Yahoo News Hopes Crystal Palace will finally start Selhurst Park redevelopment this summer to boost crowd to 34k
The long-anticipated redevelopment of Crystal Palace's Main Stand has taken one step further towards construction, as the Premier League club signs an important planning agreement, which will fund community improvements and compensate those affected by the plans.
The signing of the Section 106 agreement, revealed by the Athletic, means one of the final obstacles to redevelopment has been passed and has led some at the club to suggest that spades could be in the ground by as early as this Summer. The club’s communication team has since told the local democracy reporting service (LDRS) that responsibility now rests with Croydon Council to ‘rubber stamp’ the agreement before the next steps are taken.
Planning permission for the club to redevelop the Main Stand was given in principle six years ago on Friday (April 19). Once complete, the plans will see the stadium’s current 25,486 capacity boosted to more than 34,000 along with a range of other improvements made to the ground.
The club purchased a parcel of land from the large Sainsbury's that dominates the western end of the historic stadium to make space for the redevelopment. The club also intends to demolish council flats on Wooderson Close, which backs onto the ground’s main entrance.
Reasons for delays in the planning process have been numerous since permission six years ago. Perhaps the most significant obstacle to development was the relocation of council tenants living on Wooderson Close.
A description of the plans on Croydon Council’s website calls for the “demolition of 22-32 Wooderson Close, and works to the North East end elevation of 20 Wooderson Close”. As part of the plans, the club were required to relocate all households affected by the redevelopment and compensate the council for the loss of rent.
This formed part of the Section 106 requirement, which must be signed by both the club and local authority. Section 106 of the UK’s Town And Country Planning Act 1990 (S106) relates to the funding of community improvements levied on developers for any major development.
In this case, the Section 106 conditions were intended to compensate the residents of Wooderson Close affected by the plans. However, until this week, the club had held back in signing their side of the agreement.
Further delays were brought last year when the club had to resubmit an application with the council which met the requirements of the updated London Plan. According to the Mayor of London’s website, the plan sets out “an integrated economic, environmental, transport and social framework for the development of London over the next 20–25 years”.
The club’s signing of the Section 106 agreement now means responsibility for ‘rubber stamping’ the agreement rests with Croydon Council. The club’s communication team has told the LDRS that it expects the council to do this in the coming days.
In the latest article the Athletic stated: “This is the closest we have been and the club say the plans are on track. There is no apparent reason now that it will not happen.”
The club now expects official work to start this Summer once the Premier League season has finished. Preparatory work has already been undertaken on the stadium grounds ahead of the planned construction.
Selhurst Park, the club’s home since 1924, is one of the last remaining ‘old-style’ Premier League stadiums in London. When initially proposed the cost of the redevelopment was planned to not exceed £100million, but the Covid pandemic and inflationary pressures have meant that costs have reportedly risen to around £150million.
In his last statement made in October 2022, Crystal Palace Chairman Steve Parish said: “I would like to thank Croydon Council for their continued support for the stadium redevelopment, which will bring substantial investment into the borough, as well as breathing new life into Selhurst Park.
“We would have liked to have started the project sooner, but our plans were delayed by financial constraints caused by the Covid pandemic. In the last couple of years our focus has been on bringing our exciting Academy development to fruition, but our attention will now turn to the stadium project.
“It has long been our ambition to extend and modernise Selhurst Park, making it a home fit for the 21st century.
When approached for comment a Croydon Council spokesperson said: “We are continuing to work with Crystal Palace FC on its plans for a new Main Stand and redevelopment of the site at Selhurst Park. All technical matters have now been resolved and a Section 106 agreement is expected to be finalised soon.”
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