Here our Vision 2020 series examines the £500 million Park Place project that aims to bring a taste of Covent Garden to the centre of Croydon.

Park Place is the £500m proposal which is promising to bring more shops, more offices and a little piece of Covent Garden to Croydon town centre.

The project is the third major retailing development to hit the town centre and its aim to bring a cosmopolitan feel to Croydon could be underway by next year.

Primarily, it involves moving Allders from its present home on North End to a new, state of the art building on Katherine Street.

Secondly, the developers are awaiting planning permission to transform the old Allders site into a modern complex of shops and offices.

It will also include a pedestrianised public square similar to Covent Garden's piazza.

Paul Coster is the director of property development company Minerva plc, who are behind the project. He said: "We want to build a new home for Allders and we're hoping to use the old Allders site to create a new complex in its place.

"We applied for planning permission last year, but we have had to make some structural changes to our plans for the frontage of the almshouses on North End.

"The Whitgift Foundation, who own the site, thought our plans for the windows were not in keeping with the history of the building so we are making the necessary changes to our plans. Hopefully we should have planning permission by next year.

"Allders really needs this new home. It's only a few hundred feet down the road but the new site is a lot bigger. The department store will carry on trading throughout the construction work and will move in a week before the new site is open.

"There will also be a pedestrian bridge over the trams in George Street linking the new Allders with the Whitgift Centre."

Minerva are also hoping they will win permission to go ahead with proposals to turn the old Allders site into a new shopping mall.

Paul added: "A pedestrianised public square, similar to a Covent Garden-style piazza, will also feature with the new Allders store.

"We are also currently in talks with the council to revamp the Queen's Gardens. The Gardens are an important focal point in Croydon and we want to maximise its potential by giving it an overhaul."

Other plans include a new bus interchange close to the new Allders site and a possible part-pedestrianisation of Katharine Street to compliment the project.

Minerva have estimated that the development would create around 2,000 new full and part-time jobs for the town centre.

November 13, 2001 11:30