£50k in grants awarded for local projects

16 July 2024
Community Groups holding giant cheques
£50k funding for community groups

The Elephant and Castle Town Centre team and Get Living have announced the successful applicants for the third round of the Inspiring Elephant Community Fund.

This annual, £50,000 fund provides grants to local groups, supporting short-term projects and contributing to longer-term community initiatives focused on Health and Wellbeing, Youth Development and Training, and the Cost of Living and Sustainability.

Fourteen successful applicants will receive grants ranging from £2,000 to £4,500, aiding various local community initiatives. These projects focus on combating inequality and supporting disability groups, senior citizens, and members of the BAME community.

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Public consultation on the Town Centre

8 July 2024
Illustration of potential West Site scheme
Illustration of the potential West Site scheme

Get Living is consulting on revised plans for phase three of the Elephant and Castle Town Centre development. This consultation concerns the West Site (currently home to London College of Communication).

The revised plans for this final phase of the development include more homes, improved environmental sustainability and changes to ensure the scheme complies with the latest building safety regulations.

Two public consultation sessions will be held at the Castle Centre next week with a third session held online.

The two drop-in sessions at the Castle Centre will take place on 16 and 18 July from 15:00 to 19:00.

The online session (community webinar) will take place on 17 July from 18:00 to 19:30.

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Elefit Festival: 13 July

5 July 2024
Elefit Festival
Elefit Festival

Elefit returns to Castle Square on Saturday 13 July.

The Elefit festival is a free, feel-good, family day, full of health, exercise and wellness-focused fun.

Throughout the day, guests will be able to take part in a variety of classes including Qigong Flow, Afrobeat dance, chair yoga, writing, gardening, kick boxing and Latin dance Aerobics. There will also be a disco and music throughout the day.

The classes are run by local community groups who will introduce guests to new cultures, celebrating the multicultural neighbourhood of Elephant and Castle.

Elefit takes place in Castle Square, Elephant and Castle on Saturday 13 July, from 11am to 5pm.

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Clive Myrie named UAL Chancellor

17 June 2024
Clive Myrie
Clive Myrie, UAL Chancellor

University of the Arts, which includes London College of Communication (LCC), in Elephant and Castle, has announced Clive Myrie as its new Chancellor.

One of the BBC’s leading news anchors, Clive regularly presents the News at Six and Ten. He is an experienced foreign correspondent and also presents several other programmes for the BBC.

Clive, who has been a powerful advocate for the importance of storytelling and increasing representation both on and off screen, began his term as Chancellor with a visit to LCC in Elephant and Castle, where he met with students from its BA and MA Film and Television and Journalism courses.

Clive succeeds Sir Grayson Perry who served as Chancellor from 2015-2023.

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Southwark Climate Day

10 June 2024
Southwark Climate Change Day 2024
Southwark Climate Change Day 2024

Southwark Climate Day is a free community event taking place on Saturday 22 June at London Southbank University Hub, Elephant and Castle.

It’s an informal, drop-in event, open to everyone. So turn-up at at any time and stay for as long as you like. Throughout the morning, you can get free repairs, fix-up your bike, learn from inspiring speakers or brush up on climate friendly skills in practical workshop sessions.

The event will run from 10am to 2pm.

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Fiesta Latina Procession

3 June 2024
Fiesta Latina
Fiesta Latina & BOS Fest: Sat 8 June

Get ready to dance the day away on Saturday 8 June with Elephant and Castle’s Fiesta Latina Procession.

The parade begins in Castle Square at 10:30am.

The Latin dancers and performers will proceed all the way to Crossbones in Bankside with traditional music throughout the route. At Bankside they will link up with the Bankside Open Spaces (BOS) Festival which starts at midday.

This year’s BOS festival features four stages of free, live music and DJs, dance lessons, sport workshops and a fantastic street market.

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The Big Lunch

28 May 2024
The Big Lunch
The Big Lunch

Head down to Castle Square on 1 June for The Big Lunch.

The Big Lunch is a free, community event. It’s a a great opportunity to get together with friends and family and meet your neighbours.

