Developer and operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has been granted planning permission by Croydon Council to revitalise the frontage of Croydon’s historic department store Allders with several new food offers, shops and services for the community.
The North End frontage will be sensitively refurbished with minimal alterations. The new units are set to include five shops, ranging from 450 to 1,300 square feet each, and two food and drink units at 450 square feet each. The plans mark the first phase of improvements to rejuvenate the iconic Allders building.
The plans to activate the Allders building follows a programme of recent events and activations taking place in Croydon this summer. Costa Del Croydon ran for the month of August and transformed the top level of Centrale’s multi-storey car park. The experience, which attracted over 30,000 visitors over the summer, delivered a range of free and paid for activities across the summer holidays for families to enjoy a beach experience in the heart of town.
Penny Cameron, Head of Development UK at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “This is the first step of many in our plan to revive this much-loved Croydon landmark, bringing Allders back into use as a space the community can enjoy, while preserving its heritage. We look forward to working with the council to deliver these new shops, services and food outlets for Croydon.”
“We welcome these plans from URW to revitalise the North End area as part of the wider regeneration of our town centre. We know how much the landmark Allders building means to our residents and businesses and these plans will help to restore a sense of place and pride in our historic town centre.”
Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon
Allders was founded as an independent department store in 1862 by Joshua Allder and developed into a chain of department stores across England and Wales. The chain was sold after it went into administration in 2005, although the original Croydon flagship continued operating until its official closure in 2013.
The legendary department store has served as a Croydon landmark for over 150 years, and the plans revealed today are the first step towards bringing this much loved space back to life.
