Selhurst Park stadium expansion moves one step closer

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

More than two years after its expansion was approved, Crystal Palace Football Club is one step closer to getting a revamped ground.

The £100 million rebuild of the main stand at Selhurst Park would see capacity at the stadium increase from 26,000 to 34,000.

The plans were approved by Croydon council in April 2018, but at the time it was agreed that a Section 106 (S106) agreement would come back to the planning committee before being signed off.

The S106, an agreement between the council and developer, will see up to £1 million invested in the local area.

This includes £330,000 for a new controlled parking zone (CPZ) and £100,000 for new cycle lanes.

Nicola Townsend, head planner at the council, said that a public consultation could be necessary before a new CPZ was introduced.

The idea at the moment is to have match day parking restrictions on all roads within 1.5km of the stadium.

Although the S106 agreement has been given the green light by the council, it does not mean that work on the new stadium will start straight away.

Part of the proposal includes buying six council homes in Wooderson Close and no work can start before this land is purchased.

Ms Townsend said: “It is within the S106 that the developer has to give us 12 months’ notice before they purchase the land, and re-provide those units so there is no loss of units.”

She added that the club would also be required to set out time scales so residents who will have to move house will not be “left in limbo”.

Each tenant is expected to receive a home loss payment of at least £6,000.

Closing the meeting, Crystal Palace fan and chairman of the planning committee, Councillor Chris Clark, said: “You don’t have to be a supporter of the football club to welcome the fact that this development, when it proceeds, will bring much-needed jobs and considerable facilities for people all over the borough.”

It was previously thought that work on the new stadium would be completed in time for the 2021-22 season, a target that the club is very unlikely to hit now.

Pictured top: An artist’s impression of what the new Selhurst Park stadium could look like