The Monitoring Report Croydon Metropolitan Centre

December 2012 The Croydon Local Plan aims to…

Enable the development of new and refurbished office floor space in Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Maintain the retail vitality and viability of Croydon Metropolitan Centre Enabling the development of new and refurbished office floor space in Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Indicator 1 Target 1 Amount of vacant Class B1 Vacancy level no greater office floor space within than 12% by 2021 and no Croydon Metropolitan Centre greater than 8% by 2031

Indicator 2 Target 2 Net increase in Up to 95,000m2 new and refurbished office floor space by floor space in Croydon Metropolitan 2031 Centre Class B1 floor space

The New Town area between and Wellesley Road is the primary office location in Croydon Metropolitan Centre Class B1 floor space

There is a cluster of offices in the south of Croydon Metropolitan Centre either side of the Flyover Class B1 floor space Overall 37% of office floor space in Croydon vacancy rates Metropolitan Centre is vacant

This is an increase from 2010/11 when 31% of office floor space was vacant

78 office premises are completely vacant (32% of all office premises) Croydon’s office market has been affected by the economic downturn despite its affordability compared to other parts of Changes in Class B1 floor space in 2011/12 250000

200000

150000

100000 Croydon Local Plan target

50000 Office floor space (sq m) (sq space floor Office 0 Change in amount of Croydon New office floor space granted Metropolitan Centre in 2011/2012 permission in 2011/12 -50000 Just under 7,500m2 of But permission This is above the office floor space was was granted for Croydon Local Plan’s lost in Croydon over 225,000m2 target which seeks to Metropolitan Centre in of new office consolidate office 2010/11 floor space provision in Croydon Maintaining the retail vitality and viability of Croydon Metropolitan Centre

Indicator Target Amount of vacant Class A1 Vacancy level no greater to A5 floor space within than 12% by 2021 and no Croydon Metropolitan Centre greater than 8% by 2031 Retailing in Croydon Metropolitan Centre

North End and the Whitgift and shopping centres are the focus of retail activity in the borough of Croydon Retailing in Croydon Metropolitan Centre

In the southern half of Croydon Metropolitan Centre retailing continues along the High Street merging into the restaurant district along South End Retail vacancy rates Overall there are 535 Class A units in Croydon Metropolitan Centre of which 408 are shops

In May 2012 the vacancy rate in the centre was 21% of Class A units and 14% of Class A floor space

This is higher than in 2011 when vacancy was 9% of Class A floor space

Croydon Metropolitan Centre no longer meets the target vacancy rate for 2021 (12%) and with the closure of in November 2012 the vacancy rate has already increased in 2012/13 What does this mean for planning in Croydon? Croydon needs to The Croydon Local Plan seeks A pro-active approach to enable the to consolidate the provision of encourage change of use development of office floor space in Croydon and redevelopment of new and Metropolitan Centre focussing surplus office floor space to refurbished office on Grade A provision around other uses is required to floor space in East Croydon station and stimulate the provision of Croydon facilitating the loss of office new floor space granted Metropolitan Centre floor space elsewhere permission in 2011/12 The retail A significant number of 2011/12 saw The Croydon Local Plan vitality and jobs in retail and increasing should focus on viability of ancillary services are Class A consolidation and Croydon located in the vacancy improvement of the retail Metropolitan Metropolitan Centre rates in the core and promote greater Centre needs and its decline would centre both flexibility in the use of retail to be have an impact on the in terms of units in fringe areas to maintained economy of the units and enhance the vitality and and improved borough as a whole floor space viability of the centre View all the data and download a printable version of this presentation at www.croydonobservatory.org