Residents in Elephant and Castle in South London protested yesterday (September 24) against the closure of the area's shopping centre.
Protesters were seen marching with signs saying 'love the elephant, hate the gentrification'.

The Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre was the first, large-scale indoor mall in Europe when it was built 55 years ago.

The shopping center is now set to be demolished as part of a regeneration program scheme by the Southward Council that costs upwards of £4 billion.

The 55-old mall was set to close in July but the Covid-19 pandemic delayed it until September 24.

Traders were ordered to relocate at a retail park in Castle Square on the Elephant Road while the famous elephant statue will also be moved.
Activists and the Latin Elephant charity blamed the project for leaving more than 40 traders with nowhere to go.

Elephant park and the new town center will replace the shopping mall.

The shopping mall once was a bustling area for the working-class in London but after long years of operation, the mall has been left with outdated infrastructure.