New Addington could get Tesco and new leisure centre - if village green is dropped
NEW Addington could have a brand new leisure centre and Tesco supermarket within four years – but only if the Government agrees to ditch the estate's current "village green".
Proposals for a major overhaul of the estate were revealed this week, with a £17 million leisure centre, supermarket and community centre at the heart of the transformation.
-
New Addington could get a Tesco store and a new leisure centre, but only if a council bid to have the village green de-registered is successful
However, the whole fate of the development could hang on the success of a council bid to the Government, to have a section of land previously designated as a Village Green de-registered.
If environment secretary Caroline Spelman decides not to uphold the council's request, the village green – which has scuppered a previous bid to build a Tesco store in New Addington – could put the brakes on the latest plans.
Business Cards From Only £10.95 Delivered www.myprint-247.co.uk
View detailsOur heavyweight cards have FREE UV silk coating, FREE next day delivery & VAT included. Choose from 1000's of pre-designed templates or upload your own artwork. Orders dispatched within 24hrs.
Terms: Visit our site for more products: Business Cards, Compliment Slips, Letterheads, Leaflets, Postcards, Posters & much more. All items are free next day delivery. www.myprint-247.co.uk
Contact: 01858 468192
Valid until: Sunday, May 26 2013
Lifelong resident and owner of the Bangers and Mash store, Stephen Hopper, said: "This village green nonsense has been nothing but trouble. If you look into the original covenant which has allowed it to happen, you can see how old fashioned it is.
"We want investment up here. Personally I would have liked to seen a superstore-size Tesco because it would draw people to the area."
Should everything go according to plan it is expected a new supermarket will take the place of the current leisure centre, once a new one is built and operational.
The council hopes to open the new leisure centre by September 2015, with a new supermarket in place by 2016.
Croydon Council has admitted it is currently in talks with supermarket giants Tesco, to make the long-held dream of a store in Central Parade become a reality.
Ken Burgess, chair of the Central Parade Business Partnership, said: "We want and need regeneration up here but it needs to be well thought out.
"We want something that is going to be beneficial for the whole community and the traders."
For any of the plans to become a reality, a current application to classify the car parks and paved areas of the parade as a village green must be rejected.
The council will also bid to have land there currently classified as a village green de-registered.
Village green status means the land can only be used for "recreational pastimes and community gatherings by local residents".
The plans were due to be discussed by the council's cabinet on Monday.
Comments
by CuppaTeaPlz
Saturday, April 28 2012, 2:18PM
“Be good if Tesco could employ people from the New Addington area too, and not people that live far away.”
by napopfro
Saturday, April 28 2012, 2:13PM
“I'm lucky that I drive so I can get to a decent supermarket. Ivor - Lidl is an improvement on an expensive little co-op and iceland, home of the battered and breadcrumbed, but for me I cannot do a proper week's shopping without leaving New Addington. Tesco would not be my first choice but we really need better provision in the area. I don't know what the statistics on obesity for the area are, but looking at the size of some of the parents squeezing themselves through the school gates in the mornings I expect they're above average. I don't mean that in an insulting way, when people have no choice but to shop for budget food in budget supermarkets it's inevitable that poor quality diets will lead to health problems. A decent supermarket selling affordable food, that's all we want. And for the record, I use the shops on central parade - particularly the butchers and the pet shop - and would continue to do so, no matter what supermarket moves in.”
by tbabygib
Friday, April 27 2012, 6:26PM
“Just because it is (supposed) be Tesco, doesn't mean the prices will be the same as Elms End.! When I worked for them in Ireland, (By the sea) People were always saying our prices were more than Dublin Town. we were a small village/town, But the prices didn't go up just because of the holiday makers seasons!. We also got less wages then the Big Towns and the City.
We are Talking about New Addington where the Petrol is more Expensive than Selsdon, The food in Supermarkets Cost More than Selsdon. Free Parking ? No a chance.!
Yes, We Need a Supermarket, But We Need one that will Treat us Fairly, Not Bleed us dry as We are at the moment.”
by Ivor_Shed
Friday, April 27 2012, 5:46PM
“I guess the high street Tesco is for people who can't get as far as LIDL.
Still, let's hope the council puts the squeeze on and insists that Tesco provide a swimming pool, leisure centre, library, centre for the retired, community centre etc - as much as they can get.
And let's hope there is plenty of free parking.”
by Dollydreamer
Friday, April 27 2012, 10:41AM
“@Drakeknight can I just put you straight on one point. Purley High Street was NOT wrecked by the introduction of Tesco to the area, Purley High Street really has always been that bad. I moved to Purley in 1980 way way way before Tesco arrived and although I have since moved, I do still work in the area. Ever since 1980 Purley high street has been the same, row after row of charity shops, banks and estate agents. I would say that since the introduction of Tesco to Purley; Purley now has more visitors to the area but because the High Street offers nothing in the way of any interest, and never has, people tend to just visit the store. For years Purley has battled to get some form of interest to the area but to no avail; the owner of Harris Carpets in Purley has been an active campaigner for this for many years. However Purley is changing with the introduction of new bars and restaurants which seems to be aimed at the more older crowd and this seems to be finally working out for Purley at last. Who knows maybe Purley's newfound success is due to people travelling through the High Street on their way to Tesco and noticing the new bars and restaurants.”
by tbabygib
Thursday, April 26 2012, 9:37PM
“333, Thank you, you make sense Yet again.! and now I'm Giving my Laptop to my Husband, So this is me Done for the night.
Great Advice as always 333. Glad your here to keep me grounded.:)))))))))))))) XXXXXXXXX”
by Krystal333
Thursday, April 26 2012, 8:55PM
“Drakenight - I couldn't care less which supermarket it is -we just need one! A small expensive CoOp, and Iceland and a Lidl is just not enough. I'm glad the scheme is smaller now because of the Village Green and as tbabygib points out - no housing to go with it. If this doesn't suit Tesco then great - with such a large amount of people all shopping in Central Parade this area will be snapped up by any of the major chains.
tbabygib - don't let their goading get to you- you know far more than them on what happens on our doorstep :)”
by tbabygib
Thursday, April 26 2012, 8:15PM
“Cuppa, Can't even blame it on the time of the month!!!!!!!!! Maybe just backache.??”
by CuppaTeaPlz
Thursday, April 26 2012, 8:07PM
“Crikey tbabygib. lol talk about moody. lol”
by tbabygib
Thursday, April 26 2012, 7:11PM
“Drakeknight, That was a nice witty reply that made me smile. :))))))))))))).
Pathfinders have the plans as to tesco's intentions and council assurances that they keep to the plans. Go to the Octagon and see what is going on for yourself. Even the traders and shop keepers are welcoming it. And as I said in an earlier post, It might not even be Tesco that takes the site.”