Objectors to Minerva’s 1m sq ft Croydon shopping centre will argue at next week’s CPO inquiry that the 10-year old plans need to be redesigned.
The part-owner of the adjacent Whitgift shopping centre, the Whitgift Foundation, said it would produce evidence at next Tuesday’s inquiry that Park Place does not meet the requirements of retailers.
Last month, EG revealed that John Lewis, which is expected to anchor the scheme, had sent a letter to development manager Lend Lease saying it wanted “integration into the wider town centre”.
In its submission, Whitgift says: “Radical changes to the scheme will be required if sufficient tenant interest and funding are to be achieved within a reasonable timescale.”
These changes, it claims, will require a new planning application, which would further delay the scheme.
Minerva adviser CB Richard Ellis states in its submission that John Lewis requires “certainty that the entire scheme can be delivered to a firm timetable”.
Chris Williams, development director at Howard Holdings asset manager and 50% owner of the Whitgift centre will claim the CPO has a significant adverse impact on any future redevelopment of its mall.
He proposes that Whitgift, the council, Minerva and Lend Lease form an agreement to link the two schemes.
Minerva and its supporters, which include the council, will argue that the CPO is necessary to secure Croydon’s regeneration.
The council’s director of planning, Phillip Goodwin, said: “The uncertainty and lack of confidence that would follow from the CPO not being confirmed could take a decade or more to resolve.
“That would be a huge blow to Croydon, with potentially irreversible effects.”
References: EGi News 22/05/06
