TfL considers commercial development above Elephant Tube Station

Last summer Southwark Council revealed that a new funding package for transport improvements at Elephant & Castle – including the removal of the roundabout and the rebuilding of the Northern line ticket hall with escalators rather than lifts – had been agreed with Transport for London and the Greater London Authority.

Now TfL says that it is looking at how "over-site development proposals" could "help strengthen the business case" for the tube station improvements at Elephant & Castle.

The revelation that the air rights above the tube station could be exploited comes in a report prepared for TfL's projects and planning panel, and suggests that the question of the funding of transport infrastructure at the Elephant is not yet fully settled.

Recent indications have been that the entrance to the new Northern line escalators would be integrated into the redevelopment of the Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre planned by its new owners.

New designs for the future road layout at the roundabout will be published next week whilst detailed proposals for the tube station are not expected to be revealed until late next year.