5 best places to live in Elephant & Castle

elephant central se17 lounge

With a rich history and an imaginative name that’s inspired new investment and interest, this part of the southeast London borough of Southwark is on the rise. With plenty of large-scale development plans in the works, it’s time to take a new look at some of the best places to live in Elephant & Castle.

Is Elephant & Castle a good place to live?

Today, Elephant & Castle has a much more contemporary look and feel. Modern apartment blocks are going up all the time, bringing in young professionals and new businesses to serve them. At the same time, you can still feel a strong community vibe here, anchored by large Latin American population and other long-time residents.

Elephant & Castle is enjoying an expanding range of local amenities, particularly the addition of new restaurants and retail spaces. There are also several ‘outstanding’ ranked schools, covering the primary, comprehensive and higher education levels.

As for transport links, Elephant & Castle has both Northern and Bakerloo tube lines, as well as Thameslink services into Blackfriars. While the road system is a little confusing here, it has been improved in recent years, and further refinements are on the way.

Top 5 best places to live in Elephant & Castle

Let’s take a look at the top five new build developments in Elephant & Castle. The following are the five best places to live in this vibrant part of the capital, according to verified residents.

*PLEASE NOTE these rankings take into account how recently reviews have been submitted, so may not match the overall star ratings shown. More recent reviews are given a greater weighting to reflect current building performance.

1. Elephant Central, SE1

Get Living
4.41 (138 reviews) 4.41 (138 reviews)
Area guide to Elephant & Castle
Image of Elephant Central, SE1

Fittingly, our top-ranked development for Elephant & Castle is situated right at its heart. Elephant Central by Get Living offers a mix of, 1-3-bedroom apartments, duplexes and penthouses, all of which are available fully furnished. They also all come with superfast WiFi included and are pet friendly. Also, residents have access to a Club Lounge and Kitchen, as well as a sky courtyard. The development also has great connections to the rest of the borough and wider city, as it’s within walking distance of London Bridge and the South Bank.

Read reviews and details of Elephant Central, SE1

2. Park Central East, SE17

Lendlease
4.43 (15 reviews) 4.43 (15 reviews)
Area guide to Elephant & Castle
Image of Park Central East, SE17

Recently hitting second place is Park Central East, a Nordic-inspired oasis in Elephant Park. Each apartment available to rent is equipped with built-in wardrobes and social spaces. The development also offers a selection of resident lounges and a 24-hour gym.

One extremely happy resident declared that living here is an “absolute treat”, saying:

“Super amazing building…So convenient and so comfortable. There are lounges, gym, games room and a beautiful reception. The staff is amazing, and cleanliness is impeccable. Because of superior planning, everything has been given a thought starting from resident’s bin access, magnetic security locks, access controlled lifts.”

Read reviews and details of Park Central East, SE17

3. One the Elephant, SE1

Lendlease
4.43 (15 reviews) 4.43 (15 reviews)
Area guide to Elephant & Castle
Image of One the Elephant, SE1

Third place goes to One the Elephant, which is a Lendlease development comprising 284 apartments spread over 37 storeys. These apartments range from studios to 3-bedroom apartments, most of which feature sizeable balconies. The development is situated just a 3-minute walk from the Elephant & Castle Underground Station, which serves the Northern and Bakerloo lines.

Read reviews and details of One the Elephant, SE1

4. Elephant Park, SE1

Lendlease
4.36 (21 reviews) 4.36 (21 reviews)
Area guide to Elephant & Castle
Image of Elephant Park, SE1

Taking fourth place, Elephant Park is a mixed-use development featuring 3,000 new homes alongside new shops, restaurants and cafés. It is the UK’s first climate-positive development, which includes an Energy Hub to provide net-zero carbon heat and hot water to all homes across the site.

Read reviews and details of Elephant Park, SE1

5. The Water Tower, SE11

Bellway Homes
4.26 (12 reviews) 4.26 (12 reviews)
Area guide to Elephant & Castle
Image of The Water Tower, SE11

To round things off in Elephant & Castle, number five on our list is The Water Tower, a Bellway Homes development offering 113 apartments, ranging from studio and one-bedrooms apartments to 4-bedroom apartments. The development is situated just an 8-minute walk from Elephant & Castle underground station, which is served by the Northern and Bakerloo lines.

Read reviews and details of The Water Tower, SE11

Elephant & Castle development plans

Elephant & Castle has been getting the investment, recognition and TLC it deserves in recent years. It is shedding its former reputation for poor street planning and underinvestment, as the entire area undergoes major renovation efforts.

Currently, an entirely new town centre is under development in Elephant & Castle. Once complete, this will include a new London College of Communication campus and nearly 1,000 new apartments. (October 2023 update:) The website dedicated to this project says that work is forging ahead, and that the new town centre will be fully complete and open to the public by 2030.

And this is just one of several major development initiatives in the area. Together, the current pipeline of new property developments represents over 5,000 thousand new homes and over 100 new shops and other businesses.

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Average property prices in Elephant & Castle

In October 2023, Elephant & Castle house prices hit an average of just over £606,000. Flats account for the overwhelming majority of sales in the area, available for an average of 471,000.

Alongside the rising number of modern apartments coming onto the market, Elephant & Castle has plenty of period homes to offer. You can easily find Georgian, early and mid-Victorian houses in the streets surrounding the newly built high rises.

If you’re looking to rent in Elephant & Castle, expect to pay around £3250 per calendar month.


Hopefully, this list will give you a bit of inspiration to explore Elephant & Castle further. Why not start with our full area guide below? Here you’ll find more details on the area’s history, things to see and do, and the current and upcoming developments that can be found here.

Read more

Elephant & Castle

Elephant & Castle
One of South London’s biggest regeneration success stories, Elephant & Castle is in the process of being completely transformed and it’s earning a stellar reputation. This up-and-coming corner of the capital, blessed with world-class nightlife and a strong selection of independent businesses, is attracting Read more about Elephant & Castle

HomeViews provides verified resident reviews of the UK’s housing developments. We’re working with developers, house builders, operators, housing associations and the Government to recognise high performers and help improve standards in the built environment.

written by

Jan Moys

A residential property expert with over 15 years’ experience creating content... Read all

A residential property expert with ov... Read all