Purley residents say they will throw their weight behind the latest leisure centre site plans, which they believe will ‘transform’ a previously derelict part of the high street. This comes as plans for the so-called ‘Purley Pool’ were revised, allowing for a greater number of affordable homes in the complex.
Last week, Croydon Council announced that Polaska, the leisure centre’s owners, had submitted new proposals for the project. These proposals were developed after a series of public exhibitions and in response to feedback from the planning consultation.
Polaska proposes to build the complex, with the council remaining responsible for ownership and management and GLL operating the centre. It will replace the empty building on Purley High Street, which has been closed since 2020.
Purley Leisure Centre in High Street has been closed since March 2020
(Image: Google Maps)
Under the original plans, Polaska promised 220 ‘later living’ homes within the complex. However, the new proposals promise 10 per cent of these homes would be affordable. The proposal also includes a new public car park with 50 spaces, up from zero in the first proposals.
The parking and affordable housing issues have been among the most contentious parts of the scheme and have attracted much criticism from locals and resident associations (RAs). However, these latest revisions have been enough to win over one of the major RAs, and has convinced them of the scheme’s overall worth to Purley.
Purley and Woodcote RA (PWRA) members now feel that the revised scheme will help revitalise an area of Purley High Street that has suffered for years. PWRA chair and Purley resident James Hillam told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “The other RAs have banded together and have been anti-development because of the parking allocation that is associated with it.
“If you tell someone that has been driving into Purley for 40 years that sorry you may have to consider cycling or taking the bus, even if there are some car parking spaces available, they will be against it because they have done it for all these years. My view is that we have been given 50 spaces, but the Mayor of London sets the amount of parking that should be allocated to the scheme. It should be zero spaces, but we’ve now got 50.”
Under the plans, Prley will lose its central multi-storey car park, which has 412 long and short-stay spaces. Many residents believe the loss of these spaces would deal a ‘fatal blow’ to shopping in the town centre.
Under the plans, Purley stands to lose 412 car parking spaces at the town centre multi-storey
(Image: Harrison Galliven/LDRS)
This feeling was exacerbated by Polaska’s original plans which proposed zero parking spaces for the complex. This was despite the fact that the decision was made in line with the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) guidelines on building more car-free developments.
During the planning process, Polaska carried out its own parking impact assessment to judge the usage of parking spaces in the town centre. This was then superseded by a council assessment based on usage through tickets and the RingGo app.
This assessment found that car park usage was considerably lower than first thought. While the multi-storey’s fate is sealed, residents can still access street parking and use the nearby Tesco superstore car park.
Mr Hillam told the LDRS that many members of the PWCA have welcomed the move away from a parking-focused town centre. They feel the current scheme prioritises the community over car users. He said: “Some of these people have said they would rather not have a pool and keep the multi-storey car park, which is derelict and sometimes attracts anti-social behaviour. What is the point of that?
“The majority of people who use the multi-storey car park are commuters. If they can’t park there, they will have to use alternative stations to go from, of which there are loads to choose from. Those commuters are not necessarily going to be contributing to the local Purley economy throughout the day.
“When I’ve spoken to people in the community, there has been overwhelming support for the scheme, and I think we’re doing the right thing by getting behind it.”
James Hillam believes the new Purley Pool plans would revitalise the High Street
(Image: James Hillam)
The initial offer of no affordable housing in the later living homes also drew widespread criticism across Croydon. The GLA’s London Plan aims for at least half of all new homes to be “affordable,” with 30 per cent set aside for “low-cost rent,” including social rent or London Affordable Rent.
Croydon’s own Local Plan goes even further, setting a target for 40 per cent of all new homes to be “affordable”. So Polaska’s revised plans for 10 per cent affordability, amounting to 18 of the 220 homes, were met with concerns that the scheme would not help those who need quality housing the most.
Despite this, Mr Hillam says the 10 per cent offering would still open the scheme to those who could not initially afford to live in the town centre. He also acknowledged that replacing a car park, which attracted antisocial behaviour, with elderly residents could lower petty crime in the area.
He also felt the revised plans demonstrate Polaska’s ‘commitment to the project.’ Polaska, a British Virgin Islands-registered company holding the long lease on the Purley Pool, was first announced as the project leader by Croydon Council in June 2023.
Delivering the pool was one of Mayor Jason Perry’s campaign promises during the May 2022 election and has since remained a priority for him. Following the announcement of the new plans on January 10, he said: “I remain committed to returning a swimming pool to Purley and regenerating the High Street for the benefit of our residents and local businesses.
“It’s vital that the proposals are right for Purley and that the development preserves the character of the area – this process takes time. I appreciate the community’s contributions throughout the consultation process and we will keep everyone informed every step of the way.”
Despite Cllr Perry calling the new plans a ‘milestone’ for the project, progress on the pool’s delivery remains slow. The initial plans would have seen Polaska secure planning permission in the Spring of last year, with construction starting in the Autumn of 2024.
However, opposition from the GLA and RAs has meant that planning permission has yet to be secured. When the LDRS asked Mr Hillam if he feared for the future of the plans, he remained optimistic and echoed Perry’s thoughts.
Mr Hillam, who has been involved throughout the process, told the LDRS: “When you get to these types of developments, you can rush it through and get it done, but I would much rather we have a properly thought-out scheme.
“It’s going to be there for 50 years plus. If it gets delayed by one year, having something that lasts another ten because of the thought we put into it sounds a much better idea. The mayor got elected to bring a new pool, so for him, as long as there are spades on the ground before the next election to show that work is happening, I think he will be happy.”
Mayor Jason Perry (pictured with Conservative colleagues) has promised to reopen Purley Pool
(Image: Croydon Council)
The plans’ design has also been altered to better suit the Local Heritage Area. A new plan for the public square has also been included, and previous plans for retail space have been scrapped in favour of a larger gym and fitness studio.
Mr Hillam told the LDRS: “Look at retail around the UK, it’s been declining for the past 10-15 years due to the rise in internet services. One thing that has worked, though, is destination and leisure. It is what is trying to be done in Croydon Town centre. You get people in for leisure and then shopping happens as a result of that. So I think this will have a really positive effect on the high street and as an area as a whole.”
Revised plans for the new leisure centre are open for public consultation until 6 February 2025, after which they will be reviewed by the Council’s Planning Committee and the GLA. Public comments can be made on the council’s website.
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