Elephant & Castle £1.5bn Regeneration | Southwark | Approved

[tsweaver]

lend lease's masterplan now has outline planning permission n the demolition also has official permission to begin...when i don't know

[SE9]

Perhaps the thread title can be changed to Elephant & Castle £1.5bn Redevelopment | Southwark | Approved ...

Bloomberg - Lend Lease Wins Approval for $2.4 Billion London Project

Building Design - Make's Heygate estate plans approved by Southwark

Evening Standard - New Heygate: ‘It looks nice, but where’s the affordable housing?’

[woodgnome]

Southwark Council has accidentally revealed details of its top-secret agreement with developer Lend Lease for the regeneration of the Heygate Estate at Elephant & Castle.

[paulina_1]

London 360 tower update:
http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/6603

[paulina_1]

Guardian piece : E/C Regeneration - what are the rights and wrongs?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog

[Rational Plan]

http://www.costar.co.uk/en/assets/ne...housing-hitch/

Lend Lease is planning a bid to buy a joint venture stake in the Elephant & Castle shopping centre in south London but cannot do so until there is clarity from owner St Modwen and Southwark council on the number of homes allowed on the site, CoStar News understands.

St Modwen appointed Colliers to find a joint venture partner or investors to help fund its development plans for the pink mall in December of last year.

St Modwen has worked up initial plans to increase the retail at the centre in south London as well as building up to 1,000 homes above it.

The group, which owns the centre in a joint venture with Salhia Real Estate, plans to be on site in 2015 with plans that expand it from the current 135,000 sq ft of shops and 90,000 sq ft of leisure and 90,000 sq ft of offices to include 350,000 sq ft of retail and up to 1,000 apartments.

The apartments will be built above the centre.

Australian developer Lend Lease which is Southwark council's development partner on the wider regeneration of the Elephant & Castle including the redevelopment of the nearby Heygate Estate is understood to be keen to bid for the stake.

However, any bid will not happen until there is agreement on the number of houses that could be developed above the centre.

Southwark council and Lend Lease believe that the site should only house around 500 homes while St Modwen's initial indications are that up to 1,000 could be built there.

St Modwen is understood to have received significant interest in the centre stake but is yet to enter discussions with one party. It is also yet to finalise the number of residential units it proposes to build ahead of lodging its planning application.

There will however need to be agreement reached between the three parties before they can conclude a co-operation agreement on the redevelopment of the centre.

Council leader Peter John confirme to CoStar News that the council was likely to only support around 500 homes at the site given the amount of housing coming forward in the rest of the area.

That sort of size means they are looking at a couple of small department stores. A Marks and a Debenhams/Primark prehaps?

That's about as high as they could realistically aim

[Officer Dibble]

Originally Posted by Rational Plan

That's about as high as they could realistically aim

I don't see why. E&C is set to become a smart residential area in zone 1; it should be able to attract a John Lewis or Selfridges or whatever.

[Officer Dibble]

Originally Posted by paulina_1

Guardian piece : E/C Regeneration - what are the rights and wrongs?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/davehillblog

One. What should "regeneration" be for?

Two: Can we regenerate without hurting the poorest most?

Three: When, if ever, is it right to redevelop land containing housing estates deemed to have failed?

Four: Is it right to create a new "mixed community" if it means breaking up a less mixed established one?

Five: Are there better ways to create more homes, jobs and amenities than through "comprehensive regeneration" in partnership with private developers?

Six: Are taller buildings always bad?

Seven: Is greater building density always bad?

Eight: Should the wishes of local people come first?

Nine: If councils don't "unlock land values" what is the cost?

And finally, an easy one.

Ten: What should London's planning priorities be?

1. I think regeneration means improving a shabby (and often deteriorating) area by building enough decent new stuff (replacing some of the old if necessary/possible) to give the area enough of a new lease of life to push it past the tipping point beyond which it will prosper (or at least not deteriorate) without further intervention.

2. Strange question. Usually the poorest benefit most.

3. Strange question. Always.

4. Probably, but there isn't necessarily a need to 'break up' the old community, just add some new elements to it.

5. Yes, though comprehensive regeneration is not a bad start with respect to homes and amenities. But to create more homes I'd sweep away "affordable" homes targets, most building regs and much of the planning system and let supply respond to demand in the housing market. That wouldn't hurt the job market either.

