Croydon (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Croydon residents support the new Purley pool 220-unit plan, despite concerns over reduced parking spaces and the impact on affordable housing.
This comes after plans for the so-called “Purley Pool” were changed to make room for more reasonably priced apartments in the complex.
The owners of the recreational complex, Polaska, made updated revitalization proposals accessible by Croydon Council.
Following several public exhibitions and in response to feedback from the development consultation, these plans were created.
The center will be constructed while the council still owns and operates it, with GLL managing the center. It will take the place of a vacant structure that hasn’t been occupied since 2020.
Will Purley leisure centre’s new plans solve parking and affordable housing concerns?
Polaska had offered 220 “later living” units in the complex under the original layouts. However, according to the current plans, 10% of these residences would be within budget.
Additionally, a new public parking lot with 50 spaces—up from none in the first proposals—is included in the proposal. Among the most controversial aspects of the plan, the parking and affordable housing concerns have drawn a lot of attention from residents and resident associations (RAs).
These most recent changes, however, have been sufficient to persuade one of the main RAs of the scheme’s overall value to Purley.
Members of the Purley and Woodcote RA (PWRA) now believe that the updated plan will aid in bringing life to a section of Purley High Street that has been neglected for many years.
PWRA chair and Purley resident James Hillam told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The other RAs have banded together and have been anti-development because of the parking allocation that is associated with it.
“If you tell someone that has been driving into Purley for 40 years that sorry you may have to consider cycling or taking the bus, even if there are some car parking spaces available, they will be against it because they have done it for all these years.
“My view is that we have been given 50 spaces, but the Mayor of London sets the amount of parking that should be allocated to the scheme. It should be zero spaces, but we’ve now got 50.”
The plans call for the demolition of Purley’s major multi-story parking structure, which includes 412 long-term and short-term parking spaces. Many locals think that town center shopping would suffer a “fatal blow” if these areas were lost.
Polaska’s initial plans, which called for the complex to have no parking spaces, made the situation more acute.
This was evident even though the choice was taken in accordance with the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) directives to construct more car-free communities.
To evaluate the use of parking spots in the town center, Polaska conducted its own parking impact evaluation during the design phase. This was then replaced by a council evaluation that was based on the RingGo app and ticket usage.
According to this assessment, parking lot usage was significantly less than initially anticipated. Although the multi-story building’s demolition is inevitable, locals can still park on the street and in the Tesco superstore parking lot nearby.
Many PWCA members approve of the shift away from a town center that is organized around parking, Mr. Hillam informed the LDRS. They believe that the existing plan prioritizes the community over car users.
He said:
“Some of these people have said they would rather not have a pool and keep the multi-storey car park, which is derelict and sometimes attracts anti-social behavior. What is the point of that?
“The majority of people who use the multi-storey car park are commuters. If they can’t park there, they will have to use alternative stations to go from, of which there are loads to choose from. Those commuters are not necessarily going to be contributing to the local Purley economy throughout the day.
“When I’ve spoken to people in the community, there has been overwhelming support for the scheme, and I think we’re doing the right thing by getting behind it.”
Croydon’s affordable housing affect the Purley Pool plans
There was also a lot of criticism in Croydon for the early offer of no affordable housing in the later residential homes. At least half of all new houses should be “affordable,” according to the GLA’s London Plan, with 30% designated for “low-cost rent,” such as community rent or London Affordable Rent.
Going one step further, Croydon’s own Local Plan aims to make 40% of all new residences “affordable.” Therefore, there were concerns that Polaska’s updated plans for 10% affordability, or 18 of the 220 units, would not benefit people who most needed high-quality housing.
The 10% offer, according to Mr. Hillam, would still make the program accessible to people who were initially unable to afford to reside in the town centre. He also admitted that putting senior citizens in place of a parking lot that attracted disruptive conduct could reduce local petty crime.
Additionally, he believed that the updated blueprints showed Polaska’s “commitment to the project.” In June 2023, Croydon Council initially announced Polaska, a British Virgin Islands-registered firm that holds the long lease on the Purley Pool, as the project leader.
Mr Hillam, who has been involved throughout the process, told: “When you get to these types of developments, you can rush it through and get it done, but I would much rather we have a properly thought-out scheme.
“It’s going to be there for 50 years plus. If it gets delayed by one year, having something that lasts another ten because of the thought we put into it sounds a much better idea.
“The mayor got elected to bring a new pool, so as long as there are spades on the ground before the next election to show that work is happening, I think he will be happy.”
The Council’s Planning Committee and the GLA will consider the updated designs for the new leisure center when they are available for public consultation until February 6, 2025. The council’s website is open to public comments.