The AJ100 practice’s scheme, which was submitted to Southwark Council in April last year, contains detailed plans drawn up for the final phase of the £1.5 billion Elephant and Castle town centre masterplan, originally approved in 2019.
A Southwark Council planning committee voted unanimously yesterday (23 March) to approve the application and grant listed building consent for minor work affecting the Grade II-listed Metropolitan Tabernacle church.
However, councillors had expressed concerns over the impact to heritage assets and nearby conservation areas, as well as the lower than originally approved affordable housing numbers – dropping from 33 per cent down to 28 per cent by habitable rooms.
The consented proposal nearly doubles the number of units planned for the site currently occupied by the London College of Communication, University Arts London (UAL) building, on the western part of the consented masterplan.
The earlier 2019 plans included 498 homes within three residential towers with maximum heights of 19, 23, and 34-storeys, together with mansion-style blocks. Of these previously approved homes, 49 were to be for affordable rent and 116 for social rent.
The revised scheme, for developer and property manager Get Living, still has three towers, though the 19-storey housing block (known as W1) has been replaced by a 22-storey student accommodation tower with 452 units.
The two remaining 23 and 34-storey residential towers will provide 382 units and three six-storey mansion blocks will provide 125 homes – nine more than in the 2019 scheme.
The residential towers have been altered since the original consent to accommodate the homes which were planned for the third tower, including an increase in height to house a second staircase and fire lift to align with updated building regulations.
Proposed retail space facing Pastor Street has been replaced with nine additional homes, increasing the total number of non-student accommodation homes to 507, of which 165 will be designated affordable.
Other updates include tweaks to the footprint of the towers and the accommodation of second staircases and newer sustainability credentials.
The proposals also plan for the retention of part of the existing LCC Workshop Building as a cultural venue inspired by the Brutalist architecture of the 1960s UAL building its scheme will replace.
That includes retaining an outdoor staircase neighbouring the Metropolitan Tabernacle, a Grade II-listed Baptist Reformed church located opposite Elephant and Castle roundabout.
The chair of the Southwark’s planning committee, Richard Livingstone, said: ‘This is one that I have been torn over. The scheme is larger and there are some additional heritage impacts, and given that when we approved the previous scheme it was coming with a fully compliant affordable housing provision.’
Livingstone noted, though, that support from the housing secretary could mean that refusing the application would result in the developer coming back with a significantly lower affordable housing figure. He ultimately voted in favour of the proposal, in line with the officer’s recommendation and his fellow councillors, but did admit that his decision was a ‘near-run thing’.
The first phase of the Elephant and Castle masterplan, known as Elephant Central, completed in 2017. It includes 374 homes for rent, 278 student homes, and 6,100m² of commercial space with a supermarket, gym and nursery.
The second phase, known as the East Site, is currently under construction and set to complete later on in 2026. It comprises the masterplan’s main retail, leisure and workspace provision.
It will provide 12,542m² of retail and leisure space, 5,110m² of workspace, 485 homes, and new transport infrastructure including a new tube entrance to the Northern Line as well as a new university building for the London College of Communication.
Phase 2 commenced with the demolition of the existing shopping centre in October 2020.
Rick de Blaby, Get Living’s chief executive, said of the latest approval: ‘This planning consent represents the final piece of the jigsaw, enabling a regeneration of real and lasting importance – one that everyone can be proud of for generations to come.
‘With housing delivery in London at a critically low level and new home completions set to decline sharply from 2028, developments like this bringing forward essential affordable housing alongside open-market rental homes and student accommodation are even more important.
‘2026 is an exciting year for the Elephant, with new residents moving in this summer and retailers opening their doors later this year. None of this would be possible without our strong partnership with Southwark Council and the many other stakeholders that are on this journey with us.’
Get Living has said that the changes to Phase 3 would ensure ‘more robust sustainability credentials’ for the western site, as well as compliance with the Building Safety Act, adding a second staircase and fire evacuation lift.
Work on the UAL site is expected to begin in 2028.
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