Construction update

Lendlease began construction in Elephant & Castle in the summer of 2013. We are now over halfway through the construction programme and have made great progress during that time.

We have now completed over 2,300 new homes, with another 222 currently in construction. As well as these new homes we have also completed new retail units, a new energy centre that is providing low-carbon heat and hot water to our homes, as well as a number of public spaces, including the Park, Walworth Square and Sayer Street.

The image below shows the status of the remaining phases at Elephant Park.

Earlier this year we completed construction of the latest phase of homes at Elephant Park. This third masterplan phase (MP3) provides another 829 homes (including 166 affordable homes), as well as a new retail street (Ash Avenue) and improvements to New Kent Road.

We have now begun construction of Elephant Park's fourth phase (MP4). This phase is split across two plots of land and the first of these (plot H11a) began construction last year. Plot H11a will provide another 222 homes by 2022 (including 104 affordable homes).

The final key focus of our construction activity during 2021 has been the park. We are delighted to say that the majority of these works are now complete, which has meant we have been able to open the new and improved park to the public. The final piece of the park we need to complete in 2021 is the new park pavilion, which is located in the south-west corner of the park. We are aiming to have this complete by the end of the summer.

What about future phases?

There are still three plots of land at Elephant Park where construction works have not commenced yet. The next plot we hope to begin construction on next year is plot H7. This is located on Heygate Street, and will provide another 424 new homes (including 72 affordable homes). It will also complete Sayer Street and the southern edge of the new park. We have now commenced enabling works on this plot, which means we are getting the site ready for construction. At the moment, this involves removing the concrete foundations from the previous Heygate Estate. We have also recently launched this phase for sale and you can find more information on our sales website here .

What are you doing to make your construction site Covid-19 secure?

Construction activity continues at Elephant Park, in line with government and Public Health England guidance that allows construction sites to remain open. We have summarised below some of the key changes we made to our operations to allow works to continue safely.

Maintaining social distancing – We have made a number of changes to ensure the health of our workforce and the surrounding community is protected, and so that social distancing guidelines can be adhered to. Examples of these measures include a reduction in our workforce size, a suspension of activities where social distancing cannot be maintained, as well as the introduction of things such as one-way walkways and staircases.

Travelling to site – Where practical, our team has been asked to not use public transport when travelling to the site. We have also introduced a new shift pattern so that members of the team (who cannot avoid using public transport) can avoid travelling at peak times. As a result of this new shift pattern, we have been given permission by Southwark Council for new hours operation on site, which we have outlined below:

We are continuing to review our plans, adjust our approach where necessary and listen to all of the expert advice available regarding Covid-19 and safe working practices. The health and safety of our workforce and the local community is our number one priority and these measures have been put in place to ensure we work safely and responsibly, whilst adhering to government advice.