Southwark’s £4 billion redevelopment generates prosperity for developers but a sense of loss for long-time locals.
Southwark’s regeneration centres on the £2.5 billion Elephant Park project, which promises a revitalised ‘up and coming area’. However, as luxury flats and new amenities emerge, long-time locals and minority traders face displacement as a result of surging rents and community upheaval.
Today, the Elephant and Castle neighbourhood is unrecognisable to many who grew up here.
Elephant Park’s claims it ‘brings together local traders.’ Yet, 40 out of 130 independent traders were displaced from the old shopping centre in 2018, a building that has been replaced by luxury flats, a nursery, a gym, two restaurants, and 25 retailers.
The last tenants were forced out of the Heygate Estate in 2013, the shopping centre and the Coronet closed in 2018; demolitions took place in 2021, and redevelopment soon followed. While the new flats are almost fully occupied, nearby social housing is being vacated midway through redevelopment.
John Otagburuagu, the director of Black Cowboy Coffee and Waffles, located at the shopping centre, told Artefact magazine in 2017: “Knocking it down completely, I mean, apart from calling it a tragedy, I don’t know what else to call it, wrenching the heart out of a community. You can improve certain things, you can make it look nicer, they can put some effort in rather than leaving it to rot.”
A historical landmark of Elephant and Castle, the Coronet, was a beloved theatre in business since 1879. It was ‘host to countless performers from Charlie Chaplin to Oasis’.
“We have been here for so long, and we will be really sad to go, but with the Elephant and Castle changing so much, so quickly, it’s become clear that the evolving character of the area is no longer right for a venue like ours,” Richard Littman, The Coronet’s director, told Artefact magazine in 2018.
Today, five traders are facing eviction from Elephant Park in a dispute over unpaid bills. The average rent in Southwark is £2,347, a 4.1 per cent increase since 2024. Rent in Elephant and Castle is even higher, averaging £592 per week.
The local traders have been given until November 10th to agree to the landlord’s terms. Fred Weston, sitting outside the local bike shop, tells me he’s been friends with them since 1998. He tells me how awful it is.
“They weren’t charged for energy, not since they moved in, then they got billed £3,000 or £4,000 all in one go. I feel for them, I hope it turns out okay for them. I really do,” he says.
Latin Elephant’s protest of the developers’ plans shows commitment to community preservation. However, organisers say protests were ignored aside from a few concessions.
Cultural venue Corsica Studios is also impacted by redevelopment. After 23 years in business in Elephant and Castle, it will shut next April, according to an agreement between Southwark’s planning authority and the property developers, Get Living. It will reopen in 2027.
Despite a privately patrolled park, ecological features, and QR code-enabled food delivery to your precise location, many locals sense a disconnect between developer promises and reality.
Residents divided
South-east London local Emmy Oso, back in Elephant and Castle after a year away, says in disbelief: “I honestly didn’t recognise it at all. I didn’t even realise this is where we’re at until I checked [the] maps. That’s crazy, man.”
“I love it here. So many great restaurants,” says Andrew McKenzie, who works in the City and has been a local since 2023.
“It’s a shame they’re tearing the LCC building down. I studied printing there,” says long-time resident Mike Longford. He says he’s concerned about the lack of shops now that tall residential buildings are being built.
Clearly, the new storefronts are divisive over whether they truly represent the interests of the Elephant and Castle community.
Timeline and community
Regeneration milestones:
Housing and development
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For those who remember the area before the Heygate Estate transformed into luxury flats and the shopping centre was demolished, the landscape feels unrecognisable.
Buildings and streets are constantly changing – shrinking in some places and expanding in others – reshaping both the physical environment and the social fabric of local life.
The regeneration takes place near some of the most deprived localities in England, such as East Walworth. The area’s challenge today is coexistence between the new affluent developments and entrenched deprivation.
Jamie Marshall lived locally in the 1990s, and remembers the bowling alley on the top floor of The London Palace, in the old complex. Nobody would use it, which is why it was great, and also why it shut down.
“The closure was caused by the demolition of the shopping centre as part of a regeneration programme in the area,” according to the London Palace homepage.
“It was at the very heart of the Elephant and Castle community and will be sorely missed by all of its patrons. Palace’s owner, Patrick Duffy, fought hard to keep the London Palace going, but eventually the developers got their way and the entire shopping complex was demolished to make way for new developments. Patrick is still searching for a new London venue, but it is a slow process.” The London Palace website reported.
Ruth Glass, who coined the term gentrification, writes in her book London: Aspects of Change: “London can never be taken for granted.”
At the heart of the area, opposite the Elephant and Castle railway station, Elephant Park hosts exhibits and events, and develops local sustainable initiatives. The park may be eco-friendly, but is it really so local-friendly?
While developers and incomers look forward to the completion of the regeneration, long-time residents describe a distinct sense of loss.
Featured image by Elephant+Castle