A stunning new shopping centre is set to be built with 50 shops and 485 luxury flats, costing £1.5 billion. The Elephant will be opened in Elephant and Castle, south London, taking the place of a shopping centre that shut in 2020.

Before being destroyed during the Blitz, Elephant and Castle was “the Piccadilly Circus of south London”, with sky signs, a music hall, the biggest cinema in Europe, and five pubs. As part of rebuilding the area, Elephant and Castle shoppingcentre was opened in 1965. But within two years, many of the units were unlet and it became a hub for “drinkers from Blackfriars and Waterloo who creep quietly into the warm and stay until closing time”, according to The Times. It reportedly stayed that way for the 55 years it remained open, apart from the independent shops and restaurants that were opened by immigrant communities.

The new shopping centre promises to have more than 50 shops, restaurants, and bars, as well as a cinema, 485 flats across three towers, and a London Underground ticket hall. It will also become the new home for the original Elephant and Castle statue.

Rick de Blaby, chief executive of the developer Get Living, says he wants to “respect and honour [the area’s] heritage and bring to life the real spirit of the Elephant”. 

He added the site will be “reinvigorated through a new town centre, which will transform one of London’s oldest meeting and shopping destinations”.

Get Living is also working with Corsica Studios, an independent arts organisation that hosts live music and club night programmes, to “protect and enhance” the space.

Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre is set to open in spring 2026. In 2027, a new University of the Arts London campus will open for 5,000 students, followed by 507 new homes.

Rick de Blaby said: “As we adjust to the new world order and economic reality, we mustn’t lose sight of the importance of new housing and infrastructure delivery.

“But in an area of such rich cultural, social and economic heritage that has been disrupted by new development, it is not enough just to build.”