You can expect great music, free face-painting and a host of food vendors serving up dishes from across the globe including Coma Y Beba, Daddy O’s, El Guambra, Kaieteur Kitchen and Original Caribbean Spice. But please feel free to bring along your own picnic if you prefer.

The Babel Brass band will be providing live music – pop covers – throughout the day.

The Big Lunch takes place in Castle Square, Elephant and Castle on Saturday 1 June from 11am

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The Tree House wins RIBA London Award

14 May 2024
The Tree House: Elephant Park
The Tree House: Elephant Park

The Tree House in Elephant Park has won a prestigious architecture award.

Designed by Bell Phillips architects, The Tree House is a platform, promenade and community facility, which takes inspiration from the mature trees retained at Lendlease’s Elephant Park development.

The Tree House was envisaged as a hovering blade wrapped around the trunk of a tree. It creates a viewing platform in the tree canopy that doubles as a roof for the coffee shop, community space and public toilets at ground level.

The award, from the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), was presented on Friday.

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£75k available for your community projects

9 May 2023
Elephant and Castle Community Fund
2024 Fund now open

The 2024 Elephant and Castle Community Fund is open for applications.

Grants ranging from £3k to £12k are available for community projects that benefit people who live, work or study in the Elephant and Castle Opportunity Area.

This is the twelfth year of the Community Fund which is run by Lendlease, Southwark Council and Get Living, to support the local community. 

The deadline for applications is midday on Wednesday 12 June 2024.

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Elephant and Castle Careers Fair 2024

16 April 2024
Careers Fair 2024
Careers Fair 2024

Looking for a job or a change in career? Visit the Elephant and Castle Careers Fair.

Organised by the Elephant and Castle Town Centre team, in conjunction with Southwark College and the Deputy Mayor of Southwark, the Careers Fair will build on the success of last year’s event. It takes place at Southwark College on Thursday 27 June, 1pm-5pm.

This is a fantastic opportunity for young people in Southwark to learn about opportunities from employers and education providers from across a variety of sectors, including:

  • Public services
  • Construction
  • Property management
  • IT

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Market Operator wanted

8 April 2024
Liverpool Grove
Liverpool Grove

Southwark council is developing new market sites across the borough.

One of the sites is right here in Elephant and Castle at the junction of Walworth Road and Liverpool Grove.

The council is looking for an operator to offer a weekly (or daily) market that will complement the established businesses nearby. It’s an opportunity for a market operator to introduce new and innovative ideas for street trading that will benefit the local community.

This location can accommodate up to 20 stalls and consideration will be given to applicants who do not directly compete with East Street Market or nearby businesses.

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Town Centre celebrates ‘bottoming out’

11 March 2024
Bottoming out the new Tube station
Bottoming out the new Tube station

A major milestone in the construction of the new Elephant and Castle Town Centre was reached last week, with a ‘bottoming out’ ceremony held in (what will become) the new ticket hall for the Northern Line tube station.

The event marked the completion of the deepest point in the station upgrade.

The upgrade includes a new entrance to the Northern Line, step free access to the platforms (escalator and lift access) and a new integrated ticket hall for both the Northern and Bakerloo lines. It is the first piece of substantial infrastructure to support the proposed Bakerloo Line extension.

The new integrated ticket hall has been built and part-funded by Get Living, with Southwark Council and the GLA also joint funding the new station box and tunnel connections.

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Government urged to Back the Bakerloo

5 March 2024
Back the Bakerloo
The extension will benefit the whole UK

A new report, launched today, reveals the Bakerloo Line Upgrade and Extension could unlock 20,000 homes, create 10,000 jobs and deliver a £1.5 billion boost to the UK economy. But the project can only go ahead with Government backing.

The Bakerloo Line currently has the UK’s oldest rolling stock and is in need of constant repair. This project would upgrade the entire route, including new trains, and extend the Bakerloo Line from Elephant and Castle to Lewisham and on to Hayes – potentially delivering 14 new Tube stations for south east London.

Moving London Forward, the new report published by Central London Forward, reveals the full impact this project would have on London and the UK as a whole.

