Croydon Vision 2020 is a regeneration programme by the London Borough of Croydon for the centre of Croydon in South London. The original study was carried out in 1999 by EDAW and is being taken forward through the Local Development Framework process. The programme seeks to affect the urban planning of Croydon extensively and promote Croydon as hub of living, retailing, culture and business in South London and South East England. It was also highlighted by architect Will Alsop's 'Third City' work.[1] Private developers have responded to this initiative and currently £3.5 billion has been committed to consented and proposed development projects with more in the pipeline. The Council is now working with the Mayor of London on the Croydon Opportunity Area. An Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) has been proposed for the town centre to coordinate this investment. Work is underway on six masterplans underpinning the preparation of this framework. These are: East Croydon, West Croydon, Mid Croydon, College Green, Wellesley Road, and Old Town. More information can be found at the Council's 'Third City' website [1]. The website also includes information on the regeneration of Wandle Park (one of central Croydon's three key greenspaces).
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The East Croydon Masterplan planning permission is due on 21 July 2011.
A 12.36-acre (50,000 m2) site adjacent to East Croydon railway station, the Stanhope Schroders Ruskin Square development is based around a park, new Warehouse Theatre, together with homes and offices. The scheme has been designed by Foster and Partners. Croydon Council previously supported proposals prepared by its development partner, Arrowcroft, to develop a mixed use scheme anchored by a 12,500 seat arena. However these proposals were rejected by the Secretary of State Hazel Blears in July 2008. Arrowcroft's proposals for the Croydon Gateway site also included:
The full decision rejecting the Planning Application and the Compulsory Purchase Order was issued on 31 July 2008 and 6 August 2008. The full documentation can be found at the public inquiry website
Menta's Second Proposal
Following the withdrawal of Menta's original planning application, a new proposal was submitted to Croydon Council in March 2011. The main features of the new application are two residential buildings, including a 53-storey tower, providing a total of 499 homes including a proportion of low-cost housing, a 4-star ‘boutique’ hotel with 22 luxury serviced apartments, 71,000 sq ft (6,600 m2) Grade A start-up office space, a new entry from Cherry Orchard Road into East Croydon train station via grand stairs and an open public space with restaurants and shops adjoining. The tall residential tower has caused controversy amongst the local residents in the neighbouring area with some objecting to the height which would make it the tallest building in the borough and one of the tallest residential buildings in the UK. A decision by Croydon Council on the planning permission is expected on 21 July 2011. Some of the buildings occupying the site including Amy Johnson House have already been completely demolished in 2011.
| Menta's Original Rejected Application (2009) |
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| Menta, the private development company, together with Make Architects and planning adviser GL Hearn, is working up major regeneration proposals for Cherry Orchard Road in Croydon, which could also incorporate improvement and extension of East Croydon station.
The planning application was withdrawn shortly before the Planning Committee meeting of 16 July 2009, where it was due to be considered. The Planning Officers recommended that the Councillors reject Menta's application. The mixed-use scheme was to total approximately 93,000 sq m (1 million sq ft) of new accommodation. Of the total area, some 70% will be residential accommodation, with the remaining 30% being of mixed commercial use, including offices and retail. Critical to all proposals around East Croydon Station are improvements to the transport interchange. No project has yet to deliver the necessary funds for significant enhancements. A number of glass-clad towers in a crescent shape were to adjoin other existing buildings in the area including the NLA Tower and the Addiscombe community to the north east. The proposals included the relocation of the Royal Mail sorting office to new premises on a nearby site on Cherry Orchard Road, maintaining the mixture of commercial and residential property that typifies the surrounding area. Originally to be finished by 2018, a series of complications pointed out by Menta, the client, about the architecture of the buildings designed by Make and engineered by Knight Frank and GL Hearn have led to it being postponed until 2019 with construction ending in 2023. |
| Central One | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Town or city | Croydon, London |
| Country | England |
Central One will be a new high-rise business park. Office floor spaces of approximately 25,000 sq ft (2,300 m2), totalling 500,000 sq ft (46,000 m2), will be provided over 40 storeys. The building will have internal atria every 6th floor and extensive public areas, with amenities such as cafès, restaurants, shops, and a fitness centre.
Architect - Atkins, Walters & Webster ( AWW )
The proposed one million square foot redevelopment of Park Place was to create over 130 shops, cafès and restaurants, anchored by a new department store. Queen's Gardens was to be completely remodelled, and a new bus interchange and tram stop was to be built. The improvements included other environmental, economic and social projects. The plan was intended to minimise the impact of the development activity in the town, and its aim was to address areas such as carbon emissions, recycling of waste material and the selection of building materials. This scheme collapsed in 2008. A new planning application for a development of shops and homes was expected to come to Croydon Council in early 2009.
| Fairfield and College Green | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Town or city | Croydon, London |
| Country | England |
| Construction started | 2007 |
The scheme is centred upon the refurbishment and part redevelopment of the Fairfield Halls concert and theatre venue, to create an arts and cultural quarter. A low-level piazza will link the theatre with the nearby Queen's Gardens. A remodelled open space will provide a new pedestrian boulevard to connect Queen's Gardens, Croydon College and East Croydon Station. Apartments will front the new boulevard and also enjoy views south across private gardens. The scheme will retain parking for both public and private use at lower levels. There will be a range of retail restaurants, cafès etc. around the piazza, linking with a new entrance and foyer to the Fairfield Halls. The current programme anticipates a planning application towards the end of 2006 and a start on site in 2007.
