John Lewis could provide the flagship store in the proposed Croydon Westfield shopping centre.

The Australian retail developer Westfield is in talks to redevelop Whitgift Shopping Centre in North End.

Glynis Gunning-Stevenson, branch manager of John Lewis at Home, this week said the firm was looking for a town centre site.

She was a responding to a question from the floor at the Develop Croydon conference at Fairfield Halls on Tuesday, December 22.

During a debate on the importance of a vibrant/retail core in Croydon and how can it be achieved she confirmed the company’s Purley store was on a short-term lease and John Lewis considered it a stepping stone towards a store in the town centre.

Her comments follow remarks made by a senior Westfield executive after announcing the company, which has transformed sites in Shepherd’s Bush and Stratford, was in talks with the Whitgift Foundation.

Michael Gutman, managing director Europe and New Markets, said: “There is the potential for a major retail scheme in this strategic market which has been identified in the past by the John Lewis Partnership as a possible key location.

“The GLA and the local authorities have very high aspirations to implement a major retail scheme and the regeneration of the town centre.”