Croydon’s £1.4bn retail development moved another step closer last night as a council decision gave the green light for Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) to acquire the remaining land for the development.
Cabinet members approved a report which paves the way for the developers, a joint venture between Unbail-Rodamco-Westfield and Hammerson known as The Croydon Partnership, to purchase the remaining land needed to build the new world-class shopping centre in the heart of Croydon.
With over 300 shops, including a brand new John Lewis department store with a Waitrose supermarket and a brand new M&S; restaurants, cafés; leisure facilities and a multi-screen cinema complex, this ambitious development will form a key part of Croydon’s overall £5.25bn regeneration . It will also create around 1,000 new homes and 7,000 new jobs in Croydon’s town centre.
“This is a really exciting time as we pass another important milestone in Croydon’s regeneration journey. Just last week we welcomed John Lewis’s commitment to be an anchor store in our new development, confirming their confidence in Croydon as a place to be now and in the future.
“This latest decision by our cabinet brings Croydon even closer to the £1.4bn retail development that will put our town firmly on the map as a shopping destination for the South East, while delivering much-needed new homes and thousands of new jobs for local people. As a council we are doing all we can to progress this important scheme and I’m delighted to see things are moving forward quickly now”
Councillor Tony Newman, leader of the council
CPOs are used by local authorities to assemble land for complex regeneration projects which are in the public interest and involve multiple land ownerships. While substantial progress has already been made to acquire ownership of land to allow the new development, use of the CPO powers will enable the Partnership to assemble the remaining land and interests needed for the redevelopment. For the Croydon project, all fees and purchase costs associated with the CPO are being met by the Croydon Partnership.
The council will lead the CPO process, ensuring that the town centre stays open for business in the run up to and during construction, with pop ups and activities in North End to maintain vitality and key stores relocating over the road to Centrale Shopping Centre for the duration of the works. Demolition is expected to get underway in 2019 and the new centre will open in autumn 2023.
