AHMM-designed plans include new community health hub in addition to 678 co-living homes and social housing
The site is the final to be redeveloped in the 10-acre regeneration masterplan at Elephant Park
Developer HUB has revealed plans for a 1.2-acre mixed-use scheme in Elephant and Castle in Southwark, London. Designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), plans for the site would see it transformed into a development comprising 678 co-living homes, social housing, a community health hub and active ground floor amenity across three buildings, with landscaped public realm adding to and blending with the adjacent Elephant Park.
The proposals mark a significant milestone in the final phase of the Elephant Park regeneration, building on its established build-to-rent offering with what would be Elephant and Castle’s first purpose-built co-living scheme. The policy-compliant plans also include the provision of one-, two- and three-bed affordable homes on site, all of which will be social rent.
The new community health hub proposed for the ground and first floors of one building would have frontages on Elephant Road and Walworth Road, responding to a long-standing need for improved healthcare infrastructure in the area to cater to its fast-growing population, and located with access to excellent transport connectivity.
Residents would benefit from generous outdoor amenity spaces, including a shared podium courtyard accessible from all buildings, complete with a dedicated children’s play area, as well as two rooftop terraces offering elevated views and communal gathering spaces. The scheme’s landscape and public realm have been designed by landscape architects Gillespies.
Both AHMM and Gillespies have been instrumental in delivering the wider Elephant Park regeneration, with this scheme reflecting and extending the established architectural language of the masterplan. The three buildings have individual architectural identities that take cues from their immediate surroundings, but are unified by a cohesive material palette with brick façades.
The public realm design draws inspiration from the adjacent park, prioritising permeability, greening, and active frontages that encourage community use and enhance connectivity. This is complemented by cycle storage facilities and is a car-free development except for policy-compliant parking allocated to the affordable homes and healthcare facilities.
The plans have been developed over six months following extensive community engagement including two public exhibitions, eight community workshops, two days of drop-in sessions and four stakeholder meetings. These 800 individual conversations generated 1,800 distinct insights that informed the application.
Damien Sharkey, Managing Director at HUB, said:
“We are excited to reveal our plans for this important site, which we have worked hard to ensure respond to local needs and community views while melding cohesively with the rest of Elephant Park. As one of the final sites to come forward in this neighbourhood, we have an opportunity to deliver essential infrastructure for this community with a new community health hub, alongside new co-living and truly affordable social rent homes. We look forward to moving forward to the next stages in this process alongside our partners to realise our collective ambition to deliver an outstanding final development at Elephant Park.”
Paul Monaghan, Executive Director of AHMM said:
“Following our work on West Grove and the subsequent Park Central East and West developments within Elephant Park, we’re thrilled to collaborate with HUB, Gillespies, and the wider design team to realise the final piece of the masterplan. This project represents an exciting opportunity to deliver a truly mixed-use building – one that brings together essential healthcare facilities, much-needed social housing, and vibrant co-living apartments to complete this dynamic new neighbourhood.”
The site, which has an existing commercial consent, is the final piece in the 10-acre Elephant Park masterplan, which now includes more than 50 retail and leisure units, community spaces, and a popular weekend food and craft market. With a thriving neighbourhood on its doorstep, the site is also near UAL London College of Communication and London Southbank University. Elephant & Castle station is five minutes’ walk, with easy train and tube connections via Thameslink, Bakerloo and Northern line services.