New Office Block

Property group Terrace Hill Group PLC has said that it has received planning consent for a 204,000 square foot 14-storey office building in George Street, Croydon, opposite East Croydon railway station.

The company says that it plans to start construction in late 2007, at a cost of £100M.

Lunarcy

The Times reports that Croydon's famed/despised carbuncle, Lunar House, may soon be sold to a Greek shipping magnate for redevelopment into an even larger office block.

Whilst money is being spent on building larger office blocks, that doubtless will remain unoccupied, useful shops and amenities such as Beano's (the second hand record shop near Surrey Street market) are closing.

Beano's has been around for 35 years and has been forced to close, not because of the internet but, because Croydon town centre is so crappy these days that people simply do not want to come here to shop.

There is a lesson here somewhere, if Croydon council could be bothered to think about it.

Gateway To Nowhere

It is reported that "a £30M deal has been completed by Stanhope /Schroders which, they claim, answers objections to their redevelopment plans for the derelict site next to East Croydon station.

The companies have bought Lansdowne House, in Lansdowne Road, one of Croydon's most highly regarded office blocks, from the HSBC Bank pension fund.

They have also bought a surface car park in neighbouring Dingwall Road.

Buying the 1.25 acre car park site is, Stanhope/Schroders claim, something of double whammy".

However, the problem for Stanhope/Schroders is that Croydon Council are obsessed with having a sports arena built; which Stanhope/Schroders do not have in their plans.

Rival developers Arrowcroft do have plans for a sports arena, and Croydon Council favour them instead of Stanhope/Schroders.

The issue for the long suffering citizens of Croydon is that much of the land in the Gateway area is owned by Stanhope/Schroders, and that there is now a battle of wills between the two opposing developers and the Council as to which plan will eventually be realised.

This of course means interminable delays, and the ongoing decay of Dingwall Road (the picture is a fine example of how bad things are).

I think that it is time that Croydon Council saw common sense and abandoned their plans for an arena, which will add no value to the centre of Croydon.

Let us just get on and develop the site as quickly as possible!

Croydon’s Grand Design

I understand that the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has earmarked Croydon as being the epicentre for his plans to create 17,000 plus new homes over the next few years.

We, the residents of Croydon, will be treated to the site of thrusting skyscrapers some 15-20 storeys high (one is expected to 40 storeys high); penetrating the skyline by the year 2015.

Well, in principle, if the buildings were; well designed, thoughtfully located and in harmony with the rest of the environment that would be a noble idea. It would ease the housing shortage in the Southeast, and add value to the local economy.

However, I am a tad cynical about this brave new vision for Croydon. The reasons for my cynicism can be summarised as follows:

· Mayor Ken is shortly to be standing for re-election this year, as Mayor of London. He needs a few headlines to launch his re-election campaign; mega skyscrapers in Croydon provide such a headline.

· Those of you with long memories may recall an exhibition held near the Fairfield Hall in the early 1990’s. This was to showcase proposed designs for a “brave, new Croydon”. We were treated to stunning models and drawings showing; glass walkways, communal gardens and elegant office/residential tower blocks.

It is now 2004. Have any of these bold plans come to fruition, NO!

· In 200/2001 the Allders shopping mall had an exhibition showing another “brave, new Croydon”. This came complete with scale plastic models, video displays, glossy brochures and attractive “hostesses”; all designed to show the long suffering residents of the borough what the future had in store for them.

However, no one could ever answer the simple question: “When will these buildings be erected?” Have these plans come to fruition, NO! The exhibition has been quietly removed, as though it never existed.

· As my “Named and Shamed” section shows, there are many areas of Croydon that have been neglected for some years; without the hint of action being taken to rectify the decay and squalor. If the Council are incapable of cleaning up the current mess, are they really capable of handling major construction work envisaged by Mayor Ken?

· Croydon has been called a mini Manhattan, this is a sad misnomer. Manhattan has strict planning and building laws that ensure that architects’ and politicians’ egos do not blight the landscape. By way of example, “new builds” in Manhattan are required to allocate a percentage of ground space for public use by providing; seating, gardens and water features…do any of the office blocks in Croydon do that?

· How much will this cost, who will be paying for it and will the infrastructure of Croydon cope? East Croydon station seems to have a hard enough time at the moment coping with the daily commute; I doubt that it is up to coping with the proposed population increase.

In short, I do not believe that the politicians are capable of managing a long-term project of this scale. The plans will change, the costs will overrun and the residents of Croydon will be left to endure the mess left behind.