Elephant & Castle

Lend Lease, the integrated property and infrastructure company which is delivering the Elephant & Castle regeneration in partnership with Southwark Council, this week submitted a detailed planning application for the 0.56 hectare St Mary’s site. The 37-storey building will be the tallest residential tower ever to meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. It will also house 284 homes in a Zone One location.

Rob Deck, Lend Lease’s Elephant and Castle Project Director, said:  “Our proposals for the St Mary’s development represent an important milestone in sustainable urban living. We will create a place which has not only high-quality homes and impressive design and architecture, but which also enables residents to reduce their carbon footprint and live in a healthy environment where they interact in community gardens and spaces.”

“Lend Lease is committed to the regeneration of Elephant and Castle and St Mary’s will set the benchmark in quality design and sustainable development for the wider area. Most importantly, the redevelopment will enable Southwark Council to create a brand new leisure centre for the local community and the wider public to enjoy.”

Located across from the Elephant & Castle underground station, and adjacent to the St Mary’s churchyard park and community leisure centre, the site forms a vital part of Southwark Council’s £1.5bn regeneration of the Elephant & Castle.  Designed by Squire and Partners, the development will consist of a 37-storey residential building and an adjoining four storey pavilion with a residents’ roof garden and 7,000 sq ft of ground floor quality shops, restaurants and creative business space.

Sustainable living will be achieved through the inclusion of features such as an outdoor living space for every apartment (many with a planted garden space); drainage systems that re-use rainwater for landscaping and water features; ventilation that provides 100% clean air inside the homes; and the latest technologies to supply clean and efficient energy, water and power.

Through the proposed redevelopment plans Lend Lease will enable Southwark Council to build a £20million state-of-the-art leisure centre for the local community and the wider public. The council see this new centre as a vital part of the social and community infrastructure that is needed to support the regeneration of the area.

Councillor Peter John, Leader of Southwark Council, said: “Local people have long asked for better facilities, with swimming pool to match, and I am delighted that they will now watch it happen; I am certain it will exceed their expectations when it completes. It will be the icing on the cake in a part of central London that’s seeing such an exciting transformation. We’ve already moved fast to begin this project, and the waiting will soon be over as plans become a reality.”

The application has been received by the council who will commence the process of assessment and consultation prior to a decision at Planning Committee expected in late 2012.