Queen’s Gardens in Croydon reopens after two-year revamp
By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter
Historic gardens in Croydon town centre have finally reopened to the public after being closed for more than two years.
The Queen’s Gardens, between Park Lane and Fell Road, closed for a revamp in 2020 and the project was hit by numerous delays after it was first expected to be completed in the autumn of 2021.
The park, which links up Fairfield Halls and the town hall for pedestrians and cyclists, was opened at a official ceremony last week.
It includes a new playground built from timber with areas for young and older children. There is a sunken trampoline, monkey bars and slides.
But one part of the park is still boarded up, this is where a cafe is expected to be provided.
Councillor Sean Fitzsimons tweeted: “There is one area, where the cafe should be, which is still boarded up.”
Jason Perry, executive mayor of Croydon, said: “The Queen’s Gardens is a much-valued park in the heart of our town centre, so it’s great to see it back open and re-imagined for residents and visitors to enjoy.
“Revitalising our public spaces – making them cleaner, greener and better connected – is at the heart of our wider regeneration plans, as is listening to our residents about how they want Croydon to grow and develop, and putting pride back into our town centre.
“This project is a great example of partnership work with local people to co-design a really exciting new public space, for residents of all ages to enjoy.”
The revamp was part of what is known as the Queen’s Quarter development from HUB on the site of the former Croydon council offices.
The development is made of up 513 flats across four towers, of 35, 21, 19 and 13 storeys tall. One of the blocks, Malcolm Wicks House, provides 90 council flats.
Damien Sharkey, managing director of HUB, said: “As well as delivering high-quality, affordable homes for the people of Croydon, we had the opportunity to make a wider impact with the transformation of The Queen’s Gardens, which is now a wonderful community asset for generations of local people to come.”
Pictured top: The opening of Croydon’s Queen’s Gardens (Picture: Croydon council)
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