CROYDON'S three MPs have united to urge Communities Secretary Eric Pickles not to delay Westfield/Hammerson's £1 billion town centre project.
The scheme was given planning consent by the council on Monday night and then the green light by Mayor of London Boris Johnson on Wednesday.
Mr Pickles is the final hurdle and has the power to call in the application, which would lead to delays.
Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell, Croydon South's Richard Ottaway and Croydon North's Steve Reed have written a joint letter to the Secretary of State and pressed him not to intervene so the plan can "progress as quickly as possible".
The cross-party missive details some of the benefits of the scheme, hailed this week as a catalyst for the regeneration of the town centre.
It will see the existing Whitgift Centre replaced by 1.4 million sq ft of shopping space, leisure facilities and between 400 and 600 new homes, creating up to 5,000 new jobs.
On housing, the MPs wrote: "Not only will this help to address the huge demand for housing in our town, but having people living in the town centre will change if for the better – rather than just being somewhere young people go to drink in the evenings, it will once again be a place people can live."
The letter adds that the design of the new shopping complex – likely to be London's third Westfield – would make it "much easier to get around the town centre on foot".
"Unlike the current Whitgift Centre, which is impassable at night, there will be pedestrian routes running through the scheme, giving it a much more town centre feel and ensure that there are good connections with other parts of the town centre that we want to see regenerated, like London Road and Surrey Street."
"Finally, and most important," the letter adds, "It will change the reputation of Croydon, catalysing further investment by other developers."
The letter says the scheme is "broadly consistent" with national planning policy, the London Plan and the Croydon Plan, and that it enjoys cross-party support.
"In light of this," the MPS say, "we are writing to ask you not to exercise your power to call the application in so that it can progress as quickly as possible."
