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Big boost for Elephant businesses

22 August 2006

Businesses trading in Elephant and Castle’s red 1960s shopping centre will be offered new discounted trading space in the regeneration area in a groundbreaking planning deal agreed this week by Southwark Council.

Oakmayne Properties will this year start developing one of the first major schemes in the £1.5 billion redevelopment of the area: a striking mixed-use development with a 214 room hotel, five screen arts cinema, 219 homes, 5 restaurants, and 15 retail units, adjoining a bustling market square. 

The council has used its powers as a local planning authority to secure all retail space in the development on a first refusal basis for businesses trading within the existing shopping centre. In addition, 5 retail units and one restaurant unit will be affordable business units; offering stepped rents to enable businesses to adjust in the transition period.

Councillor Richard Thomas, executive member for regeneration, said:
‘70% of local businesses have told us they want to continue trading in the area, which is fantastic. We have long said that supporting local businesses to continue trading in Elephant and Castle is a key priority and brokering planning deals to the advantage of these businesses is one of the ways that we can enable this.'

'As far as we know a planning deal of this type hasn’t been tried elsewhere – it is unique. It is a sign of our commitment to economic continuity for traders in the area which we hope can be replicated in other planning agreements in the area.'

Claudette Forbes, director of regeneration at the London Development Agency, said:

‘The LDA already provides help and assistance to small businesses in Southwark particularly in the Elephant and Castle area and we plan to extend and strengthen this support soon. We understand the difficulties faced by some of the businesses affected by the revitalisation of the Elephant and Castle and this extra assistance will be used to help viable existing and new small businesses benefit from this important regeneration project.’
 
Southwark Council’s regeneration masterplan for Elephant and Castle has rejected a ‘Bluewater’ style development model that would favour only national multiple companies. Instead, an open-streets approach is being pursued featuring five times the current amount of retail and leisure space.

‘Our plans are to redesign the Elephant in such away that avoids the clone town character of a single, institutionally-owned mall in favour of the open streets and pavement environment that we know provides a much more viable setting for small and local businesses’, said Cllr Thomas.