Work on a long-awaited retail and homes development, including a Marks and Spencer, could finally get underway in Crystal Palace this year.

The plans to redevelop Victory Place in Westow Street were first approved nearly 10 years ago.

The application to demolish buildings to make way for an apart-hotel, flats and shop space were originally approved in 2013, and in 2018 the developer said a new M&S store is interested in opening on the ground floor.

Now, the owners St Aidans Holdings has submitted a change to the planning approval which confirms Marks and Spencer still wants to open a foodhall as part of the development.

It calls the development Crystal Palace Market Square.

The applicant wants to get rid of the apart-hotel rooms and replace them with more flats.

This would bring the total number of flats provided as part of the development from 33 to 43.

A planning statement reads: “This submission is made under Section 73 in respect to the apart-hotel option and proposed non-material minor amendments to the extant permission in order to meet the operational requirements of Marks & Spencer Ltd who are committed to opening a food store at these premises.

“Marks & Spencer’s are already looking at the consents that they must obtain in order to accommodate their needs in operations terms and the council will be aware that discussions are already taking place.”

The application said, pending approval, construction work is expected to start at the end of 2022.

It adds: “The proposals still include for the creation of jobs for the local community of Crystal Place and the borough of Croydon beyond, and by providing a mixture of spaces, with different uses blended into the one development, the scheme will deliver all that it promises and more.

"This application simply refines the scheme to enable it to move to the next stage i.e. the delivery phase.”

The plans also include a space for a restaurant or bar on the ground floor and a central covered space for use as a market or entertainment area.

In April 2021, a new bar, called Varanda, opened on what was a building site where some walls had already been knocked down.