By GMHA (@gmhousingaction)
GMHA stands in solidarity with Elephant and Castle and their local campaign against Delancey's planning application for the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre and the London College of Communication. The proposed replacement is a mix of homes and retail units, with only 3% of new homes at social rent "equivalent" (33 out of 1,000 in total) and 10% of new retail units affordable for displaced traders but with no right to return.
See Up the Elephant's full press release below and follow the campaign here on Twitter here: @UpTheElephant_
Press Release
Contacts: Emad 0744 253 4349; Tanya Murat 07792 786 192; Elephant Amenity Network 07752 620 489
Demonstration on 16th January could help scupper Elephant and Castle shopping centre plans
Up the Elephant demonstration- Elephant is a Castle
Assembles 4pm, Tuesday 16th January, London College of Communication (LCC) Elephant and Castle, Marching to Southwark Council Offices, 160 Tooley Street at 4:30pm
Planning Committee starts 6pm
Campaigners are hoping a demonstration could tip the balance against the controversial Delancey planning application for the redevelopment of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre and London College of Communication. The demonstration, called by campaign group Up the Elephant, has attracted the interest of 1.6 thousand people on Facebook.
Objections
The planning application has been the subject of over 600 objections. A range of protesters including Latin Elephant, LCC students and staff unions, Southwark Notes, Defend Council Housing and local councillors, plan to gather on the day of the Planning Committee meeting and march to demand Southwark Council refuse it.
The plans propose to demolish the shopping centre and its replacement with a mix of housing and retail units with only 3% of new homes at social rent “equivalent” levels (i.e. just 33 homes out of nearly 1,000 in total) and 10% of new retail units being made affordable for displaced traders but with no right to return. A much-loved bingo hall will also be destroyed.
A spokesperson for the ‘Elephant is a Castle’ campaign stated:
“We want to work towards ensuring the widest possible participation of affected people in opposing yet another development scheme that privileges private profits over public needs. There must be substantial changes to the plans to ensure it is policy compliant and no longer discriminates against parts of our local community.”
Political opposition
In an open letter to the Southwark News seven Councillors, including those in the current Labour ruling administration, and seven prospective councillors, have stated their opposition to the scheme, describing the proposals as “unacceptable” and “not ones which are in the interest of our local community”.
Unions at UAL warned the current application is undemocratic, discriminatory, inadequately mitigates the impact on local communities and fails to meet existing social housing policies; calling on the committee to:
“reject the application as it is not policy compliant and will destroy the fabric of the community of which London College of Communication staff and students are a part”.
In light of serious concerns raised by local communities, earlier this year a number of Southwark Labour Party Branches passed a motion outlining objection to the proposals.
A number of councillors, including those from the neighbouring East Walworth and Chaucer wards, have since expressed grave concerns given that the planning application is not policy compliant, fails to build genuinely affordable homes urgently required in Southwark and calls for the eviction of current retail tenants with no guarantees of a right to return at comparable rents.
Displacing the community
The planning officer's report concludes that the development disproportionately damages older people and some minority ethnic groups with regard to the bingo hall, but requires no resolution of the matter. Of the 979 homes for rent only 33 of these will be "social rent equivalent". This represents just 3% of properties across the whole development.
Southwark Council has set itself a target of 35% affordable housing, of which 50% must be social housing. The proposed development is to be managed offshore with no local accountability and £154,000,000 projected profit for Delancey.
15 January 2018
