Tribeca Square: developer drops NYC-inspired name after protests

Work began last autumn on the much-delayed development previously known as Oakmayne Plaza and more recently branded Tribeca Square.

Situated at the corner of New Kent Road and Elephant Road, the scheme includes a new full-size Sainsbury's supermarket, a cinema, shops, student accommodation, homes and a market square.

Many locals – including senior Southwark politicians – had objected to the attempt to market the Elephant & Castle development by naming it after part of New York City.

TriBeCa – short for Triangle Below Canal Street – is a neighbourhood in Lower Manhattan.

Cllr Fiona Colley, Southwark Labour's cabinet member for regeneration, had publicly urged the developers to think again about the name.

At Saturday's Borough, Bankside & Walworth Community Council meeting Delancey director Stafford Lancaster confirmed that the company is seeking a new name for the scheme: "It will no longer be called Tribeca Square," he said, to applause from the audience.

• Whilst developers in Southwark may look across the Atlantic for inspiration when naming their schemes, the phenomenon is not one-way. In Vancouver a 41-storey tower is planned, named Tate on Howe in tribute to Bankside's Tate Modern gallery.