Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield execs reveal plan to replace two-thirds of Croydon town centre’s space with residential flats, reports housing correspondent Barratt Holmes.
When executives and architects representing Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield gave a lengthy presentation to the planning committee last week about the long-delayed redevelopment of Croydon town centre, the response was rather muted, almost like “we’ve all been here before.”
This was not a new planning proposal; in fact, it was the third Croydon Partnership scheme, and it had been about 11 years after the first one was rushed through the council process with a lot of zeal.
This was also not the new town center master plan that was expected to be delivered in 2023.
A Masterplan Framework was what this was. It lacked specificity because, well, Westfield stated, they must be adaptable.
Although the first 2014 planning application was approved for about 600 dwellings, the most recent version aims to build 3,000 apartments, primarily in tower blocks with a view of Wellesley Road or on the location of the current Whitgift Centre.
During a committee meeting last week, council members criticized the framework proposals for possibly making Croydon a “dormitory town,” as well as for being vague, without any meaningful new jobs, and making no commitments on public infrastructure.
“A significant milestone,” according to Jason Perry, Croydon’s part-time mayor and full-time advocate for large corporations and real estate developers.
However, one of the planning committee’s council members, who actually sat through the presentation’s scant details and combed through the pages of vividly colored designs, described it all as “underwhelming.”
The 2025 planning committee showed signs of fatigue after Westfield’s most recent presentation. In spite of Nicola Townsend, the chief planner’s requests
And that came from a fellow member of Perry’s Conservative Party council.
After keeping Croydon waiting for 13 years, Westfield and the council’s well compensated and developer-friendly planning department were eager to obtain approval in principle for this flimsy framework.
The always-on-message Ian Parker, Croydon’s councillor for Todmorden ward, added, “Let’s get started, ‘appen.”
Parker was anxious to persuade the council to sign up for even more gridlock tomorrow, after having already signed one big blank check for a dubious developer earlier in the evening over the Purley retirement development. Or, more likely, in 15 years.
The committee was informed that this Masterplan Framework was based entirely on a consultation that garnered less than 300 participants and lasted only a few weeks in November of last year.
That figure demonstrates how the 390,000 residents of Croydon have become weary of unmet expectations and unfulfilled promises, while the multinational developers have abandoned our town center to decay.
Some would argue that the public engagement in November was really a token gesture because Westfield and architects Allies and Morrison had already drafted the majority of this Framework.
The consultation exercise took place at The Urban Room, one of the growing number of unoccupied or deserted shop premises in the Whitgift Center ghost town, as defined by the council and their development partners.
Several pads of Post-It notes, a lot of sticky-back plastic, and a lot of cardboard toilet rolls were used.
However, the university campus, the swimming pool, and the skating rink—all of which were sought during that brief consultation last year—were not included in the flexible framework that was presented in the Town Hall chamber last week.
Furthermore, there is no evidence of the temple to retail, the expansive Westfield shopping center that was promised when Boris Johnson assisted Gavin Barwell, the Tory MP for the area at the time, in revealing the plans at a special event held at the Fairfield Halls thirteen years ago (when Jason Perry was the council cabinet member in charge of development), nor of the one that was part of the second planning application in 2018.
“The applicant no longer seeks to develop a new shopping centre with new housing,”
states the council planning team’s report.
This is “concentrating on a more holistic mixed-use scheme which would reflect the highly sustainable location delivering a revitalised town centre, including retail and related town centre uses and a significant uplift in the quantity of residential homes, as well as new streets and open space,” according to the council planners’ report.
At the meeting, the representatives of URW expressed their “hope” that a completed Masterplan will be presented by the end of 2025.
According to the Westfield lawsuit,
“constructing a new shopping center would not be a viable scheme.”
However, some council members were concerned about the scheme’s lack of specificity.
“As a Masterplan develops over the next 15 to 20 years, where is the democratic oversight?”
asked the committee’s Labour member, Councillor Sean Fitzsimon.
“It’s not about quantum, it’s about quality,” according to the Westfield suit, sounding just a tad patronising.
Redfern referred to the development blight that has affected the town centre so badly, so many shops and businesses emptying out. “That vacancy has been produced by uncertainty,” Redfern said.
A Framework that sought to eliminate two-thirds of the town center’s retail area “without any detail about what’s to replace it” was met with skepticism by Clive Fraser, a Labour councillor who works in the planning department of another London borough.
There was no university campus, no pool.
During the planning meeting, some council members recalled the wildly unfulfilled claims of 5,000, 6,000, and 7,000 jobs that had been made in connection with the reconstruction by past council leaders. The nature of those occupations was never defined.
That latter goal, including 3,000 new homes, may be considered a huge understatement.
How will the new flats impact the local community?
By creating jobs during construction and in continuing property management positions, new developments can boost local economies. This can stimulate economic development by drawing in new companies and raising local expenditure.
Roads, parks, and community facilities are examples of local infrastructure that developers frequently contribute to, which can improve the standard of living for locals.
In addition to meeting demand, more housing can give prospective residents more choices, which could stabilize housing prices and increase affordability.
The creation of different communities through affordable housing developments can encourage inclusivity and social cohesion.