Southwark Council has selected a consortium led by Lend Lease for the ambitious £1.5bn regeneration scheme to redevelop the Elephant & Castle district of south London. Lend Lease and its partners First Base and Oakmayne beat competition from St Modwen, owner of the existing shopping centre.
At 170 acres, the project is described as the biggest regeneration scheme in London. Southwark Council's top priorities are both affordable housing and quality retail space, replacing the brutal 60s architecture of the Heygate Estate and the run-down shopping centre.
The existing mall will be replaced by an open-air shopping scheme linking the rail and underground stations with the planned Cross-River Tram. The plans also include more than 6,000 new homes, leisure facilities, two major new public parks, a cinema, civic square and a new pool.
Lend Lease Europe chairman Nigel Hugill said: "We, and our partners, are obviously delighted. Certainly, it has been a long road, but the pace of change already taking place on the ground tells you everything about what can now be achieved.
"Big mistakes were made only 30 years ago, but the preparedness of Southwark and the Mayor to face up to the enormous resulting challenges with a commitment to quality and to the community is another clear sign of London's renewed confidence. The reconstruction of Elephant & Castle can become another example of London showing the rest of the world how things can now be done."
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