MAKING sure the town centre does not grind to a halt while the Whitgift Centre is redeveloped will be the council's "biggest challenge", a leading figure overseeing the project has said.
Monday's cabinet meeting heard that construction of the leisure and retail complex, as well as up to 600 homes, is scheduled to begin in late 2015 and will last three years.
As well as concern about traffic and logistics there is also fear about the impact on businesses surrounding the building site.
Jo Negrini, executive director of development & environment, told the Advertiser today (Tuesday) that the work would take place in stages in order to ensure the Whitgift Centre stayed open for as long as possible.
"What exactly the three-year construction period will mean for the Whitgift Centre isn't clear, because the developers have yet to submit plans that detail the different phases," she said.
"The developers have made a commitment to do it in a way that keeps as many of the businesses there for as long as possible, which it is in their interests to do.
"What we don't know yet is exactly how long the Whitgift Centre will be closed for.
"What we do know is the office blocks on Wellesley Road will be the first things to be demolished."
In a briefing following Monday's cabinet meeting, senior council officers including Ms Negrini said Marks & Spencer will remain open throughout the three years, as would North End, to enable access to Centrale, where some businesses in the Whitgift Centre will be relocated to.
Westfield and Hammerson have outline planning permission for the redevelopment. The plan for how Croydon will cope during the construction period will be finalised when more detailed plans are submitted.
Managing that process, which will also include other developers around the town centre, will be the council's biggest challenge, Ms Negrini said.
"It's a major piece of work because we're delivering a transformation on the scale that east London has seen over the last few years," she explained.
"Westfield are used to building in tricky situations, as are Hammerson. What comes with the partnership is a lot of experience in overcoming those challenges.
"We're working with them, as well as the other developers, to create a logistics plan for the entire town centre. There is a lot of concern about gridlock, but the work we're doing behind the scenes will make sure we're prepared."
Ms Negrini added: "It's in everyone's interest to ensure we keep the whole town moving. The biggest challenge for us is making that happen.
"We'll be doing everything we can to make sure that we make the detail as clear as possible to everyone as soon as we get it.
"Getting through this approval process is fairly straightforward compared to what we're moving into which is the bigger challenge about how we take this town through the transformation."
The council intends to set up a section on its website to keep people informed of the plans.
Yesterday the cabinet approved use of compulsory purchase order (CPO) powers, where necessary, to acquire the Whitgift Centre ahead of the redevelopment.
