Elephant faces a makeover
Planners have approved a massive south-London regeneration scheme that will transform rundown Elephant & Castle. The £1.5 billion project involves demolition of the infamous landmark pink-coloured shopping centre - a 1960s eyesore - and the creation of more than 4,000 new homes.
Southwark council will be announcing a development partner later this year. Such is the scale of plans, they will take up to 10 years to complete.
A key part of the masterplan is an extension of Walworth Road to the north. The road will run through the shopping centre site to form a new high street.
Railway land is to be opened up for a market area and there will be public open spaces. New high-rise buildings are earmarked for the ugly Heygate council estate, which is to be razed to the ground in the scheme.
The plan is likely to turn Elephant & Castle into a new property hotspot. A ripple of development is already spreading from the South Bank and Borough and builders are now on the prowl for land.
The location is seen as important because of its proximity to the West End and the City, both less than two miles away. Traffic from six bridges converges at Elephant & Castle.
A Southwark spokeswoman said: "It is the main transport link between central London and the rest of the South, but at the moment it is completely underperforming."
The Tube station will get a major upgrade, and subways will be removed in favour of a more pedestrian-friendly environment.
More than 1,200 residents live on the Heygate estate. The new homes will be a mixture of public and private, with a large component of key-worker housing.
