Social housing will be demolished to make way for Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park stadium expansion, Croydon Council confirmed last Thursday.
The development will increase the stadium’s capacity by 8,000. Six houses in Wooderson Close, Croydon, five of which are council-owned will be demolished to make room for the development.
Tenants will receive a home loss payment of at least £6,000. This is in addition to the council ensuring that tenants are offered new housing close to their existing property with rent equating to what they currently pay.
Croydon Council’s chief planner, Nicola Townsend, emphasised that tenants would not be left without communication and support. She told the planning committee meeting: “The council is in discussions with the club to get them to set out their time scales following the grant of planning permission so that those occupiers of Wooderson Close can be kept informed and not left in limbo not knowing what’s happening.”
As part of the agreement, Crystal Palace must give a minimum of twelve months notice to the Council of its intent to purchase the social housing land. They must also purchase units to replace those that have been demolished for the expansion.
Hurdles
Councillor Chris Clark, Chair of the planning committee, said: “There were some considerable hurdles to get over in terms of the negotiations, especially issues like the Wooderson Close properties and managing heavy traffic on the match days.”
Members of Croydon Council’s planning committee began the process of granting planning permission for the expansion in 2018. The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, was also involved in the process due to the scale of the plans.
Increasing the stadium’s capacity promises to generate tourist revenue for the council. The agreement also states that 34% of new jobs created by the development must be filled by residents of Croydon.
Clark said: “You don’t have to be a supporter of the football club to welcome the fact that this development when it proceeds will bring much needed jobs and considerable facilities for local people from all over the borough and beyond and will make us a sustainable destination for people hopefully for many years to come.”
