An eighteen-storey office block in Elephant and Castle has been given planning permission – one year after Southwark Council tried to block it.
Councillors refused Lendlease’s planning application in October 2022, deeming the building excessively tall and “bulky”.
But Lendlease appealed against that decision and, on Thursday, November 30, a government planning inspector officially overturned Southwark Council’s ruling.
Consequently, Lendlease has permission to build a 48,750sqm office block – the ‘last piece of the jigsaw’ on Elephant Park.
Local campaigners, named COH1 Objectors, are disappointed by the decision. They had argued that, given Elephant Park is on the site of the demolished Heygate Estate, affordable housing would have been more suitable than offices.
In October last year, councillors on Southwark’s planning committee rejected the planning application because of its “excessive height, massing and bulk”.
Cllr Kath Whittam felt it was so big she compared it to “Ayer’s Rock”, an 863-metre-tall sandstone monolith in the Australian outback.
But the planning inspector disagreed, writing in his decision notice: “It would not appear as a building that is too tall, or too big – it would appear as a building that has a contrasting form to the buildings around it.
“It would be different, obviously, but in a way that would be pleasing.”
At the inquiry, campaigners argued that given affordable housing was demolished to make way for Elephant Park, new affordable housing would be preferable to offices.
But the inspector said campaigners’ arguments hinged on a London Plan Policy H8 – a policy that wasn’t in place when the Elephant Park scheme was approved in 2013.
The inspector said: “There is no policy basis, therefore, for a conclusion that housing and affordable housing would be a better use for the site.”
He also noted that both the Southwark Plan and London Plan said the site was a suitable place for offices.
Southwark Council, Lendlease and local campaigners all gave evidence at the planning inquiry, which lasted from September 12 to September 22.
Designed by architects ACME, the office building is the last piece of Lendlease’s £2.5billion Elephant Park regeneration project and will provide workspace for up to 4,000 people.
Following its victory at the inquiry, a spokesperson for Lendlease said: A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “On a project that is delivering over 3,000 new homes in central London, this building will complement the emerging town centre development and help local independent businesses to thrive, as well as provide a new community health hub.
“With workspace for up to 4,000 people, it will drive footfall to the retailers, first-rate leisure amenities and world-class education in the surrounding area; and we know it will be a significant draw for businesses seeking space for their teams in a zone one location.”
A spokesperson for COH1 Objectors said: “We are naturally very disappointed that the Inspector has overturned the Council’s decision to reject this application, which we believe was the correct decision.
“Instead of the housing, including affordable housing, that we were originally promised would be built on the H1 site, we will now be getting a giant office block. We will be reading the decision notice very carefully and discussing the situation with our legal representatives.”
Cllr Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes & Sustainable Development, said: “Whilst disappointing, we recognise the potential benefits for the town centre from this scheme, and will be working with the developer to ensure that our ambition for a state-of-the-art health centre along with other community benefits are realised.”
Already we are beginning to see the monster that will be elephant and castle . Massive building encroaching on what used to be the public realm …now this monstrosity …shame on you all