Mayor approves £1.4bn Croydon revamp by Allies & Morrison

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has approved Allies & Morrison’s £1.4bn plan to transform Croydon’s town centre.

The redevelopment of the Whitgift shopping centre by the Croydon Partnership – a joint venture between Westfield and Croydon council – will include nearly 1,000 new homes and provide new leisure facilities and public spaces. The 1,000 homes, which will be available to rent, include properties available through the London Living Rent scheme. The project will also provide more than 500,000sq m of shops and restaurants.

Khan gave the project the green light following its approval by Croydon council’s planning committee in November. It will be the third Westfield shopping centre in the capital, alongside the company’s sites in Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford.

Allies & Morrison beat Farrells to the project in 2013. Farrells was working with RTKL on a rival scheme for Hammerson before the developer went into partnership with Westfield and the pair chose to proceed with the Allies & Morrison masterplan. The shopping centre has been designed by Leonard Design Architects, while Hawkins Brown was brought in to do the residential and Spacehub is responsible for the landscaping.

Khan said: “This development will play a key role in unlocking the borough’s potential and is set to deliver huge economic benefits to residents and businesses in the borough. As well as the creation of 7,000 jobs and the delivery of almost 1,000 new homes, it will also attract many visitors to its brand-new leisure facilities and public spaces. I’m confident the benefits of this scheme will be felt for generations to come.”

Main construction work is expected to start next year with demolition work beginning later this year.