URW reveals regen plans for Croydon town centre

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has started a consultation for its North End Quarter plans, which span the Whitgift Centre, Allders and surrounding area of Croydon town centre. URW prepared the masterplan in collaboration with Croydon Council. It aims to exceed the minimum number of homes set out in the emerging Local Plan of between 1,250 to 3,000 homes 300,000 sq ft of community space. It will involve a reduction of the retail element on the 50-acre site from 1.9m sq ft to between 700,000 sq ft and 1m sq ft of “flexible form retail and related uses”. It will also include 700,000 sq ft of workspace and leisure, culture and flexible workspace uses. Last month, Croydon Council approved the first phase of the project, which will transform the historic Allders department store – a three-storey building at 2-28 North End – into new retail and leisure units.  The redevelopment plans have been in play since 2012, with the establishment of the Croydon Limited Partnership, a 50:50 joint venture between URW and Hammerson. Hammerson sold its share of the site to URW in April 2023 for around £70m.  Image © Nicholas Bailey/Shutterstock