Revised plans prepared for 420-home Croydon tower scheme

Croydon Council Urban Regeneration Vehicle (CCURV), a joint-venture between the Council and infrastructure investment company John Laing, received permission in April to demolish the 19-storey Taberner House and replace it with five residential buildings providing 420 homes.

The proposals included the refurbishment of Queen's Gardens, urban gardens opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1983 which lie immediately to the south of the site and would be overlooked by two of the proposed buildings. The five buildings included a 32 storey tower, and four smaller blocks of six, nine, nine and 10 storeys respectively. Affordable housing provision of 15% was agreed with the Council.

According to a report (47-page / 256 KB PDF) prepared ahead of a meeting of the Council's planning committee on 3 September, CCURV has since reviewed the approved proposals and met with Council planning officers on 15 August to discuss potential alterations.

According to the report, the six storey building immediately adjacent to Queen's Gardens in the original plans would be removed from an amended scheme, reducing the enclosure of the open space to the south. While the 32-storey tower would be retained, the remaining buildings would increase in height to 10, 15 and 16 storeys respectively.

The amended proposals would include 420 homes, as under the original scheme, but the distribution of the homes within the smaller blocks would be altered. CCURV has also proposed an increase in the affordable housing provision from 15% to 30%, subject to financial viability testing, the report said.

"While these new designs will still need to go through the planning process and be properly assessed, we are confident they represent a significant improvement," said council cabinet member for homes and regeneration Alison Butler according to a report in the Estates Gazette. "We also hope that the new proposals double the amount of much needed affordable housing in the scheme."

"These new designs will save Queen's Gardens and ensure that the new development offers a larger amount of green space," added Butler. "We were concerned that the original proposals ... would have taken away what is currently a popular and busy public green space, and we know that those who live and work in Croydon shared these concerns."