Elephant and Castle shopping centre to close as massive redevelopment of area kicks off

Elephant and Castle shopping centre is set to close at the end of the month as part of a massive development in the area.
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Rebecca Speare-Cole17 September 2020

Elephant and Castle shopping centre is set to close at the end of the month as part of a massive development in the area.

The concrete mall will be demolished to make way nearly 1,000 new homes and a new university campus for the London College of Communication.

The scheme, which was fiercely opposed by locals, was approved by the Mayor of London's office in December 2018.

It comes as part of a wider £3 billion regeneration that will create an open-air pedestrianised town centre.

Elephant & Castle over the years - in pictures

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From midnight on September 24, the area will be shut as the redevelopment begins. It is expected to take five years to complete.

From that date, there will be no more access to Elephant and Castle railway station or the Northern line through the shopping centre and link bridge.

Thameslink services will continue to operate as normal at the station during the work with passengers advised they can still use the main Elephant Road entrance.

Customer services Director Jenny Saunders said: “The shopping centre is the usual route for our passengers to reach the underground.

“Its closure may mean it takes people a bit longer to walk but we’ll have staff on hand to help passengers find their way.”

A spokesperson for Elephant and Castle town centre said: “As part of the redevelopment of Elephant and Castle town centre we are creating a new level access into the train station from the new town centre.

“This will replace the existing bridge which currently links the station with the shopping centre.

“The current link bridge between the station and the shopping centre cannot remain open during the redevelopment because all existing buildings on site will be demolished to make way for construction.

“There is no means to maintain a route through the existing shopping centre.

“We will continue to work closely with Govia Thameslink Railway to ensure there is minimal disruption for commuters during the closure.

“Once the development is completed commuters will have new and improved level access into the train station from the new town centre from the ground floor of the development.”