Three floors of retail, a new flagship Marks & Spencer, improved access and more new homes are at the heart of enhanced proposals for the £1.4billion regeneration of Croydon’s Whitgift shopping centre.
The Croydon Partnership, the joint venture between Westfield and Hammerson, will present its updated vision to a planning committee meeting on April 28.
The developers say the majority of the approved masterplan principles remain the same, but the positive demand from retailers has led to the addition of a third additional storey, allowing for a wider range of exciting new retail brands, improved leisure facilities and enhanced open space.
John Burton, Westfield Head of Development, said: “We have continued to evolve our plans and designs alongside positive discussions with retailers and the progression of the land assembly process.
“These exciting new elements are the culmination of that work and allow us to provide an upgraded scheme that is in line with our ambition for Croydon to become a state of the art retail and leisure destination.
“With the announcement of the Croydon Growth Zone funding to help enable the delivery of the £5.4bn of investment of which the retail plans for the town centre have been a major catalyst, these are exciting and important times for Croydon.”
It has been confirmed that rather than refurbish the existing building as was originally planned, Marks and Spencer will move into a brand new purpose-built anchor store.
The acquisition of Green Park House provides additional land for an improved environment for North End Poplar Walk, providing better integration with West Croydon and St Michael’s Church. The creation of a new Wellesley Road car park will take vehicle access away from Poplar Walk.
Meanwhile, reflecting the increased appeal of Croydon as a residential location, the Croydon Partnership is also exploring the possibility of increasing the number of homes beyond the consented 400 to 600 units.
Following the planning committee meeting, a public consultation will take place in the Whitgift Centre next month before a revised outline planning application is submitted later this summer.
This is part of a wider process to be completed this year which will secure the consents with an objective to start in 2017.
The revised plans continue to deliver over 1.5m sq ft of retail and leisure floorspace and adopt the key masterplan and design principles from the consented scheme, that are set to transform Croydon into a shopping and entertainment hub for South London, creating 5,000 new jobs and acting as the catalyst for the wider regeneration of the town.
As per the already consented scheme, it will feature more than 300 shops, restaurants and cafes, a multi-screen cinema and bowling alley, new public realm throughout the development including improved access and town centre permeability and more than 3,000 car parking spaces.