Plans to convert 114-120 Church Street, Croydon, into 32 residential apartments and retail space have been rejected on appeal due to the potential harm it could do to heritage assets surrounding the site.
120 Church Street is an 18th-century Grade I listed building. More recently the site has been used as a furniture showroom, meaning the listed building has been significantly altered over the years to accommodate a "workaday and haphazard showroom". 114-118 Church Street has been locally listed. This site is also near to Croydon Minster, also Grade I listed, a listed pub and the Croydon Minster Conservation Area.
As part of the proposal, Skillcrown Homes Ltd proposed to restore 120 Church Street's original townhouse frontage. Whilst it was considered that this would be positive and would help to preserve the building, the additional proposed extensions behind the building of three to five storeys would be harmful to the historical setting as the scale of the proposal was at odds with existing heritage assets.
Whilst there is a public benefit to the plan due to the potential contribution to the housing supply, the planning inspector had to conclude that the additional elements, whilst required to make the development financially viable, would harm local heritage. The appeal was therefore dismissed.
