Eagles submit 40 revised documents for stadium redevelopment

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Crystal Palace Football Club has released 40 revised documents as its plans to expand Selhurst Park. A 41-page report uploaded to Croydon council’s planning portal said the amendments should be “approved without delay”.

More than four years after the original plans were given the green light, neighbours were informed of the updates in a letter from the council’s planning department last week. It was originally thought the upgraded stadium would be ready for the 2021-22 season.

Crystal Palace has submitted a total of 40 revised documents to be considered by the council, including updates to fire safety, landscaping and local transport.

Residents can now comment on the amended plans with public consultation open until August 25.

This includes updates to encourage more supporters and staff to ditch their cars when travelling to the stadium.

A ‘healthy streets addendum’, published in July 2022 has been written to keep up with targets from the Mayor of London 80 per cent of all trips in London to be made by foot, bicycle or public transport by 2041.

This includes car parking management plans and contributing to local transport projects. The football club plans to  give £330,000 towards setting up and delivering a controlled parking area and £100,000 towards new cycle routes.

Planning permission for the revamp of Selhurst Park’s main stand was first granted in 2018. It will increase the ground’s capacity by almost 10,000 to about 34,000. Permissions should have expired but Croydon council has allowed the club to update it’s existing permission.

At the time, the plans received more than 4,000 supporting comments. A letter was sent out to neighbours about the changes to the plans last week.

Before any building work can start, the club needs to buy six houses in Wooderson Close and residents need to be given 12 months’ notice. Five are owned by Croydon council and one is privately owned.

Last month, chairman Steve Parish assured fans the club was still committed to the £100million project.

He said: “I’d like to thank Croydon Council for their continued support in enabling us to update the application since the resolution to grant planning permission was issued.

“We very much hope to make significant progress in the coming months, and will keep supporters and stakeholders updated as and when we have more news.”

Pictured top: An artist’s impression of the revamped Selhurst Park stadium. Picture: CPFC