Giant 39-storey East Croydon high rise is in the pipeline – South London News

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Service

Full plans for a huge new tower block near East Croydon Station are expected to be lodged with Croydon council early next year.

Early proposals for a 39-storey building on the site of the closed Croydon Park Hotel were heard by the council’s planning committee meeting last week.

A pre-application for the £200million development was discussed by councillors for nearly three hours. The new block would be made up of 430 rented flats.

Amro Partners bought the hotel from Croydon council for £25 million. The local authority originally bought the hotel for £30m in 2018 and the “risky” investment was deemed “inherently flawed” by the council’s own auditors Grant Thornton.

Simon Toplis from HTA Design, which is working on the project, said: “All of the homes in this building will be available to rent which brings a number of benefits. There is a real sense of community that includes everybody in it, everybody has access to the same facilities.

“There are on-site concierge and management facilities – an important element is the flexible tenancy.”

On the ground floor, there would be a co-working space, gym as well as play areas and lounge areas. There is also a private dining room, games rooms and roof gardens.

Councillor Patricia Hay-Justice, ward councillor for Addiscombe West raised concerns with the scheme. She said: “The cumulation of tall buildings has an effect on our local infrastructure. My residents have ambitions for the development of East Croydon but we are not Manhattan.

“Residents ask for this site to be an extension to the community, to be aesthetically pleasing and be Croydon wage affordable, predominately family homes and lower intensification.”

Councillor Sean Fitzsimons said he wasn’t against a tall building on the site but said he was disappointed with just how tall the proposed development could be.

Overall, councillors raised concerns about the impact on the skyline with the introduction of another tall building in the area, requests about how many flats would be affordable and where they would be located.

They also said there was more work to be done on the impact of sunlight and noise on residents as well as the microclimate in relation to wind in the communal gardens.

The application is currently in the pre-application stage and developers will take on board the feedback of councillors before submitting full plans next year.

Pictured top: The old Croydon Park Hotel (Picture: Wikimedia Commons /Peter Trimming)

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