URW granted permission to revamp Croydon’s Allders department store
Shopping centre developer and operator Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW) has been granted planning permission to revamp the Allders department store building in Croydon.
Croydon Council has given URW the green light to refurbish the building’s frontage, creating new retail and F&B units.
Under the proposals, the building’s North End frontage will be altered to create five shop units – ranging between 450 sq ft and 1,300 sq ft in size – and two food and drink units spanning 450 sq ft.
The plans to rejuvenate the historic building follow a programme of recent events and activations which took place in Croydon over the summer. The Costa Del Croydon event ran during August and transformed the roof of the Centrale shopping centre’s multi-storey car park. The experience offered a range of free and paid activities across the holidays and looked to create a beach-like experience for families.
Penny Cameron, head of development UK at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, said: “This is the first step of many in our plan to revive this much-loved Croydon landmark, bringing Allders back into use as a space the community can enjoy, while preserving its heritage. We look forward to working with the council to deliver these new shops, services and food outlets for Croydon.”
Jason Perry, executive mayor of Croydon, added: “We welcome these plans from URW to revitalise the North End area as part of the wider regeneration of our town centre. We know how much the landmark Allders building means to our residents and businesses and these plans will help to restore a sense of place and pride in our historic town centre.”
Allders was founded independently in 1862 by Joshua Allder before developing into a chain of independent department stores across England and Wales. The chain was sold following its collapse into administration in 2005 however the original Croydon flagship continued to operate as an independent until closing in 2013.