6. Strange question. No. They're often very good.

7. Strange question. No, in a city it's almost always good.

8. My view is that they should always be solicited and considered, but that they need not necessarily be decisive: as in any planning process there's a balance to be struck between competing interests.

9. It depends - there may obviously be a waste of potential revenue for the local authority. It may also be a sign that they're letting the area down by not allowing it to achieve its potential.

10. Reform the planning system such that housing supply responds to demand, both in terms of quantity (so that house prices come down to affordable levels) and quality (so that new homes are attractive to their residents).

[Rational Plan]

Originally Posted by Officer Dibble

I don't see why. E&C is set to become a smart residential area in zone 1; it should be able to attract a John Lewis or Selfridges or whatever.

It'll take more than a transformed Heygate to provide a big enough market for those sort of stores, especially when they are only 15 minutes away on the tube.

Elephant & Castle will never be a 'Smart' address. There are too many council estates and too much post war development. It will certainly gentrify, but how far remains to be seen.

[kwastell]

Originally Posted by Officer Dibble

1. I think regeneration means improving a shabby (and often deteriorating) area by building enough decent new stuff (replacing some of the old if necessary/possible) to give the area enough of a new lease of life to push it past the tipping point beyond which it will prosper (or at least not deteriorate) without further intervention.

2. Strange question. Usually the poorest benefit most.

3. Strange question. Always.

4. Probably, but there isn't necessarily a need to 'break up' the old community, just add some new elements to it.

5. Yes, though comprehensive regeneration is not a bad start with respect to homes and amenities. But to create more homes I'd sweep away "affordable" homes targets, most building regs and much of the planning system and let supply respond to demand in the housing market. That wouldn't hurt the job market either.

6. Strange question. No. They're often very good.

7. Strange question. No, in a city it's almost always good.

8. My view is that they should always be solicited and considered, but that they need not necessarily be decisive: as in any planning process there's a balance to be struck between competing interests.

9. It depends - there may obviously be a waste of potential revenue for the local authority. It may also be a sign that they're letting the area down by not allowing it to achieve its potential.

10. Reform the planning system such that housing supply responds to demand, both in terms of quantity (so that house prices come down to affordable levels) and quality (so that new homes are attractive to their residents).

I'm actually in favour of the E&C regeneration. Been at uni there for the past three years and parts of the area feel pretty unsafe.

However, with regards to your supply and demand point: Is that market not completely unbalanced by the volume of non-London residents buying up new homes in zones 1 and 2 as part of a property portfolio? And subsequently are affordable home targets not designed to increase social mobility instead of driving the poorest further out of town?

I'm all for the greater integration of classes. I think that controls are needed to put right the massive errors created when huge 60s/70s council estates further exacerbated London's problems of class segregation.

[potto]

Originally Posted by Rational Plan

Elephant & Castle will never be a 'Smart' address. There are too many council estates and too much post war development. It will certainly gentrify, but how far remains to be seen.

It could have been before the plans were watered down by the various developers haggling over it

[potto]

Originally Posted by kwastell

I'm all for the greater integration of classes. I think that controls are needed to put right the massive errors created when huge 60s/70s council estates further exacerbated London's problems of class segregation.

Also most estates were less dense than the urban topography they replaced and certainly turn large areas of land into inflexible places akin to a conservation area thereby exasperating the current housing crisis.

[kerouac1848]

Towards the north and west I can see the place improving drastically. There is a decent supply of Victorian and Edwardian housing stock, it's next to Kennington and Lambeth (the small area, not borough), nearer to central London and transport options are better. St. George's road and streets off it are showing signs of smartening up now. I can see many of those low-rise developments built during the 1990s washed away over time

East of the rail viaduct is a bit different, especially south of Heygate - i.e. Walworth proper. Although Walworth Road isn't the worst street in London it still looks pretty tatty. You're also getting closer to the transport 'black hole' around Camberwell and Burgess Park.

[Officer Dibble]

Originally Posted by Rational Plan

Elephant & Castle will never be a 'Smart' address.

