Living in Elephant & Castle

Elephant and Castle has spent more than a decade being rebuilt, and moving here means accepting that it is not finished. The Heygate estate was demolished and replaced by Elephant Park, a development of new blocks around a central park; the 1960s shopping centre closed in 2020 and its site is being redeveloped as a new town centre with homes and a university campus. Towers such as Strata, with wind turbines in its roof, now define the skyline.

What survived the rebuild is the area's mix. Elephant has long been a centre for London's Latin American community, and Colombian, Ecuadorian and Bolivian cafés, shops and hairdressers — many relocated from the old shopping centre — remain among its most distinctive features. To the south, Walworth Road and East Street Market feel like an older, busier south London high street.

Transport is the headline. The Bakerloo line starts here, so you can get a seat to Waterloo, Oxford Circus and Paddington; the Northern line's Bank branch runs to London Bridge and the City; and Thameslink trains from the rail station cross the river to Blackfriars and St Pancras. The West End is a single bus ride or a longish walk.

The downsides are physical. Major roads still meet at the junctions around the station, construction has been constant for years, and the old underpasses and roundabouts have been replaced in stages rather than all at once. Rents in the new towers run high for what is still a building site in places, while older estates and the Georgian and Victorian streets towards Kennington offer more character for similar money. Elephant suits people who want central transport and are comfortable living in a neighbourhood still in the middle of change.