Statement regarding Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre - January 2020

21 January 2020

Southwark Council has responded to news that traders in the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre have been given notice that the centre will be closing later this year.

Cllr Johnson Situ, Cabinet Member for Growth, Development and Planning, said: “Last week the traders at the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre were officially given notice to leave by Delancey, triggering the release of thousands of pounds of relocation funding and business support.

“We know this is an anxious time for traders and the council will be offering whatever support it can to help them find and move into new premises in and around the Elephant and Castle area.

“Sites include the council’s new Perronet Arcade, opposite the entrance to the Bakerloo Line station, and the Castle Square shopping area that is being constructed by Delancey. Some businesses have also been looking at the affordable space offered by Lendlease in the Elephant Park development, and our business support teams and Tree Shepherd have also been showing traders premises along the Walworth Road and surrounding area.

“The centre itself is due to close in the summer and this will mean work can begin to deliver the new town centre which will bring benefits to the wider area.

“The redesigned town centre will include 979 new homes at the heart of the Elephant and Castle, including 116 homes at social rents, 53 at London Living Rent and 161 at a discount market rent. We have also put clauses in the Section 106 that means a greater level of affordability will be provided if the scheme is more profitable than currently predicted.

“For the wider area the new development will include a much-needed new ticket hall for the Northern Line station, with escalators to replace the crowded and often broken down lifts. Combined with the money we are proposing to put towards safeguarding the extension of the Bakerloo Line, this will eventually offer a fully integrated Bakerloo and Northern Line station to welcome visitors into the area and make it easier for residents to travel around.

“There is also good news for the local students as the development will offer a new home for the London College of Communication to secure its long-term future in Elephant and Castle. That means the college’s 5,800 students and 454 members of staff will remain in the area they love and the new campus will also offer enhancements making it more open and accessible to the local community. The lower floors of the education building will be publicly accessible and capable of hosting a cultural events for the area.

“New shops and businesses will be coming to the area and the council has guaranteed 10 percent of the retail space will be affordable and offered to current traders in the first instance.

“The scheme will also bring a multi-screen cinema and a new cultural venue with capacity for 500 people.

“For local people the proposed development would create 1,230 construction jobs per year over the 10 year build programme, and an increase of between 395 and 572 jobs in the completed development depending on the final commercial mix.

“There will also be new open public spaces like a public square for events, better and safer ways to walk through the rail viaduct to link the site to Elephant Road and nee park in Elephant Park, and a new route from the Northern Line ticket hall to the train station.

“We are committed to ensuring the new development will enhance and complement the vibrant and diverse culture of Elephant and Castle, not diminish it.

“We will continue to work with and support the current traders, and the rest of the local community, to make sure everyone can benefit from these changes and no one is left behind.”

Page last updated: 22 January 2020