I don't buy it. The same was frequently said 50 or 60 years ago of Notting Hill, Pimlico and Islington.

[paulina_1]

Originally Posted by Rational Plan

Elephant & Castle will never be a 'Smart' address. There are too many council estates and too much post war development. It will certainly gentrify, but how far remains to be seen.

Same could be said for Bermondsey, Bankside in fact for many areas across London where the opposite has been proved.

Elephant/Kennington has 5 or more squares that rival anything north of the river - Cleaver square, Chester way, Saint marys gardens, Walcott square, West square, Sutherland square as some examples. It has a broad framework of excellent pre-war architecture - many still unoccupied which could be or are in the process of being reconditioned - see Safe-Stay conversion of former Labour party headquarters, Cinema Museum conversion of former Lambeth workhouse as recent examples. Add to this the interesting and fresh new architecture being nurtured by Southwark council - see Faraday School, Brandon St housing and Archway Studios as some examples.

If you look outside the Heygate estate itself, there are many smart and charming neighborhoods. In terms of the regeneration plans, top down planning is being well thought out (given the amount of time for the ideas to mature) and challenged by grass root opposition who are striking a good balance between existing and new. Take a walk around, you might be surprised whats already there. Attend a community forum, you might be surprised by projects taking place on the ground.

[Rational Plan]

Originally Posted by paulina_1

Same could be said for Bermondsey, Bankside in fact for many areas across London where the opposite has been proved.

Elephant/Kennington has 5 or more squares that rival anything north of the river - Cleaver square, Chester way, Saint marys gardens, Walcott square, West square, Sutherland square as some examples. It has a broad framework of excellent pre-war architecture - many still unoccupied which could be or are in the process of being reconditioned - see Safe-Stay conversion of former Labour party headquarters, Cinema Museum conversion of former Lambeth workhouse as recent examples. Add to this the interesting and fresh new architecture being nurtured by Southwark council - see Faraday School, Brandon St housing and Archway Studios as some examples.

If you look outside the Heygate estate itself, there are many smart and charming neighborhoods. In terms of the regeneration plans, top down planning is being well thought out (given the amount of time for the ideas to mature) and challenged by grass root opposition who are striking a good balance between existing and new. Take a walk around, you might be surprised whats already there. Attend a community forum, you might be surprised by projects taking place on the ground.

Well admittedly i have only been along the main roads in the area on Bus, so I must have missed these places. But While they area is clearly getting better and will continue to do so, it will not be getting a John Lewis(watch me have to eat my words) or House of Fraser anytime soon. It is too close to the West End for starters. These bigger department stores draw trade from wide areas. Stores like Marks and Debenhams can trade in much smaller markets and are therefore likely to appear at one stage in it's development cycle.

I suspect that independent stores are more likely to grow in the new heygate estate rather than the expanded shopping centre.

[486]

Originally Posted by Officer Dibble

I don't buy it. The same was frequently said 50 or 60 years ago of Notting Hill, Pimlico and Islington.

I don't buy it either, it's far too close to Vauxhall and Westminster to remain under-developed.

If Woolwich town centre can be transformed into a desirable location to work and live, anything can, so nothing is off limits.

[tuten]

If you take a walk down Walworth road then you will notice many modern developments and plenty of colourful buildings. If you go past the markets there is a lovely row of Georgian/Victorian frontages.

Haygate and the shopping centre ruin the area obviously, but when they are redeveloped I can see E&C becoming a very desirable area for young professionals.

[tripleseis]

There's a surprising amount of nice houses just off the Walworth Road (to the west of the rail viaduct) with nice quiet little squares/streets. There's also some nice pre-war social blocks of flats to the east of Walworth Road (probably Peabody housing). The street itself is very shabby but there are signs it's changing.

Another area to watch will be Coldharbour Lane in Brixton. Lots of nice old houses between Brixton and Loughborough Junction. Some still appear to be divided into flats (and in need of some care) but I can see this changing in a few years when Brixton gentrifies even more (especially if they ever decide to re-open East Brixton station).

[bazzup]

Originally Posted by 486

If Woolwich town centre can be transformed into a desirable location to work and live...

That remains to be seen, surely?