The council in Croydon have approved £1.4 billion for a new Westfield shopping centre.
2019 will see the opening of the third Westfield in London as it opens in Croydon. The new Westfield shopping centre will include 7000 new jobs and 1000 new homes in its plans.
The new shopping centre will sit at the heart of the plan to regenerate Croydon town centre, the centre of itself residing within a redeveloped core Croydon’s former Whitgift Shopping Centre.
The new centre will feature 300 shops, restaurants, cafes and leisure facilities even including a new multi-screen cinema and bowling alley.
Croydon partnership and the council joined together to negotiate the scheme whilst the Greater London Authority (GLA), and the Minister for London Greg Hands, with backing from the area’s three local MPs, were responsible for plans’ overall planning.
“Delighted,” said the words of the Leader of Croydon Council Tony Newman that developers have been offered the approval to begin the work and Newman said the plans marked confidence in the town as a place to invest. “This is fantastic news for Croydon and we have been doing everything we can to bring the redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre to fruition so local people can benefit from its wealth of offerings, including the creation of 7,000 new jobs.
“The new homes and the thousands of jobs this development will bring shows investors are rightly confident about Croydon as a place to live, work and spend free time.”
Croydon MP Sarah Jones tweeted, “Brilliant that Croydon Council approved £1.4bn Westfield development this evening.
“Croydon is one of the most exciting places to live in London right now – with Boxpark, the Fairfield halls development, street art, huge musical talent and Tech City.”
“The approval of the £1.4bn plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre represents a significant milestone for the project and for Croydon,” said Westfield UK/Europe’s head of development, John Burton
The positive response from the London Borough of Croydon provides confidence to retailers, investors and the community, enabling the Croydon Partnership to create South London’s best retail, dining and leisure destination and deliver new homes and 7,000 jobs.”
Martin Corney, Chief Executive of The Whitgift Foundation, said, “This is a momentous decision for Croydon’s future and we are thrilled that approval has been given by the Council for the scheme to go ahead and create one of the UK’s top 10 shopping and entertainment destinations.”