CONCEPT IMAGES ILLUSTRATE SCALE OF CHANGE PLANNED FOR ELEPHANT & CASTLE SHOPPING CENTRE

Key Property Investments (KPI)*, the owner of Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, has released two concept images illustrating the scale of change envisaged at the shopping centre.

The images were shared yesterday evening (26 May) with local community and stakeholder groups at the first meeting of the new Elephant & Castle consultative ‘Forum’ dealing with the area’s regeneration, an initiative spearheaded by Lend Lease and the London Borough of Southwark. KPI was invited to attend the meeting to demonstrate the scope for dramatically altering the physical appearance and perceptions of the shopping centre.

Tim Seddon, London Regional Director for St. Modwen, said: “These concepts are intended to be purely indicative at this stage to demonstrate our early thinking as to how the new Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre might look. There is a considerable amount of work required to develop these ideas into reality and for this reason both are deliberately very different in approach. However, what they do show is the ambition to achieve a transformation which consigns the old pink shopping centre to history.

“We felt it important that local people also saw the early ideas for the centre which were shown to Southwark’s cabinet last week. Naturally, we will be consulting with all interested parties as our plans for the centre evolve and the meeting of the Forum last night was the first stage in that process.”

Each concept illustrates not just how the look of the centre may change but also indicates the ambition to secure improved shopping and leisure facilities, together with substantially enhanced public realm and new homes.

The release of the images comes after a cabinet meeting last week at which London Borough of Southwark agreed to:

• Enter into a Co-operation Agreement with KPI and Lend Lease for Elephant & Castle’s wider regeneration;

• Enter into an Agreement with KPI for the regeneration of Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre;

• Vary the Regeneration Agreement between the Council and Lend Lease to reflect this new approach.

Councillor Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration at London Borough of Southwark, said: “These concepts are not intended to reflect the final design but should give people some idea of the massive potential for transformation of the shopping centre at the heart of the £1.5bn Elephant and Castle regeneration. We will be looking for forward-thinking design to reflect the enormity of the changes happening in this central London location.”