Final vision for Elephant & Castle revealed

Lend Lease has today unveiled its latest outline planning proposals for the regeneration of the Heygate Estate as part of Southwark Council’s wider £1.5bn programme of improvements for the Elephant & Castle area.

They include refined details of one central London’s largest new parks for 70 years and around 2,500 homes as well as new shops and restaurants.

The proposals are expected to be submitted as an outline planning application to Southwark’s planning committee in a matter of weeks.

Rob Deck, Lend Lease’s project director for Elephant and Castle, said feedback from residents had already been invaluable for developing the Heygate Estate plans to their current state.

“We believe the masterplan has addressed many of the comments we have received to date and we very much want the input of local people to help inform the final stage of the design development prior to our submission of an outline planning application,” he said.

Felix Robbins of architects Make said that roadshows starting today would be an excellent opportunity to discuss the masterplan with local people.

“The proposals will transform the perception of the area and we continue to appreciate the active involvement of the local community in shaping these changes,” he said.

“We are looking forward to further hearing people’s views.”

According to the developers, feedback from the public over the past 15 months has already influenced the masterplan in terms of the heights of buildings, and the size and location of the park.

The Heygate scheme is currently expected to have a minimum of 25% affordable housing, and both Southwark Council and Lend Lease are working to attract additional funds to provide a higher percentage.

Southwark said it would also be seeking a financial contribution towards improvements to the Northern Line underground station and the removal of subways around the northern roundabout from all its partner developers in the local area.