Altitude 25 borders College Green, another Howard Holding development.
Wellesley Road is an urban dual carriageway dominated by the 1960s underpass and subways; cutting the heart of the town in two with a north-south physical barrier that is difficult to negotiate. The scale of the archiecture is dramatic, but pedestrians and public transport are pushed to the edges. The splitting of the town centre causes difficulties in the way central Croydon functions, with a lack of connections between major rail and bus stations, retail areas, office and cultural facilities and poor public access.
Croydon Council are examining the options for improving Croydon's environment, image and functioning including improvements for pedestrians and better access to public transport. Street-level crossings, trees, seating, lighting and kiosks, and a central pedestrian walkway are being considered. In the proposals it is likely that Wellesley Road will remain a main route for trams, buses and cars, possibly incorporating extensions to the Tramlink network. The difference will be that these modes of transport will no longer dominate the space to the detriment of the pedestrian experience and the image of Croydon. There is also an opportunity to simplify and improve the movement of these vehicles. Opportunities exist for improving the ground floors and frontages of the buildings along Wellesley Road, connecting more effectively with their immediate surroundings creating more activity, such as shops and cafés with spill-out spaces. The Masterplanning team of Okra Landscape Architects with Peter Brett Associates, Soundings and Urhahn Urban Design was selected by the Council following an international design competition. [3].
The masterplan also includes surrounding development sites:
This strategic site on Wellesley Road has lain fallow for over 10 years and Berkeley Homes plans to use it to deliver a mixed-use development. Proposals for this northern gateway site include:
This development has planning permission. Construction is due to start in 2008 with a completion date of 2012.
Howard Holdings had a development agreement with the Whitgift Centre in the middle of town for £221m. The 93,000 m² shopping and office centre currently draws in 24.2 million shoppers annually. It is rated as the UK's 9th busiest shopping centre and is one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe.
Plans to develop and expand the centre are currently being formalised and a planning application submitted. Construction of the extension is due to start in 2009 and be finished in 2014, as promised by Geddes Architects who are building the centre for Howard Holdings plc. Following Howard Holdings going into administration [4] the timescales for redevelopment are now being reconsidered.
IYLO's architects, Darling Associates, propose a glass-clad elliptical tower of two equal halves that appear to be sliding past each other. The 20-storey building will provide 183 private apartments.
The project is located on an island site at a main entrance to Croydon town centre that is seen by the Borough Council as a vital part of Croydon's housing regeneration. The scheme will include a central public garden. Every apartment will have access to a recessed balcony.
Rain water will be collected off the buildings and used to provide irrigation for the garden. Renewable sources of energy will be included, and there will be recycling facilities next to the lay-by. Over half of the site will be landscaped. The architect is Darling Associates who were hired by Phoenix Logistics and E3 Property as well as the engineers Walsh Group and Scott Wilson. Construction started in 2007 with a completion predicted in summer 2012.[2]
The area to be changed adjoins the North End shopping precinct and contains West Croydon train station, West Croydon bus terminal, West Croydon tram stop as well as historic landmarks such as the St Michael and All Angels Church.[3]
In May 2010 the East London Line extension to West Croydon was opened. This project connects Croydon to the new London Overground rail system and improves Croydon's public transport connections to central and inner east London. It also provides the main impetus for building a modern public transport interchange at West Croydon station linking tram, bus and rail. The East London Line extension will be a major contribution to London's transport infrastructure in time for the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in the capital in 2012.
This was a pilot scheme run by the SRA, TFL and three train operators between 2003 and 2006 to encourage more passengers to travel by train. In partnership with the South London Boroughs, including Croydon, SWELTRAC, SELTRANS and the transport users group, the scheme promoted the advantages of off-peak travel following improvements to safety, travel connections and upgrading of station facilities.
Croydon's light rail system, Tramlink, now carries around 22 million passengers a year. An extension to Crystal Palace is currently being developed by Transport for London with the support of the council and South London Partnership. This would improve public transport access to Upper Norwood and Crystal Palace Park and help to stimulate regeneration across the wider area. The extension could be in service by 2013. Other possible extensions include Reigate, Redhill, Gatwick Airport, Sutton, M25 motorway Park and Ride, Coulsdon, Purley, Kingston upon Thames, Tolworth, Tooting, Brixton (interchange with proposed Cross River Tram), Bromley and Lewisham (interchange with Docklands Light Railway).
The Croydon Exp07 was a series of exhibitions highlighting the re-development of the London Borough of Croydon as a whole, including leisure, offices, shopping, transport and homes.[4] It also included a town centre model which can still be seen in Croydon Central Library in the Croydon Clocktower building.
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