Plans have been approved for a £1.4 billion town centre redevelopment project in Croydon.

Proposals for the Whitgift Shopping Centre include include creating over 300 new shops, restaurants, cafés and leisure facilities as well as 1,000 new homes.

The scheme will be developed by the Croydon Partnership, a joint venture (JV) between Westfield and Hammerson.

Previously, the Partnership's plans were first approved in February 2014, however last October an enhanced outline planning application was submitted featuring some key revisions such as more housing, a third level of retail and leisure and a new flagship Marks and Spencer store.

Work is scheduled to begin on site in 2019.

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Council Leader Tony Newman said: "This is fantastic news for Croydon and we have been doing everything we can to bring the redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre to fruition so local people can benefit from its wealth of offerings, including the creation of 7,000 new jobs.

"The new homes and the thousands of jobs this development will bring shows investors are rightly confident about Croydon as a place to live, work and spend free time."

John Burton OBE, Westfield UK/ Europe's head of development, added: "The approval of the £1.4bn plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre represents a significant milestone for the project and for Croydon. Retail-regeneration projects have a proven track record to deliver transformation and regeneration which is evidenced by the £5.25bn of inward investment planned for Croydon."

Peter Cole, chief investment officer of Hammerson, said: "Our goal remains to deliver a world-class retail and leisure destination to attract new visitors to Croydon and enhance economic growth in the town.

"We are pleased with the level of retail demand which has driven the evolution of the design and layout of the new scheme, and we look forward to progressing our plans and transforming Croydon into one of the UK's top 10 retail and leisure destinations."

(LM/MH)