Councillors were torn over a plan to redevelop a Croydon site and more than 200 homes, with some struggling to find anything positive to say about it.

The Hyde Group Ltd has submitted a pre-application to Croydon Council to redevelop the site known as Heath Clark North on Duppas Hill Road.

The company looks to bring 210 more new homes to Heath Clark North, with non-residential floorspace, private and communal spaces, and parking.

At a council meeting held last Thursday (October 17), councillors and officers from Croydon Council Planning Committee met with planners and designers to discuss the pre-application.

Jon Ackroyd of Ackroyd Lowrie Architects, which designed the scheme, said: “It will bring a welcome entrance with community facilities from the ground entrance.”

Diana Thomson of property consultancy firm Savills explained that the plan would bring 74 one-bedroom homes capable of housing two people, 49 two-bedroom homes capable of housing four people, and 87 three-bedroom homes capable of housing five people.

Ms Thomson said the plans will deliver homes with “very high levels of sustainability.”

The plan also aims to introduce a range of community facilities, which could include shops, gyms and recreational spaces.

These amenities will be accessible directly from Duppas Hill.

Ms Thomson summarised the benefits of the scheme, stating that it will bring a delivery of 210 much-needed market and affordable homes, landscape-led masterplans, an improved sense of arrival to Duppas Hill, improved community space, improved housing quality, design and appearance, and enhanced environmental and sustainability credentials.

Cllr Ellily Ponnuthurai, who represents the Waddon ward, asked whether the plan would bring 100 per cent affordable housing.

Ms Thomson replied: “There is an intention to make housing 100 per cent affordable, but the current planning application will be for 35 per cent affordable housing.”

Cllr Mark Johnson was highly against the plan and said he “struggled” to find anything positive to say about it.

Cllr Johnson referenced a previous planning application where there were plans for more houses than flats.

He said: “On the previous planning application, I did not think it was wonderful, but I liked the fact there were plenty of houses, and what we desperately need are houses to tell people to move up from flats to family housing.

“And a huge amount of the ones we have got here are one-bedroom. I would like to see no one-bedroom houses at all, and more three to four-bedrooms which is what we desperately need.”

Cllr Johnson made his position clear, saying this isn’t what the site needs as it is not an area that is “flat-driven”.

He added that he felt there was a “real opportunity to make a lovely development” and that the plans could make it “considerably worse” by having too many flats.

Chairman Cllr Michael Neal partially disagreed with Cllr Johnson, saying “it is an application to have the mix of housing” and he would not discount the one-bedroom flats.

Ms Thomson told councillors that if there are any suggestions from the local community, the applicants would be very happy to explore them.

She added: “We want the space to be well-used.”

The plans involve 67 car parking spaces to accommodate the 210 households.

Councillors were also sceptical about this section, with Cllr Luke Shortland and Cllr Ellily Ponnuthurai questioning whether having less than a third of the required car spaces would be sufficient.

Cllr Shortland said: “To me, this is far too small, especially given that the plan is to provide for so many families.

“I would like to see the number of bays go up.”

Cllr Ponnuthurai said: “Families are going to want cars, but we are not providing enough, and I do not really want that many cars on site.”

In response, Ms Thomson said a public consultation was undertaken involving 1,200 properties.

She explained: “We had only around 20 or 30 people turn up to the consultation to engage with us.

“We were expecting to be given a really hard time on parking and transport movement, and it just didn’t transpire like that.

“We had one or two questions, and it was not really the big deal we thought it would be.”

The site falls within a Public Transport Accessibility Level (PTAL) of 4, meaning that access to public transport is considered good.

The nearest station is Waddon, which is just a six-minute walk away.

Ms Thomson added that fewer cars would mean more greenery and generally a good look for the site.

The statement said that a small number of trees would have to be cut down, but Mr Ackroyd reassured councillors that “nearly all the trees have been sustained”.

Councillors will now consider whether to receive the pre-application officially.

If they do, a second council meeting, expected to be held in the New Year, will be held, where members of the public will be able to express their support or objections to this proposal.

Croydon Council Planning Committee will make a decision by Thursday (October 24), and if approved, the public will be able to view the planning application on the Croydon Council website in its entirety.