Whitgift Centre

Whitgift Centre
Main entrance to Whitgift Centre from North End, Croydon
Map
General information
TypeShopping centre/Offices and Car park
Town or cityCroydon, England
Current tenantsBoots, Holland & Barrett, New Look, River Island, Sainsbury's Central
InauguratedOctober 1970; 54 years ago (1970-10)
OwnerUnibail-Rodamco-Westfield (since 2023)
LandlordThe Croydon Partnership (Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield)
Technical details
Floor count3
Floor area1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m2)[1]
Design and construction
Architect(s)Anthony Minoprio
Architecture firmGeddes Architects
Main contractorFitzroy Robinson & Partners

The Whitgift Centre is a large shopping centre in the town centre of Croydon, opening in stages between 1968 and 1970.[1] The centre comprises 1,302,444 sq ft (121,001 m2) of retail space, and was the largest covered shopping development in Greater London until the opening of Westfield London at White City in 2008. The Whitgift Centre has a monthly footfall of 2.08 million.[2] The complex includes an office development.

The shopping centre has been synonymous with Croydon since its opening.[3] In 2013, Hammerson and the Westfield Group formed a joint venture to redevelop the shopping mall and combine it with neighbouring Centrale.[4] After years of delays, work was expected to begin in 2020, although the future of the project was under review in February 2019 citing concerns over Brexit and structural changes on the high street.[5][6]

The shopping centre is managed by Hammerson Leasing. In 2023 Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield acquired full ownership of the Whitgift Centre, along with the nearby Centrale centre.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference cg-15sep2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Our Malls – CitySpace Media".
  3. ^ "A Farewell Tour Of The Whitgift Centre". Londonist. 2 July 2015.
  4. ^ "Hammerson / Westfield - General - Hammerson and Westfield unite in £1 billion Croydon town centre regeneration". Archived from the original on 16 February 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  5. ^ Prynn, Jonathan (14 February 2019). "Westfield's £1.4bn Croydon development 'under review due to Brexit and structural changes on the high street'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2019.
  6. ^ Molyneaux, Ian (13 October 2019). "A brutally honest review of The Whitgift Centre in Croydon". getwestlondon.