The regeneration of Elephant Park – creating London’s new green heart

Elephant Park is located in the historic area of Elephant & Castle in South London. This has always been a special part of London, and its history dates back to Roman times. In 1974, construction of the Heygate Estate was completed at Elephant & Castle. It was a large and dense housing estate with a neo-brutalist architectural aesthetic. In 2002, the Greater London Authority published the ‘London Plan’, which identified Elephant & Castle as a key area of growth for London. In 2007, Southwark Council selected Lendlease as its preferred master development partner. Between 2011 and 2014, the Heygate Estate was demolished as part of the regeneration of the Elephant & Castle area.

A new masterplan for sustainability

Lendlease’s new masterplan will restore and transform Elephant & Castle into one of London’s most flourishing urban quarters. Gillespies is the public realm master planner and landscape designer for the regeneration of Elephant Park and its new central park.

The regeneration of Elephant Park, which will be completed by 2027, will provide approximately 3,000 new homes, several retail outlets and restaurants, as well as play areas and a new community park at the centre of the 11-acre (approx. 4.5 hectare) development. The combination of mature trees and lush new open spaces connected by tree-lined streets will make this Central London's new green heart. The landscape and the public spaces in Elephant Park will be a key feature of the completed development, playing a crucial part in mitigating the impacts of climate change, providing new habitats for wildlife and creating a healthier and more pleasant environment.

Sustainability underpins the vision for Elephant Park, and the project aspires to operate at net zero carbon emissions once it is completed. In addition, the new homes at Elephant Park will be at least 35 per cent more energy efficient than current regulations require and use 30 per cent less water than the average London household. The green spaces also include rain gardens, which are designed to lessen the burden on London’s combined sewer system by allowing surface water to soak into the ground.

A green space for everyone

The overall vision for the regeneration was to create an inclusive green space where everyone feels comfortable and has an opportunity to play, socialise and connect with nature. It was therefore important for the architects that everything they chose – from plantings and pathways to the urban furniture – should enhance and help create a strong feeling of community and togetherness.

Since sustainability was key to this project from day one, product longevity and warranties – as well as design flexibility and material quality – were extremely important. This is the main reason the landscape architects at Gillespies chose urban furniture solutions from Vestre. The modular VROOM system consists of both straight and curved seating modules and connecting elements that allow for an almost infinite number of longer or shorter shapes, variations and formations such as circles or letters. Most of the seating in Elephant Park incorporates LED underlighting to ensure the seating is just as welcoming and inviting after dark as it is during the day. In addition, a full chain of custody for the FSC timber was required to ensure ethical sourcing of this material.

Elephant Park is also designed to support and encourage green transport in all its forms. Upon completion, there will be over 90 new rental bicycles, over 3,000 bicycle parking spaces, a wealth of new pedestrian and cycle routes, access to dedicated bicycle maintenance and cleaning areas, and charging ports for electric vehicles. To support this active lifestyle and encourage cycling through the park, extensive bicycle parking bays will feature large FORUM bicycle racks – both blind and illuminated – from Vestre. The illuminated racks were customised specifically for this project, which required close coordination with the lighting designers at Michael Grubb Studio and the landscape team at Gillespies. The bicycle racks are lit with ambient LEDs to improve wayfinding and security at night.

Trees and plantings are another fundamental part of the Elephant Park project’s commitment to sustainability. The project has committed to an extensive and ambitious tree-planting programme, which has been developed in direct response to local community feedback. The Meadow is a key pedestrian link from Elephant Park to Elephant & Castle station. It forms an urban oasis and sanctuary for people and pollinators. Here, our APRIL GO planters will enhance the feeling of being close to nature.

Promoting quality of life

Overall, the park will offer the diverse local community a range of social, inclusive and recreational experiences to enhance their quality of life. It links together several green spaces, incorporating play areas, civic squares and new tree-lined and landscaped routes through the development, for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Thanks to a combination of social and inclusive spaces and the promotion of green transport, Elephant & Castle will flourish as a beacon of urban revitalisation, where heritage and progress intertwine to shape a sustainable and welcoming future for all.

The project has already received several prestigious awards, such as the Silver Award in the World Architecture News (WAN) Urban Landscape category 2022, the Landscape Institute Awards Excellence in Regeneration 2021, Surface Design Awards 2021 Public Realm category, Winner of the Placemaking category in the 2021 New London Architecture Awards, and the Golden Pineapple at the 2022 Pineapple Awards for ”Best Public Space and Place in Progress”.