Compulsory Purchase
Croydon Council agree CPO powers for the Westfield / Hammerson development
Retail developers Westfield and Hammerson have created the joint venture, the Croydon Partnership, in order to bring forward the redevelopment of Croydon’s town centre. The £1bn project will create 1.5m sqft of retail, leisure and restaurant space and include circa 400-600 new homes. The development area includes the iconic Whitgift Centre, home to over 140 retailers.
Planning permission for the development was achieved in November of 2013 and a number of land interests have already been acquired. The project is, however, proceeding to utilise Compulsory Purchase Powers. Croydon councillor Mike Fisher has justified the Council’s use of CPO powers in this statement: “given the scale of this regeneration and the diversity and complexity of some of the land ownerships involved, it is unlikely that the developers will be able to reach agreement with all parties within a reasonable timeframe.” The decision to utilise Compulsory Purchase Powers by the council is a “last resort”, in order to bring the scheme to fruition.
Compulsory Purchase is a complex process and it is important for claimants to engage a compulsory purchase order expert who fully understands the procedure, law, case law and how compensation is calculated. If proper advice is not obtained then the owner of the property can suffer significant levels of financial loss.
If you are a business owner, or have a property which is affected by the Croydon CPO, it is critical that you appoint a CPO specialist to ensure that you are correctly advised and compensated. Please do not hesitate to contact Roger Hannah & Co who can assist in all CPO matters.
Further information regarding the scheme can be found at: