Croydon to get more micro-flats to meet housing need

By Tara O’Connor, local democracy reporter

More tiny shared living flats could be built in Croydon as it looks to approve a new local plan.

Included in the plan is a policy for “large-scale purpose-built shared living housing” – which is often incredibly small spaces.

The council considers 20-30 square meters of space to be acceptable for the very small homes.

The draft plan reads: “These schemes include a wide range of amenities to support a diverse community of residents and their needs.

“These may be able to help meet housing need among single-person households in Croydon by adding to the stock of rooms available for rent in the
borough; as well as helping free up larger dwellings and flats to address the shortfall in family homes.”

It adds that these flats, which are usually offered as rentals can avoid “generic issues related to HMO (house of multiple occupancy) properties” including a lack of communal space.

The council also says that co-living developments should be built in places that have access to good public transport and more than two should be built within 250 metres of each other.

Plans for a block of 817 co-living flats were given the green light in March 2020.

And another one for nearly 500 co-living flats was approved in October.

Opposition councillor for culture and regeneration Jeet Bains said he thinks the affordable flats are a good idea as long as they are well built.