Southwark council has signed developer agreements to kick-start the £1.5bn regeneration of Elephant and Castle, as revealed by Estates Gazette last month.
At a cabinet meeting late last night, the council entered into a co-operation agreement with KPI – a St Modwen led joint venture and Salhia Real Estate – and with Lend Lease for Elephant & Castle’s regeneration.
A specific agreement was also signed with KPI over the significant redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre.
Plans are still at an early stage, but the redevelopment will include a major extention and will cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
A third and final agreement was penned between the council and its development partner Lend Lease taking account of the new approach to the overall regeneration in the area.
With responsibility for redeveloping the shopping centre now falling to KPI, Lend Lease will concentrate on developing the 25-acre Heygate Estate, where demolition work is under way.
A spokesman for St Modwen said: “It marks a significant milestone for the wider regeneration of the area. The decision is a major fillip for both KPI and Southwark towards realising our joint ambition of delivering a new Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre.
“The next steps for KPI, the council and Lend Lease are to work on the detail of the new co-operation and regeneration agreements and begin wider consultation on the scheme proposals.”
Fiona Colley, cabinet member for regeneration at Southwark council, said, “This agreement is a major step to accelerate the transformation of the shopping centre, which could now happen within the next few years, rather than towards the end of the 15 year regeneration process which could otherwise have been the case.”
Nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
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