TURNING Croydon into "a great place" is at the heart of the council vision to regenerate the town, executive director of development and environment Jo Negrini told the inquiry on Tuesday.
Time and again she said the Westfield/Hammerson partnership's redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre would be a catalyst in bringing about that regeneration adding that, since the mid-1990s, it had been acknowledged the council needed to reverse the perception of the town as being outdated and help halt its commercial decline.
"Croydon town centre continues to suffer from a poor image, both regionally and nationally. The Whitgift Centre has suffered from limited investment since the early 1990s and continues to underperform, with a high level of vacancies."
The Westfield/Hammerson scheme, she said, would lead to the comprehensive redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre and surrounding land "to transform the status of Croydon as a major retail destination."
The £1 billion scheme would bring with it an improved retail offer, 5,000 new jobs, between 400 and 600 new homes, and improved pedestrian routes.
But she warned that if the scheme did not go ahead, the regeneration of Croydon would suffer. Ms Negrini said the benefits of the scheme were already being felt as investment interest grew among other developers.
"The jobs that will be created as a result will have a catalytic effect, particularly for the long-term unemployed. In terms of investment coming through, developers know about the partnership's development and what it is achieving, and are talking to us on the back of the fact that if Westfield/Hammerson is investing £1 billion, they would like a piece of the action. There is an absolute correlation between the partnership's plans and other investment."
Ms Negrini claimed the "game changer" in the new development was the retail and leisure element. She said giving people more to do would make the town more attractive to residents and therefore residential developers. Companies would also be keener to relocate to Croydon when they realised there were plenty of good facilities for their staff.
Urging the inspector to confirm the CPO, Ms Negrini said: "The scheme is of very significant benefit to Croydon and its economic, social and environmental well-being and improvement."
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
