Seven local Residents’ Associations (RAs) in and around the Purley area have got together to look at the controversial planning application from Polaska to demolish the multi-storey car park and current closed leisure centre in Purley, and to erect new buildings of 5 to 12 storeys high and to build a new leisure centre, an Integrated Retirement Community comprising a mix of Specialist Older Persons Housing and Care Accommodation for older people, car parking, and associated works.
Whilst all the RAs are very keen to see a new leisure centre built in Purley, serving our area, we believe this should not be at any cost. In addition to our concerns about the financial stability of the developer and the height of the buildings, which do not comply with the current Croydon Local Plan, we are particularly concerned about the loss of the 424 car parking spaces currently available in the public multi-storey town centre car park, serving the town.
In the new development, there will only be 50 parking spaces available for public use, including 5 disabled parking bays. There will also be 28 parking spaces available for the Integrated Retirement Community, including 4 disabled spaces which, although initially will be available for public use, will revert to the Retirement Community once the apartments have been built and occupied, if they need them. Effectively, this means there will not be an increase in the number of car parking spaces from the previous plans submitted. There will only be 50 public spaces in comparison to the current 424 spaces. The RAs believe some of these 50 spaces will also be reserved for electric vehicle charging, as well as 5 disabled spaces. There will be no priority for users of the leisure centre.
Additionally, planning permission has been granted for the redevelopment of the Purley railway station car park for 238 flats and up to 9 storeys high, plus a new smaller station car park, which is also on Whytecliffe Road South. We believe the loss of the 374 spaces from the multi-storey car park together with the reduction of spaces available after the development of the Purley Station site will surely have a significantly detrimental effect on the retail trade in Purley Town Centre. We know Purley has excellent public transport links, but we also know that many of the surrounding areas containing the customers who come to Purley, do not.
This belief is amplified by the parking projections in the application which show there is a deficit of 14 spaces at peak time in Purley once the 374 spaces are gone. This assumes the Tesco Car Park will not be available to take the users currently using the multi-storey, an eventuality the Council admits is a possibility in the long term. Of course, these figures do not include future users of the leisure Centre (which has been closed since 2020), or the increase in the number of patients using Purley Hospital. There has been a large increase in the diagnostics at the hospital with a resulting increase in patient numbers, many of whom will need to drive there, and at a time when the hospital has reduced its parking spaces available.
Additionally, a new significantly larger Mosque is currently being built on Whytecliffe Road South. When planning permission was granted in March 2021, it was inferred in the reports that their members would be able to park in the Purley multi-storey car park, the Purley station car park and Tesco car park. This will not be the case for this much reduced Council car park.
The seven RAs believe it is very difficult to see how there will be sufficient parking spaces for the users of the leisure centre, hospital, railway station and Mosque, in addition to people wanting to eat and shop in the town after the completion of all these developments and we believe it could be the ‘death Knell’ for some shops and restaurants in Purley town centre, through lack of custom. Also, can the leisure centre be viable with so little prioritised parking?
Please consider objecting to these new proposals by midnight on Thursday 6 February 2025 on this link to the Croydon Council’s planning website;
Riddlesdown RA, Hartley & District RA, East Coulsdon RA, Selsdon RA, Croham Valley RA, Old Coulsdon RA, Coulsdon West RA
