There is to be a brief exhibition of long-delayed plans for Minster Green staged at Croydon Minster from Tuesday November 25 to Saturday November 29, from 11.30am to 4pm (to 7pm on Wednesday November 26).
It is nearly seven years since it was announced that Croydon Old Town had been awarded almost £10million by the GLA as one of 11 “Liveable Neighbourhood” schemes across the capital.
In this instance, central to the scheme were proposals to block up the pedestrian subway beneath the A236 Roman Way.
Back in early 2019, the council agreed to pitch in with an additional £7.7million towards a project, which was then said might take four years to complete.
A global pandemic and three Section 114 notices later, and the council is only now rolling out its architect sketches and CGIs for Minster Green (while similar subway-filling work is already well underway on Wellesley Road).
The question of funding for this project, and whether it will have an adequate budget for all of the improvements originally proposed should be at the crux of the proposals to be revealed at the exhibit.
An example of why the Minster area is overdue some improvements came with the wanton destruction of dozens of ancient gravestones in 2023, a crime for which no one was ever arrested. The Minster lacked any CCTV coverage of the building at night time.
The latest proposals for Minster Green “will make the area greener and safer by closing the subway and carefully restoring the area around the Minster,” according to a statement issued today.
“This includes a new public area in front of the Minster, a sculpture, trees and wildflower planting, and lighting to highlight and celebrate the Minster at night.
“The subway will be in-filled and there will be improved access to the pedestrian crossing to the Minster, making it easier to walk from the town centre to the church and its grounds.”
The exhibition boards will also be made available online on the Croydon Urban Room “Resources” page, together with details on how you can submit feedback.
Questions or comments can be emailed to towncentreprojects@croydonurbanroom.com.
Read more: £17.5m plans for Minster area take a walk round Old Town today
Read more: Promising signs of the future for Croydon’s historic Old Town
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