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Making Southwark exhibition opens

20 February 2024
Making Southwark exhibition
Making Southwark at the Heritage Centre

A new, free exhibition that explores Southwark’s industrial past and its ongoing influence on local creative industry opens at the Southwark Heritage Centre and Walworth Library, in Elephant and Castle, this week.

Making Southwark is an immersive exhibition that invites visitors to explore the borough’s artisanal heritage – including textile art, theatrical costume and craft work – emphasising its lasting mark and contribution to the contemporary creative landscape.

The heritage, art and archives collections contain a wealth of material and objects made by hand or machine; all innovations of their day and each telling unique stories from the borough’s famed past as an industrial working place.

Making Southwark runs until December 2024.

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£50k available for local projects

12 February 2024
Inspiring Elephant cheques
Previous grant recipients

The 2024 Inspiring Elephant Community Fund is now open for applications.

Launched by the Elephant and Castle Town Centre team and Get Living in 2022, this fund is providing £50k per year, over five years, to projects that support the local community.

The deadline to apply to this year’s fund is Wednesday 20 March.

The fund is aimed at projects that promote health and wellbeing; help young people; provide training; or provide activities that help with the cost of living and sustainability.

Local organisations can apply for up to £5k each and a panel of local community leaders – including members of the Community Hub and representatives from Get Living and Southwark Council – will consider the applications.

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Free entertainment to celebrate Lunar New Year

8 February 2024
Lunar New Year in Elephant and Castle
Lunar New Year in Elephant and Castle

Mercato Metropolitano and Elephant Park are teaming up for an exciting mix of entertainment across Elephant and Castle to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Taking place from 10 to 15 February, you can expect LED poi performers; an acrobatic and martial-arts inspired lion dance performance, plus an opportunity to usher out the old and bring in the new at a clothes swap event.

There will also be great food and drink and wellness promotions from the neighbourhood’s local and independent shops and traders.   

Most events are free and take place from 10 to 15 February (25 February for a clothes swap event).

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Una Marson Library

1 February 2024
Una Marson Library
Una Marson Library

Walworth’s newest library, at 62 Thurlow Street, has its official opening today.

Named after the pioneering BBC programme maker, Una Marson, this is the third new public library opened by Southwark Council in four years.

As well as all the traditional services you’d expect – such as book and DVD loans, newspapers, free Wi-Fi and public access PCs – the library also offers bookable meeting rooms, an innovation space and a full programme of engaging events.

Una Marson, a Jamaican-born feminist, arrived in the UK in 1932 and went on to became the BBC’s first Black programme maker during the Second World War. In 2009 a Blue Plaque was unveiled at her former home on Brunswick Square in Camberwell.

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Free workshops at Walworth Garden

15 January 2024
Walworth Garden improvements
Walworth Garden

As well as training the next generation of environmental gardeners, Walworth Garden runs creative, botanical workshops at the weekend. This year’s sessions resume on Saturday 27 January and are free for Southwark residents.

Walworth Garden is a charity dedicated to knowledge and nurture, providing environmental learning opportunities at all levels, and accessible social and therapeutic horticulture.

The charity, which received CIL funding in 2021 and was also one of the first to receive funding through the Elephant and Castle Community Fund, runs an award winning, organic, community garden that’s open to all, seven days a week.

Walworth Garden is committed to celebrating, empowering and inspiring the local community and regularly offers free places on courses to Southwark Residents.

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IWM reveals programme for year ahead

2 January 2024
The Imperial War Museum
The Imperial War Museum, Elephant and Castle

The Imperial War Museum London (IWM) has announced its programme for 2024.

Highlights include Storyteller a major exhibition of work by the war photographer, Tim Hetherington, and Churchill in Cartoons, portraying the wartime leader’s life through a series of artworks and illustrations.

This summer also marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day, and the museum will commemorate the Allied operation, which precipitated the end of WW2, with a range of events and family activities.

IWM is just one of three fantastic museums in Elephant and Castle – alongside the Southwark Heritage Centre and the Cinema Museum – so why not make 2024 the year you visit them all?

Find out more about what’s in store at IWM in 2024

Read archived news from last year (2023)