Southwark approves St Mary's tower in Elephant and Castle

The scheme will see the development of a 37-storey tower to comprise 284 new homes as well as an adjoining four storey pavilion and ground floor shops and restaurants. The development will be on the site of a former swimming pool and will be located across from the Elephant and Castle underground station. The leisure centre will be located next to the tower on the site of the former Elephant and Castle Leisure Centre, which is currently being demolished.

The tower development will not provide any affordable housing as this has been assessed to be unviable. The committee's recommendation for the tower includes a proposed section 106 agreement under which the developer will make a contribution of £3.5 million towards the delivery of the leisure centre. The £3.5m is the equivalent amount to what the scheme could have otherwise contributed towards off-site affordable housing. The committee said it had proposed a contribution towards the leisure centre instead as this was a key policy objective for the area.

The tower application will now be subject to approval by the Mayor of London. If approved, work is scheduled to start on the site in the summer 2013 and to complete by December 2015. The leisure centre is expected to be complete in the autumn 2014.

“The decision to give the go ahead for our St Mary’s Residential plans is the most significant milestone to date in the £1.5bn regeneration of Elephant & Castle, said Lend Lease Elephant and Castle project director Rob Deck according to reports. "The development will offer exceptionally located homes which put sustainability, comfort and modern lifestyle at the heart of the design. St Mary’s Residential is also a bold visual marker for the wider regeneration of the area. We’re also very pleased that the decision will enable the brand new public leisure centre to be built, a vital facility for the community.”

“I’m delighted that this scheme has been given the go-ahead," said Southwark council leader Peter John. "While the residential tower will provide brand new homes, the greater significance of this scheme for the broader regeneration of Elephant is that it means we can deliver a brand new £20m state-of-the-art leisure centre. It will allow us to deliver the much-anticipated swimming pool that local people have been calling for, for so long and will completely transform the council’s leisure provision in the heart of the borough.”

The developments are part of the wider £1.5 billion regeneration of the Elephant and Castle area. This also includes plans for the regeneration of the Heygate Estate by Lend Lease as well as plans to redevelop the Elephant and Castle shopping centre by developer St Modwen.