Croydon: ‘A permitted development haven’

Croydon: 'A permitted development haven'



Development Finance Today has been told how Croydon is becoming one of the most sought after locations for property developers .


Development Finance Today has been told how Croydon is becoming one of the most sought after locations for property developers. 

The south London suburb has been subject to growing interest because of the high amount of retail space, surplus office buildings and good transport links.

“Croydon’s two main benefits are the surplus of office buildings - a permitted development haven - and the direct trains to London and the South West,” said Laura Mccauley of Imperial Blue. 

“It already had the infrastructure in place to build upon, which has made it significantly easier to develop into a successful commuter town.”

Martin Gilsenan, Sales Director at Fortwell Capital, said Croydon has, for many years, had a strong financial services presence and many high-tech firms have now set up there.

“If it were a city in its own right, and not just part of a London borough, Croydon would be ranked among the top 10 cities in the country in terms of size,” said Martin. 

"In the past couple of years, we have seen savvy developers take advantage of growing demand for well-designed, light-filled, high-tech, high-spec living and have been very happy to support them with funding."

Scott Marshall, Director at Roma Finance, added: “As developers search for more affordable housing stock, then boroughs such as Southwark, Croydon and Lambeth are proving very popular. 

“The fact these easily commutable areas are inside the M25 mean they will always be a target for builders and property developers as they have excellent transport links around Greater London and [a] ready-made market of young professionals available to snap up property."

Meanwhile, John Waddicker, Director at Positive Commercial Finance, added: “Such boundaries are being pushed throughout the country as developers look to take advantage of cheaper land prices just outside of popular areas.”

Ashley Ilsen, Head of Lending at Regentsmead, expressed a note of caution about Croydon’s growing popularity, adding: “In practice, it really depends how commercially-minded those employing this regeneration programme are, and this will determine how successfully developers can piggyback on the growth in the area. 

“Schemes on this scale can fall foul to inefficient planning and feasibility studies.”

Luis McBriar of Adapt Finance, concluded by agreeing with Laura, saying that permitted development had played a significant role in Croydon’s popularity among developers.

“Everyone in the bridging world’s favourite two words also have [a] key role to play in this boom –permitted development,” said Luis. 

“Obviously, coupled with the above reasons, being allowed to convert Croydon’s offices into residential easily has played a crucial part in why it has been so attractive.”
 


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