London Councils guide to development in the city of opportunity
central London’s prime commercial districts, and a variety of amazing brands and startups have decided to base themselves in our borough, with creative programmes in place to help local people find the necessary skills and access to employment. After the success of More London (20,000 jobs), Bankside Mix (8,000 jobs) and London Bridge Quarter (12,000 jobs), plans are in place to create a further 5,000 jobs at Blackfriars Road, 5,000 at the Elephant and Castle, and 10,000 on the Old Kent Road.
KEY DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
OLD KENT ROAD
The Old Kent Road area action plan sets out how we will deliver 10,000 new jobs, new parks, school places, a new college, and 20,000 new homes, including 7,000 affordable homes.
ART AND CULTURE The regeneration process is helping to open nine new theatres across the borough by 2018, from the Bridge Theatre in the north to the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in the south. As well as the rich cultural benefits these new attractions will offer for our residents, hundreds of new jobs will be created and we can’t wait to meet the next John Boyega, the Southwark star of Star Wars. As well as theatres, we are also welcoming a wide range of live music venues across the borough, including O’Meara that recently opened at Flat Iron Square in Bankside.
SPORT AND LEISURE It is now just over 12 months since the stateof-the-art Castle leisure centre opened and over 455,000 visitors have now passed through its doors, 100,000 of whom have enjoyed access to the council’s policy of free swim and gym for local residents. As well as new leisure centres, we are also investing heavily in our parks, with a range of beautiful new open spaces being created with an amazing team of community partners.
EDUCATION Southwark is one of the most improved and high-performing London boroughs at primary and secondary level. Southwark’s £160 million investment programme means a batch of new-build, extensions and refurbishment projects are firmly under way. Investment is being channelled into two new primary school rebuilds, eight primary school expansions and two new free schools.
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