All the places in Croydon where 46,000 new homes could be built by 2039

It seems to be accepted that there is a housing crisis in the UK, and Croydon is no exception.

How much of this is down to the complete failure of successive governments to control prices and limit the excesses of landlords, banks and estate agents – leading to the complete exploitation of the rest of us – is open to question.

What isn’t is the fact that almost every town – including Croydon – has to meet incredibly high targets for house building over the next 20 years.

This, of course, raises the question of where exactly these houses are going to go.

Croydon council has been set the astonishing target of building 46,000 homes by 2039 and it’s hard to appreciate just what a huge task this is.

We’ve listed below every site which has been earmarked by the council for new homes. – and there are quite a few of them

Building thousands of homes on precious green belt land is just one option which will be considered to address Croydon’s housing crisis.

Next month (November) Croydon Council will launch public consultation on a review of the local plan.

The aim of the review is to address the need for 46,040 new homes to be built in the borough by 2039 and where these should be built.

There are three main options, which are:

1. Building more homes in the suburbs, particularly in areas within walking distance of train stations. Up to 14,000 of these would be expected to be in central Croydon
2. A ‘total rethink’ of Purley Way to provide 12,000 new homes. £300,000 of funding has already been secured to come up with a master plan for this
3. Limited release of the green belt. This includes land in New Addington, Selsdon and Sanderstead

The third option seems to be the most controversial but cabinet member for regeneration Councillor Paul Scott said that some residents’ groups had asked the council to look into it as an option as they are concerned about the level of change needed in their neighbourhoods.

At a cabinet meeting on Monday, (October 21), he said: “As part of the consultation we will release likely housing targets for each location in the borough.

“We felt it was important to identify the potential change in each of these areas.

“I think this needs to be a very honest conversation. We have very difficult issues that we as a community need to address, including a climate emergency and a housing crisis.”

But Councillor Jason Perry said that a loss of green belt would impact on biodiversity in the borough.

He said: “The paper suggests that there will be changes in character, I think in some parts of the borough that would be the decimation of character.

“We talk about the sustainability of development, is building on green belt sustainable? It questions this council’s commitment to the climate change emergency.”

The consultation will open in November and close on January 8, during this time there will be public events explaining the options and an ‘urban room’ in the Whitgift Centre with the proposals.

The proposed submission date is August 2020 and a revised plan is set to be adopted in 2022.

All the sites that are earmarked by the council for new homes:

The council’s local plan contains a list of all the sites it considers it would be possible to build homes on.

The list was put together after the council put out a call for landowners and developers to come forward to suggest possible areas for development. It also looked at sites that have – or are on the way to getting – planning permission and sites which were identified by council officers as having potential for new homes.

Many of the sites are still just possibilities and a great deal more work will need to be done to fix agreements to allow building to actually take place.

