The Purley Pool saga has moved onto its next chapter, as Croydon Council announced that developers have submitted a planning application for the eventual redevelopment of the site.
The new plans will see the site demolished and replaced with a state-of-the-art complex containing a new swimming pool, café and around 250 new homes for older people.
The leisure centre, which has been closed to the public since March 2020, has been a key priority for Mayor Jason Perry since taking office nearly two years ago.
He also featured the plans to reopen the pool as a key promise on his campaign flyers.
In his manifesto, Perry said the reopening plans had “been fully costed and will come from unallocated community infrastructure levy monies and will not impact on any other services.”
He added: “This will restore much-needed facilities for health and wellbeing and will bring increased footfall to the district centre.”
However, in June last year, Mr Perry admitted that he couldn’t reopen the pool in its existing state, citing cost concerns.
Before closure, the leisure centre was running at a loss of £150,000 a year and would have cost more than £3 million to refurbish.
Following this, it was revealed that a new developer and leaseholder, Polaska, would take over the complete redevelopment of the site while leaving ownership and management of the facility with the Council.
To assuage fears over cost, the Mayor has insisted the cost of construction will be funded through the development.
On its website, Polaska says the leisure centre will be built before work starts on the residential units to align the proposals with their wider “vision of Croydon.”
The British Virgin Islands-registered Polaska held a public consultation in June 2023 to gauge public opinion on the emerging proposals.
The consultation saw residents raise issues around parking at the new facility.
In response, Polaska pointed to research that found there were on average 607 parking spots available per day in the town centre, which they believed to be a “significant over provision of parking in Purley town centre.”
The site includes the existing leisure centre, multi-storey car park and the old Sainsbury’s, which closed in 2001.
The plans include 245 ‘later living’ flats across four buildings between four and 12-storeys tall.
Alongside the pool, the new plans will feature a gym, public square, café, ground-floor retail, parking and a new walking route from the station to the facility.
The new plans will now be reviewed by the Council and the Greater London Authority as a referable application.
In a statement following the announcement of the new plans, Perry said: “I pledged to bring a pool back to the heart of Purley and this is a welcome step towards making that happen.
“The council has been working with Polaska on their proposals for the site because we want to make sure that the development benefits the whole community.
"I know that Purley Pool has been much missed by residents and a new leisure centre will help make it easier for local people of all ages to enjoy healthy, active lifestyles.
“The plans also include a later living scheme and a new public space, helping to increase footfall in our town centre and provide a boost for local businesses.
“While this is a welcome step, there is still a long way to go – we need to make sure that the proposals are right.
"The council will carefully consider the planning application from Polaska, and our focus will be fixed on delivering a facility that benefits everyone in the area.”
The application is currently being validated and will be available to view on the Council’s website in the next few days.
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