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Will the new Elephant and Castle shopping areas respond to the needs of local people?

The retail research undertaken by the Greater London Authority (GLA) and the London Borough of Southwark shows that out of every £10 spent by Southwark shoppers on comparison goods (i.e. goods other than day-to-day essentials), only £1 is spent in Southwark. To that extent, the needs of the local community are not being met at the present time. Not only are local people having to travel further to shop, it also means that the borough as a whole is losing the benefits of jobs and opportunities for investment in the local environment, as a consequence of this loss of income.

Town centres are stronger and more sustainable where they contain a mix of shopping types, i.e. a mix of national multiples, specialty shops and local outlets. It is noticeable that Bromley, Croydon, Kingston, Kings Road and parts of the West End which many local people travel to display this range of shopping types, as well as incorporating a mix of other leisure, arts and civic uses.

If the area becomes successful, won’t rents become too high for local businesses?

In the central area where concentrations of pedestrians will be greatest, it is fair to assume that the rent levels will be affordable only by the most successful traders. Away from the centre, rents will be expected to reduce accordingly, but a relationship will be established between the strength of an individual trading location and the rent cost of occupying premises. In other words, the competition for space will influence the rent levels in a particular location.

If the Elephant and Castle is going to become a successful destination for shoppers, then every business within the area will have to rethink how it can fully participate in those changed circumstances. It is essential that businesses start to think about that now.

Will there be room in the scheme for local retailers as well as for the big multiples?

In February 2004, the council adopted Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) called “A development framework for the Elephant and Castle” The plan acknowledges that there are very high levels of retail expenditure leakage from Southwark to the West End and other centres including Bromley and Croydon. This suggests that most Southwark shoppers are sufficiently dissatisfied with the shopping offered within the borough to make lengthy journeys to find the shops and services that they want.

The plan proposes to redress this problem by adding to the range and quality of shops in the borough and thereby increasing both the total number of shoppers in Southwark and the total retail expenditure.

The London Plan and Southwark’s own planning strategies identify the Elephant and Castle as the location in Southwark best able to accommodate a large increase in retailing floor space. The form proposed for this as outlined in the Elephant & Castle SPG is a northward extension of the Walworth Road leading to a new mixed-use town centre, roughly where the shopping centre is today, that will bring back Southwark’s shoppers and attract customers from further afield.

Within the area, the plan intends that major retailers will congregate in the central area, giving way to more local shops and businesses along Walworth Road, Newington Causeway, London Road, Heygate Street, New Kent Road, etc.

In the development framework (Section 3) the council sets out its commitment to supporting the transfer of the existing businesses and the local employment that they provide to new addresses within the framework area. This is to be achieved by providing tailored support and information to help businesses find new premises and to adjust their business plans to take advantage of the expected increases in customer numbers.

How is the ‘car free’ idea going to work?

The introduction of the Congestion Charge in February 2003 has substantially reduced car traffic flows in the roads leading to, from and through the Elephant. Over the same period Walworth Road bus numbers have increased substantially. The general thrust of the London Plan is to support improvements that will encourage more journeys to be made by public transport, on foot or by cab or bike.

In practice, the customer numbers that the Elephant and Castle will need to attract could not possibly be accommodated by car use, hence the emphasis upon measures to make the use of the tube, bus and train facilities more pleasant and convenient. This will support the introduction of the tram and will make walking and cycling safer and more attractive.

The exceptions to this will be car parking provision for the disabled and access for deliveries and servicing of commercial premises. Outside of the core commercial area residential parking will be at a level of approximately 25% i.e. one car parking space per four residential properties but with provision made for car sharing schemes to be introduced.