The final Whitgift masterplan goes on show from 8 October, before Westfield's owner applies for planning. Drop-ins on 8, 14 and 15 October, and what is decided.

The last public consultation on rebuilding the Whitgift Centre opens on Thursday 8 October. After it closes, the developer will apply to Croydon Council for planning permission.

Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), which runs the scheme as The Croydon Project, will publish its updated masterplan online that day with a short survey. It says the plans will show new public spaces, better routes through the town centre and more detail on what the place will look like (The Croydon Project, 29 September).

“This will be the last phase of consultation before we submit an outline planning application to the council,” the project says.

Where to see the plans in person

The team will run three drop-in sessions in October:

Date Time Where
Thursday 8 October 10am to 12pm Surrey Street Market
Wednesday 14 October 4pm to 6pm East Croydon station
Thursday 15 October 1pm to 3pm North End

The events are outdoors and weather dependent, so check the project’s website on the day. The full materials and survey go online at the same address from 8 October.

The project has not yet published a closing date for comments.

What the scheme is

The Croydon Project covers the Whitgift Centre, Centrale and the Allders building, plus the surrounding stretch of North End. URW leads it with Croydon Council and the John Whitgift Foundation.

When the spring consultation launched in March, the project said it aims to deliver (The Croydon Project, March 2026):

  • around 2,500 to 3,000 new homes in the town centre
  • new public spaces, including a major public square on the Whitgift site
  • a refreshed Centrale shopping centre
  • a revived Allders building
  • shops, cafes, restaurants, leisure and cultural venues
  • better routes through the town centre
Artist's impression from The Croydon Project showing a park labelled Whitgift Park with trees and lawns, a Whitgift Foodhall building, a supermarket, tall brick residential blocks and a signpost to East Croydon station
An artist's impression published by The Croydon Project with the autumn consultation notice. It is the developer's illustration, not an approved design. Image: The Croydon Project.

What has already happened

The plan has been stuck for more than a decade, and two things changed this year.

  • URW now owns the site outright. In July the John Whitgift Foundation sold it the freehold of the Whitgift Centre for £31.5 million. We covered that sale in our planning round-up.
  • Centrale’s entrances have permission. The project says it won planning permission earlier this year to upgrade them, and that Centrale will stay open throughout (The Croydon Project: progress).

The spring consultation ran from 12 March to 23 April. The project says it spoke to about 300 people in person and received 470 surveys. It reports that 85% of respondents supported its vision (The Croydon Project, 8 May). That is the developer’s own survey of people who chose to take part, not a poll of the borough.

What happens next

The next step is an outline planning application. That is the important part to understand.

An outline permission sets the framework: roughly what goes where, how much of it and how tall. The detailed designs come later, in separate applications. The project says outline approval would “enable the start of the Whitgift Centre redevelopment.”

So this autumn is the last chance to shape the big decisions before they go to the council. Later applications will argue over details within whatever the outline allows.

Fifteen local groups funded

URW has also named the winners of its 2026 Croydon Community Grant Fund, run with Croydon Voluntary Action. Fifteen grassroots groups get up to £1,000 each, (The Croydon Project, 25 September). The project put the whole pot at £15,000 when it opened applications (The Croydon Project: progress).

The project has named three of the fifteen:

  • Keep it Moving, running housing workshops for young care leavers, refugees and asylum seekers
  • Amanah Health and Wellbeing, running safety masterclasses for women from ethnic minority communities
  • Bridging Boundaries, running self-defence workshops for women and girls

The others cover people in temporary accommodation, youth safety and bleed-control training, boxing, storytelling, music and the arts. The projects run from September to January in places including South Norwood, Sanderstead and South Croydon. Groups can apply for up to £5,000 more in 2027.

What it means for you

  • If you use the town centre, look at the plans after 8 October. This is the last round before the application.
  • Go to a drop-in if you have questions. The team will be at Surrey Street, East Croydon and North End.
  • Comments to the developer are not the same as comments to the council. Once the application is lodged, you can object or support it formally through the council’s planning system. That is the stage councillors must weigh.
  • If you are 16 to 25, the project runs a NextGen youth panel. Email info@TheCroydonProject.co.uk to join.

Sources