KEY indications of how the historic area around Reeves Corner can be redeveloped after the riots have been welcomed by the Reeves family themselves.

But Trevor Reeves, who watched part of the family furniture business burn to ground in last August's riots, said this week he believed it would be "a couple of years" before any new development could be in place.

The Reeves family owns part of the site on which the store stood, with the rest being owned by the Whitgift Foundation.

Since the fire, Mr Reeves said they had been concentrating on ensuring the continuation of the business on their adjacent site which was largely unaffected by the fire.

He said: "We have been trying to stabilise the business and we feel it is better to get that on a firm foundation at a time when the economic situation is still difficult.

"It would be stupid to take our eyes off the ball to look at a new development and then find we did not have a business left."

Mr Reeves did, however, feel the planning brief for the future development of the area was positive.

The brief, due to be approved by Croydon Council's cabinet on Monday, suggests three possible approaches for the redevelopment of the site.

It suggests the construction of a duplicate of the buildings previously on the site; the construction of high-quality new buildings which reflect the historic character of Church Street conservation area or a more radical approach, altering the buildings and the layout of the roads leading to them.

Monday's meeting will also see the approval of a planning brief for 256-272 London Road, Broad Green – the Edwardian terrace of shops and homes gutted by fire in the riots.

The brief suggests the main options would be to replace the terrace with a block which replicates the lost buildings or with freshly designed buildings which were still in character with the rest of Broad Green.

Councillor Tim Pollard, the council's deputy leader in charge of regeneration, said this week: "The aim of the planning briefs is to stimulate the redevelopment process and get tangible designs agreed for Reeves Corner and London Road."