1) Croydon Garden Centre, Waddon Way – 35-94 homes

2) Heath Clark, Stafford Road – 62-128 homes

3) Former Royal Mail sorting office , 1-5 Addiscombe Road – 74-201 homes

4) Morrisons supermarket, 500 Purley Way – 251-1028 homes

5) Bowyers Yard, Bedwardine Road

6) Purley leisure Centre Car park – 30-171 homes

7) Croydon College car park – 159 homes

8) Edridge Road – 180-220 homes

9) Purley Baptist Church – 20-111 homes

10) Central Parade West, Central Parade – 50-290 homes

11) 294-330 Purley Way – 17 homes

12) 44-60 Cherry Orchard Road – 50-80 homes

13) BMW House, 375-401 Brighton Road – 42 homes

14) Cane Hill Hospital site Farthing Way – 650 homes

15) Car park at 54-58 Whytecliffe Road South – 21-119 homes

16) 130 Oval Road – 10-57 homes

17) 114 to 118 Whitehorse Road – 7-8 homes

18) Victory Place (Crystal Palace, Upper Norwood) 33-70 homes

19) 24 Station Road – 12 homes

20) Former Taberner House site, Fell Road – 440 homes

21) Cheriton House, 20 Chipstead Avenue – 15-20 homes

22) Prospect West and car park to rear of 81-85 Station Road – 40-288 homes

23) Land at Poppy Lane – 51-107 homes

24) Banstead Road – 77-100 homes

25) Supermarket car park, 54 Bridstock Road – 25-55 homes

26) Cherry Orchard Gardens – 220-492 homes

27) Lansdowne Road – 419-441 homes

28) St Anne’s House and Cambridge House, 20-26 Wellesley Road – 46-196 homes

29) St George’s House, Park Lane – 288 homes

30) Ruskin Square, 61 Dingwall Road – 550-625 homes

31) Addiscombe Grove – 12-32 homes

32) 30-38 Addiscombe Road – 49-141 homes

33) Stephenson House, Knollys House, Cherry Orchard Road – 97-279 homes

34) Arcadia House, 5 Cairo New Road – 41-117 homes

35) St Matthews House, 98 George Street – 7-20 homes

36) Derby Road – 48-137 homes

37) Jobcentre Dingwall Road – 49-141 homes

38) 28 Dingwall Road – 16-44 homes

39) Car park at Drummond Road – 12-32 homes

40) Car park at rear of Leon Road – 56-162 homes

41) Suffolk House George Street – 35-101 homes

42) 100 George Street – 30-85 homes

43) St George’s Walk, Katharine House and Park House, Park Street, 88-504 homes

44) Leon House, 233 High Street – 26-145 homes

45) Stonewest House, Lamberts Place – 9-31 homes

46) Emerald House 7-15 Lansdowne Road – 55-157 homes

47) 20 Lansdowne Road – 109-313 homes

48) Multi-storey car park, Lansdowne Road – 133-384 homes

49) Lidl, Easy Gym and car park – 9-101 homes

50) West Croydon Station and shops – 79-455 homes

51) Poplar Walk car park – 50-232 homes

52) Lunar House Wellesley Road – 18-542 homes

53) 9-11 Wellesley Road – 21-60 homes

54) Multi-storey car park, Whitgift Street – 95-193 homes

55) Segas House, Park Lane – 40 homes

56) Southern House Wellesley Grove – 82-234 homes

57) Apollo House, Wellesley Road – 82-234 homes

58) Davis House, Robert Street- 82-234 homes

59) Mondial House, 102 George Street – 30-85 homes

60) Norwich Union House – 19-52 homes

61) 18-28 Thornton Road – 9-34 homes

62) Asharia House, 50 Northwood Road – 7-23 homes

63) Croydon College Annexe, Barclay Road – 20-56 homes

64) 2 Zion Place -7-39 homes

65) Sea cadet training centre 34 The Waldrons – 7 -48 homes

66) The Good Companion Pub – 8-24 homes

67) Valley Park, Hesterman Way – 403-1092 homes

68) PC World, Trojan Way – 47-175 homes

69) Telephone Exchange, 88-90 Brighton Road – 19-77 homes

70) Ambassador House, Brighton Road – 26-145 homes

71) Superstore, Drury Crescent – 66-246 homes

72) Valley Leisure Park, Hesterman Way – 34-90 homes

73) Zodiac Court, London Road – 32-184 homes

74) Normanton Park Hotel – 14-38 homes

75) Tesco, 2 Purley Road – 172-990 homes

76) Homebase and Matalan, 60-66Purley Way – 128-482 homes

77) Wing Yip – 544 Purley Way – 69-26- homes

78) Furniture Village, 222 Purley Way – 32-90 homes

79) Decathlon, 2 Trafalgar Way – 59-221 homes

80) Norwood Heights, Westow Street – 39-223 homes

81) 104-112 Church Street – 23-64 homes

82) Northern Part of 5 Cairo New Road – 128-368 homes

83) Carolyn House, 22-26 Dingwall Road – 23-64 homes

84) Whitgift Centre – 40-1,000 homes

85) 145-49 London Road – 9-52 homes

86) Coombe Cross 2-4 South End – 37-105 homes

87) Day Lewis House, Benham Lane – 12-42 homes

88) Vistec House, Cavendish Road – 32-179 homes

89) Capella Court and Royal Oak Centre – 59-221 homes

90) 797 London Road – 7-25 homes

91) Beech House, Brighton Road – 36-45 homes

92) 100 Brighton Road – 10-37 homes

93) Palmerston House, 814 Brighton Road – 4-18 Road

94) Challenge House – 618 Mtcham Road – 36-136 homes

95) Stonemead House, 23-64 Grafton Quarter, Grafton Road – 28-131 homes

96) Grass area, Pawsons Road – 13-45 homes

97) Masonic Hall car park, Station Road – 7-39 homes

98) Rear of The Cricketers – 47 Shirley Road – 7-17 homes

99) Rear of The Beehive Pub , 45A Woodside Green – 7-25 homes

100) Canius House, 1 Scarborough Road – 30 homes

101) Corinthian House, 17 Lansdowne Road – 30-85 homes

102) 5 Bedford Park – 82-91 homes

103) Pinnacle House, Bedford Park – 44-125 homes

104) Croydon University Hospital, London Road, 77-290 homes

105) Coombe Farm, Oak Road – 90 homes

106) Stroud Green Pumping Station – 26-68 homes

107) Milton House -2-36 Milton Avenue – 74 homes

108) Surface Car Park, Wandle Road – 40 homes

109) 16-28 Pampisford Road – 91 homes

110) Kempsfield House, 1 Reedham Avenue Park – 12 homes

111) Waitrose, 110-112 Brighton Road – 55-90 homes

112) Stubbs Mead Depot, Factory Lane – 157-440 homes

113) 359-367 Limpsfield Road – 10-22 homes

114) 230 Addington Road – 11 homes

115) Norfolk House, 1-28 Wellesley Road – 125-255 homes

116) 1485-1489 London Road – 15-22 homes