The Croydon Council approved the acquisition of the remaining land and interests for the £1.4 billion redevelopment of the retail town center in Croydon, London, through compulsory purchase order powers.

The Croydon Partnership, Hammerson PLC's joint venture between Westfield Corp., now merged with Unibail-Rodamco SE, received final approval for the redevelopment of the Whitgift Centre from London Mayor Sadiq Khan in January.

Construction is expected to commence in 2019 at the earliest with opening expected in 2023.

Relocation agreements have been signed for nine occupiers of the Whitgift Centre to move to the Centrale shopping center, which will remain open throughout the construction period. The partnership has also reached settlements with most of the landowners affected by the redevelopment, with the remaining to be contacted in the coming weeks regarding the next steps.

The scheme includes more than 1.5 million square feet of retail and leisure space along with between 626 to 967 new residential units next to the redeveloped center. John Lewis and Waitrose recently announced that they have signed up at the redevelopment for a full line department store and supermarket.