Enjoy
A short history of the regeneration programme
Throughout the 1990s, Southwark Council undertook a number of smaller scale projects to improve life in the Elephant and Castle. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s a number of key factors came together to make real, fundamental change possible for the first time.
Southwark Land Regeneration Partnership
In 1999, the council invited developers to put forward proposals for regenerating the area. This led to the establishment of the Southwark Land Regeneration (SLR) Partnership, led by the private sector. Although the SLR collapsed in 2002, the process helped Southwark Council clarify its aims for the area and led directly to the establishment of a strategic vision that underpins the current programme.
Elephant Links
In the late 1990s, a national grants programme called the Single Regeneration Budget allocated funding to the Elephant and Castle for a series of small scale social and economic regeneration projects to help lay the foundations for the physical regeneration. Elephant Links aimed to address problems like high levels of unemployment, below average incomes and social exclusion, as well as low levels of basic skills and poor educational achievement.
More than 40 separate projects were funded, including:
Elephant Impacts
A programme to improve the physical environment at the Elephant and Castle through lighting, tree planting, painting and re-design. Elephant Impacts worked closely with local schools, businesses and arts and cultural groups.
Southwark Credit Union
A not-for-profit financial co-operative that aims to raise awareness of affordable financial services.
Business Extra
Business Extra helps small local businesses, providing advice and supporting start-ups.
A new planning context
Also in 2002, the Greater London Authority published the, setting out a vision for the development of the city. As well as establishing a framework for more jobs and homes, the 2002 plan identified key areas for growth across London, including the Elephant and Castle (defined as an 'Opportunity Area'). The London Plan provided a clear context within which Southwark Council could work, and the council went on to draw up its own, followed by Supplementary Planning Guidance in the shape of a development framework for the Elephant and Castle.
Elephant and Castle framework for development (Supplementary Planning Guidance)
The Elephant and Castle framework for development was published by Southwark Council in 2004 and was adopted as a Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for the area.
The SPG included a comprehensive regeneration ‘master plan’, describing what regeneration might take place, where and how. The SPG includes details of the council’s aspirations for jobs, housing, community safety, transport, education, shopping, health and more.
An internal council team developed the framework, working closely with leading architects and planners. The council consulted local people, using techniques including public meetings, newsletters, questionnaires and focus groups. 80 per cent of residents who took part in the framework for development consultation in 2004 said they supported the council’s plans.
The SPG is currently being updated to ensure it moves with the changing context in Southwark, and in light of the borough’s newly adopted document that outlines the council’s proposals for development in Southwark.
This updated SPG is now called a Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for the Elephant and Castle. The SPD is currently being drafted and will be on by Southwark council later this year. After this consultation, it will eventually be adopted as planning guidance for the area. The SPD sets out how the council and the Mayor of London's vision for the Elephant & Castle
Castle House
Aerial day view
Aerial view night
www.elephantandcastle.org.uk
