Croydon Council has approved the plans to convert two 1960s office blocks on Wellesley Road, Apollo House and Lunar House, from office to residential use. More than 580 flats will be created as part of a scheme on behalf of Singaporean-based property developers Ho Bee Land.
‘Space age Croydon’: the random naming of Apollo and Lunar House almost 60 years ago has been invested with great significance
Ho Bee Land bought the government-owned blocks for £99million in 2015. Now that Home Office staff have moved into 21st Century offices in Ruskin Square, Ho Bee Land has brought its conversion plans forward.
Under Permitted Development planning rules, now that the Conservative-led council has lifted previous restrictions against office-to-resi conversions in the town centre, Ho Bee Land could pretty much do as they please. So this was something that was always going to go through on the nod.
“This prior approval determination secures the change of use from commercial to residential, with consent for 583 homes across the two sites,” Ho Bee Land’s London-based architects say.
The number of units is around 40 fewer than had been initially proposed, but the project still represents one of the biggest residential projects in Croydon.
“It marks the first phase of the framework to transform the site into a vibrant, residential-led campus,” according to architects Studio Egret West. Yes: “vibrant” and “campus”. Make of that what you will.
“Our scheme re-imagines the future of these iconic, space-age-inspired structures through a [Permitted Development] application, ensuring their sensitive reuse while laying the foundation for an innovative and holistic regeneration of the site.”
Yes: “iconic”. And “innovative”. And “holistic” for good measure, too.
The scheme, the architects claim, will “revitalise Apollo and Lunar House, honouring their modernist legacy while delivering much-needed homes for Croydon”. Which is nice.
Ground control to Major Tom…: someone in the architects’ office may have got carried away with the significance of the office buildings’ names
Lunar House (20 storeys tall; until recently a busy Home Office immigration centre) and Apollo House (22 storeys) were developed by property speculator Harry Hyams (of Centre Point notoriety) and opened in 1970, their names inspired by the 1969 NASA moon landings. They comprise a total of 441,797sqft of office space.
According to Studio Egret West, “the next phases of the masterplan” will see “active ground-floor uses to engage the community and create a vibrant public realm”, as well as including “affordable homes” (no detail provided on what “affordable” might mean), and “architectural enhancements to Apollo and Lunar House to further improve residential quality”.
With a bit of luck, that might see the buildings’ owners get a broom and shovel out to clear up the mess of collected debris and discarded rubbish that has been allowed to accumulate on their private property next to the main road.
The developers’ architects might have invested a little bit too much importance to the random choice, made almost 60 years ago, to name the buildings with a couple of words that captured something of the zeitgeist of the 1960s.
With the scheme being called “Space Croydon” – Lunar and Apollo, geddit? – it will also include a “healthcare facility” and what they call “a lunar-inspired landscape, reinforcing Croydon’s unique connection to its space-age legacy”.
Yep, Croydon’s well-known space-age legacy. We’ll be twinned with Cape Kennedy soon…
“A phased approach ensures the thoughtful and sustainable transformation of the site—delivering homes in the short-term while laying the groundwork for long-term regeneration.”
Read more: Slums of the Future: Croydon has capital’s smallest micro-flat
Read more: Two town centre office blocks set for conversion into 630 flats
Read more: Ruskin Square move will bring transfer of immigration centre
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