Redevelopment of Elephant Shopping Centre and LCC

As I can't find mention of this elsewhere on the forum, you may like to know that the planning application for the redevelopment Elephant & Castle shopping centre and the London College of Communication is currently open for comments. According to the letter I received just before Christmas (dated 20/12/16) the consultation period runs 22/12/16 to 18/01/17.

The application number is [url= http://planning.southwark.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=_STHWR_DCAPR_9569810]16/AP/4458[/url].

There are a lot of documents but these give the general gist:

Site - Ground Plan

Site - Roof Plan

Full development viewed from north

Section N-S through shopping centre redevelopment

Section E - W through the whole development

West Site Oswin Street North and South

Oswin Street Elevation

Is it just me or does this look utterly miserable and very disappointing, given the opportunities this space offers? I'm not too fussed about the overall height as it is clear that E&C is suitable for some tall buildings, but there is a total lack of imagination here.

johnkingeu wrote:

Is it just me or does this look utterly miserable and very disappointing, given the opportunities this space offers? I'm not too fussed about the overall height as it is clear that E&C is suitable for some tall buildings, but there is a total lack of imagination here.

Agreed: taking into account that the E&C is to be home to a variety of tall buildings, at the very least we should expected to be attractive and of architectural value.

Public Meeting: All SE1 readers (and others!) welcome:

'WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE ELEPHANT & CASTLE SHOPPING CENTRE'?

The Shopping Centre is owned by property developer Delancey. It wants to demolish the Centre and build new shops and 900+ new homes in its place. But before Delancey can demolish the Centre it must get planning permission from the local council, Southwark. It must also get Southwark Council’s permission for any new buildings it wants to build.

Delancey gave Southwark its plans for the new shops and homes before Christmas. Delancey’s plans raise two big questions;

Will there be new shops for local traders?
Will there be new homes for local people?

Southwark Council is now asking what local traders and local residents think of Delancey’s plans and we must make our voices heard.

The Elephant Amenity Network is a group of local people that campaigns for a better deal from the Elephant’s regeneration. In this public meeting we invite all local people to discuss Delancey’s plans for the Shopping Centre – what we think of them and how we want them changed. We are being supported by the Southwark Green Party and other groups and campaigns.

The meeting will on Tuesday February 28th at 7pm
Venue: Tesco’s First Floor unit (above Tescos shop)

All are welcome – come and join us!



Delancey’s plans for the Shopping Centre can be seen above.
You can make comments to the Council here on this online form. It’s simple to use:

http://commentform.herokuapp.com/

To clarify, access for the meeting is on the 1st floor of the shopping centre, is it? Forgive me for being dense.

Just laying my cards on the table, I find the current plans very depressing. In fact it's not a plan it's an assortment of random rectangles jammed in all over the place.

The dual carriageway bit of Newington Butts can be bleak at the moment but having a load of 50-storey towers looming right up to the edge of the pavement is not exactly an improvement. What was the point of the 'improvements' to the roundabout if not to try and make it a nicer place to be? How are these massive monoliths helping achieve the same goal? Where's the actual plan with any architectural consistency and merit, that is designed for people to live in and around?

If that's what they end up building then I'm glad there's no social housing because it looks absolutely awful and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I don't know who's going to buy a plasterboard box looking out on a 6-lane dual carriageway but I suppose the developers will find enough idiots to make a profit.

I have a suspicion that I cannot be the only resident in SE1 who just can't wait to see this disgraceful shopping centre finally demolished - and who just wants a pleasant place to shop and have a coffee / drink / snack / meal.

Plus: the application plans show that there will be a new tube station, new public open spaces, easier links to the rail station and walking routes through the railway arches - although none of this positive stuff is mentioned in the agenda for the meeting...

I understand and accept concerns about thriving local businesses - but just trying to get a little Balance to the debate and ask that people consider the bigger picture in terms of how transformative this project could be for the Elephant.

Very impressive about time

I agree the shopping centre is disgraceful, and the London College of Communication is hideous as well. But that doesn't mean we should settle for any old rubbish they designed on a Friday afternoon. We'll get rid of two ugly monstrosities only for ten more, ten times the size, to land in their place.

Back to the drawing board please, give us something worth ten more years of living around a massive building site.

Yes, the meeting next Tuesday is above the Tescos, entrance on the first floor. It's the old space Tescos used to have open for clothes and all back in the day.

Leafleting today for next week's meeting, it's clear that none of the traders in the Shopping Centre shops and cafes, stalls and kisoks or the outside market have any clear idea of whats happening in terms of both demolition and relocation strategy from Delancey. Everyone asking us 'Whats happening? When is the demolition?'.

It's staggering that for such a huge development with a shiny corporate image, slick website and community engagement consultants on board that traders who are mostly pretty hand to mouth still don't have any idea of their future.