Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield has received the final green light for its new £1.4 billion Croydon development after it was given permission to buy the remaining land.
Croydon Council has approved the use of compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers for the shopping centre group to purchase the remaining land and interests it needs to complete its major redevelopment project.
The Croydon Partnership, a joint venture between Hammerson and the newly formed Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield group, has already reached agreements on the relocation of nine occupiers in the Whitgift Centre, and is due to contact remaining land owners in the coming weeks.
The redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre, which is part of a wider £5.25 billion regeneration of Croydon, was approved by the local council last November, and is set to become London’s third Westfield complex.
It will provide 500,000sq ft of new retail space, including over 300 shops and create 7000 jobs and was granted approval by the London Mayor Sadiq Khan in January.
“We welcome the decision in relation to the Compulsory Purchase Order for the Whitgift Centre and surrounding land,” Westfield’s UK chief operating officer Peter Miller said.
Hammerson’s chief investment officer Peter Cole added: “We have worked hard to reach an agreement with the vast majority of those affected by the redevelopment.
“The council will lead the CPO process, in accordance with the legal framework that applies, to ensure we are able to secure the remaining interests and rights that we need to deliver the scheme.”
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