John Lewis has this week signed a preliminary agreement to take the largest unit at Croydon’s upcoming £1 billion town centre retail development.
Joint developers Hammerson and Westfield have confirmed that executives from the department store brand recently “agreed the design and layout” for the anchor unit in the complex.
The store is expected to measure 215,000 sq ft over five storeys, with 155,000 sq ft solely dedicated to retail space and a click and collect area also believed to be a key feature.
John Lewis confirmed its interest in taking up space within the development in a letter to Croydon Council’s appointed inquiry inspector Paul Lewis. It is hoped that the retailer’s enthusiasm will allow the scheme to gain planning approval so work can begin later this year.
The letter said; “John Lewis has been considering the possibility of locating a new full line department store in Croydon town centre for over ten years.
“John Lewis is satisfied that its physical space requirement set out above can be accommodated in the south eastern area of the scheme.”
Hammerson and Westfield, under the name the Croydon Partnership, have had this scheme in the pipeline for some time now yet have recently hit a stumbling block in acquiring the Whitgift Centre site upon which the new development will be based. As a result, Croydon Council is currently holding an inquiry as to whether the plans merit the release of a compulsory purchase order in order to speed up the process.
So far, 143 objections against the launch of the order have been lodged: the majority arguing that the development will only be financially viable with John Lewis’ participation. While the letter to the council should certainly help ease these fears, however, the developers have maintained that the scheme will work with or without the department store as anchor – John Lewis is simply the preferred anchor tenant.
Director of development at Westfield, John Burton, remains confident that John Lewis will complete the lease agreement for the anchor unit in the near future.
He says; “On the balance of probability, we will be able to deliver John Lewis.
“They have not finalised their commercial commitment to Croydon yet but they are working with the council to help shape and work out what the future is – we have agreed the design and the layout of the possible store and I believe we will conclude a commercial deal with John Lewis in the next couple of weeks, or months to be more realistic.
“If that store is not delivered it is not the only option in that location, we have other options; in some schemes an anchor isn’t necessarily a department store.”
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