Menta development - Cherry Orchard Road
Location of Menta site
Menta's site is beside East Croydon station
Menta development plan499 flats
165 bed 4 star hotel (plus 22 serviced apartments) Retail space: 2 ground floors of tower block Office space: 71,000 sq ft Community centre: 5,700 sq ft Key information on Menta siteAddress: Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, CR0 6BT
Current use: a vacant office block (Amy Johnson House) and vacant residential homes Site owner: Menta |
 Menta's 54 storey skyscraper |
History and current situation of Menta site
The developer (Menta) acquired these plots - on both sides of Cherry Orchard Road - in early 2005. Menta's initial planning application sought an incredibly dense level of development which featured a cluster of four similarly designed "pointy" towers. This application led to widespread opposition from the local councillors and residents who argued that such a density of development was incompatible with the immediately adjacent low level Victorian suburban housing. This initial application was rejected in 2009.
Given the public outcry, Menta revised its planning application. The new application seeks a less intense level of development but still features a 171 metre tall residential skyscraper. This 54 storey skyscraper starts with five levels of basement parking (just 173 parking spaces) and then ground and first floor retail. The rest of the skyscraper is comprised of flats, some 427 in total. None of the flats in this residential skyscraper will be affordable accommodation.
To the south of the residential skyscraper, will be an 18-storey hotel skyscraper containing 165 rooms plus 22 serviced apartments. There will be no parking for either visitors or staff at this hotel skyscraper.
On the southern extreme of the site (Billington Hill), there will be a 11 storey office block with a pub, retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The construction of this office block will entail the demolition of the existing Porter & Sorter pub. The proposed office space compared to the nearby Stanhope Schroders' scheme is relatively modest - only 71,000 square feet. It is proposed that this office space will be sublet to start-up businesses.
There will be no parking for either visitors or staff at this office block.
At Cherry Orchard Gardens, a separate site on the other side of Cherry Orchard Road, there will be 72 affordable dwellings. There will be just 24 parking spaces for these homes. A community centre (5,700 square feet) will also be built at Cherry Orchard Gardens.
Given the public outcry, Menta revised its planning application. The new application seeks a less intense level of development but still features a 171 metre tall residential skyscraper. This 54 storey skyscraper starts with five levels of basement parking (just 173 parking spaces) and then ground and first floor retail. The rest of the skyscraper is comprised of flats, some 427 in total. None of the flats in this residential skyscraper will be affordable accommodation.
To the south of the residential skyscraper, will be an 18-storey hotel skyscraper containing 165 rooms plus 22 serviced apartments. There will be no parking for either visitors or staff at this hotel skyscraper.
On the southern extreme of the site (Billington Hill), there will be a 11 storey office block with a pub, retail and restaurant space on the ground floor. The construction of this office block will entail the demolition of the existing Porter & Sorter pub. The proposed office space compared to the nearby Stanhope Schroders' scheme is relatively modest - only 71,000 square feet. It is proposed that this office space will be sublet to start-up businesses.
There will be no parking for either visitors or staff at this office block.
At Cherry Orchard Gardens, a separate site on the other side of Cherry Orchard Road, there will be 72 affordable dwellings. There will be just 24 parking spaces for these homes. A community centre (5,700 square feet) will also be built at Cherry Orchard Gardens.
Estimated shadow cast by the Menta skyscraper
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There was significant local opposition to Menta's application. A total of 604 local residents, all the local councillors, the local MP and the London Assembly Member voiced objections to Menta’s application. The main concerns raised where the compatibility of such a tall skyscraper close to two storey Victorian housing, lack of parking provision, the shadow cast by the building and the height of the skyscaper so far from Croydon's centre. Despite the objections, Croydon's Strategic Planning Committee approved it on 21 July 2011. The Mayor of London rubber stamped his approval shortly afterwards.
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The large Royal Mail building is adjacent to Menta's site. This building is in a poor state of repair but is in a prime location immediately beside East Croydon station. Like Menta, the Royal Mail is anxious to redevelop this site, but to date has submitted no planning application.
Menta links
A blog post dated 15 April 2011 discussing the pros and cons of the Menta development:
Menta's towering ambition
The following article from the Croydon Guardian dated 4.4.2011 details Menta's revised proposals:
BT Tower-sized skyscraper planned for Croydon town centre
The supporting documentation submitted to Croydon Council for the formal planning application - which runs to many hundreds of pages:
Menta's planning application for Cherry Orchard Road
Menta's website on the Cherry Orchard Road development:
Cherry Orchard Road
A thought provoking post from the Inside Croydon blog dated 16.4.2011 on Menta's plans:
Rats! Slum fears over Menta’s Cherry Orchard Gardens plan
Menta's towering ambition
The following article from the Croydon Guardian dated 4.4.2011 details Menta's revised proposals:
BT Tower-sized skyscraper planned for Croydon town centre
The supporting documentation submitted to Croydon Council for the formal planning application - which runs to many hundreds of pages:
Menta's planning application for Cherry Orchard Road
Menta's website on the Cherry Orchard Road development:
Cherry Orchard Road
A thought provoking post from the Inside Croydon blog dated 16.4.2011 on Menta's plans:
Rats! Slum fears over Menta’s Cherry Orchard Gardens plan
Key Croydon development sites
Stanhope Schroders (Ruskin Square - previously Arrowcroft's ill-fated Croydon Gateway/Arena development)
Mid Croydon (The area between the Clocktower and Allders - previously the ill-fated Minerva Park Place development)
Public Services Delivery Hub (Fell Road - the Council's replacement for Taberner House constructed under the John Laing regeneration deal)
Taberner House (The Councils' current headquarters - scheduled for demolition in 2013)
NHS site (The former site of the now demolished Croydon General Hospital - just to the north of West Croydon station)
Mid Croydon (The area between the Clocktower and Allders - previously the ill-fated Minerva Park Place development)
Public Services Delivery Hub (Fell Road - the Council's replacement for Taberner House constructed under the John Laing regeneration deal)
Taberner House (The Councils' current headquarters - scheduled for demolition in 2013)
NHS site (The former site of the now demolished Croydon General Hospital - just to the north of West Croydon station)
