Policy information sourced from the Southwark Local Plan 2022
AV.09 Elephant and Castle Area Vision
Elephant and Castle is:
- Very accessible, based on an important historic transport hub on the edge of central London which continues to serve this function. Changes to the Elephant and Castle junction have improved the 1960s designed trafficdominated centre that was considered by many to provide a poor pedestrian environment;
- Characterised by a range of architectural styles including some low quality mid-century buildings but also some buildings from the same era considered by some to be of outstanding value and historical interest;
- An important and historic town centre in central London with a wide range of large offices and small businesses, shops, cultural and community facilities;
- An attractive destination for visitors with a strong daytime and night time economy which provides a range of cultural and entertainment spaces alongside a lively and diverse retail environment for local residents and in particular the area’s Latin American community;
- Home to Southwark’s university quarter which includes South Bank University and UAL - London College of Communication, providing excellent opportunities for learning and innovation.
Development in Elephant and Castle should:
- Support the area’s function as a major town centre for all Southwark residents and a central London location that attracts global business, research, teaching, shopping, flexible business spaces and cultural activities;
- Provide as many homes as possible at a range of different tenures including social housing supported by community facilities such as St Matthew’s Community Centre and Walworth Town Hall;
- Provide opportunities for existing small businesses, particularly those from minority ethnic groups, to relocate and continue trading;
- Support the creation of a distinctive environment through a mix of innovative and enduring new architecture, heritage buildings, open spaces and quality public realm that provides greenery, safety, connectivity and reduces exposure to air pollution;
- Support the provision of a new community health hub;
- Improve the train and underground stations, provide step-free access, provide a new ticket hall for the Northern Line and Bakerloo Line extension and enable new transport infrastructure links with the surrounding areas by providing safe and accessible walking, cycling and public transport routes;
- Contribute towards the development of the Low Line, a new public realm corridor adjacent to historic railway arches, with lively accessible spaces for creativity, new jobs and retail;
- Harness the expertise and infrastructure from the universities to develop a strong, dynamic and specialised local economy that will attract new specialised services and research.
Growth opportunities in Elephant and Castle:
- Elephant and Castle has already experienced major transformation including significant transport improvements and the Castle Square Leisure Centre. The 2007 Southwark Plan and the Elephant and Castle SPD 2012 identified 38 sites for redevelopment. The majority of these sites have been developed including at Elephant Park and One the Elephant. The sites have delivered a total of 4,261 homes, 13,500sqm retail floorspace, 6,000sqm employment floorspace and 5,300sqm community uses including a children’s nursery, an energy centre, a library and heritage centre on Walworth Road, leisure uses and a church. A further 2,066 homes, 2,000sqm retail floorspace, 200 sqm employment and a range of flexible uses have also been approved or are under construction.
- Elephant and Castle is part of the London Central Activities Zone, the Elephant and Castle Opportunity Area delivering 10,000 new jobs and the Elephant and Castle Major Town Centre delivering around 10,000sqm (net) new retail floorspace. Elephant and Castle has the potential to provide significant amounts of new offices, shops, leisure and cultural uses, university facilities, parks, homes and a community health hub. The site allocations in Elephant and Castle including the redevelopment of the shopping centre, major planning applications and the remaining development coming forward on the Elephant Park site will deliver around 135,000sqm (gross) offices and employment workspaces, 37,000sqm (gross) retail, community and leisure floorspace and around 2,200 homes. The area will deliver around 1ha new open space including a new major new park space at Elephant Park.
For more information please see the Southwark Local Plan 2022