout. The project won several awards, including the Mayor of London’s award for the best new development in 2016.

In 2016, Lendlease opened the Construction Skills Centre at Elephant Park. This centre aims to train 1,000 local residents annually. It has already helped nearly a thousand people find work on the construction site. 

Visit the Elephant Park website for more about the Southwark Construction Skills Centre.

By 2025, we will have built at least 1,693 new affordable homes in the Elephant and Castle area since 2001.

Further information

Find out more on the Elephant Park website. You can also visit the Lendlease website for more information on the Elephant Park project.

Visit the website for the Elephant and Castle Partnership for details and regular updates on progress. The website has an interactive map that shows all the regeneration projects in the neighbourhood.