January 31 2018

Design for new main stand at Selhurst Park

Croydon council officials have raised concerns over the initial designs submitted by Crystal Palace to expand Selhurst Park stadium.

A newly published report by the Croydon Planning Committee states that the council are generally supportive of the Eagles securing a long term presence in the area, but there are issues to address regarding the expansion of the stadium.

"The policy goes onto state that the Council will ensure that any redevelopment would enhance the Club’s position, with a football stadium which makes a significant contribution to the Borough. Subject to compliance with the other detailed policies in the Development Plan there is no objection in principle to the proposed stadium expansion." the 9-page report reads.

"There is an expectation that this scheme and the extent to which it will significantly respond effectively to the existing and potential fan base of the Club should provide wider benefits to the local area and the local community, in terms of employment and training opportunities."

The report also outlines concerns regarding the area outside the front of the new main stand.

"There is concern that the large area of proposed car parking detracts from the area's sense of place.

"Additionally, no detail has been provided in terms of how the site will be serviced (and what potential conflicts would exist in terms of fans, cars and coaches, delivery vehicles, media vans etc). It is also currently unclear how pedestrian movements will be facilitated and separated from vehicles (concerns are raised in relation to this shortcoming).

"The scheme appears to lack development of the design in terms of landscaping and place-making design both within the site bounds and beyond it."

"There is concern that the overall design concept (utilising both "The Crystal Palace" and Eagle motifs) appears to be competing with each other.

The Eagle 'wings' and the vaulted arched form (reflecting the historic Crystal Palace Exhibition Hall) could well be argued as being tokenistic and not well integrated into the building form and architectural language.

"In addition, there is concern that the current external form has too great a corporate appearance, which might well weaken the conceptual motifs. Specifically 'The Crystal Palace' motif in particular, which is the preferred aesthetic, requires a lot more development beyond the subtle illusion of its silhouette.

"This is not to encourage a pastiche, but embedding a modern interpretation of the intricate ironmongery that made the 'Palace' iconic into the proposed architectural language and across the full elevation."

The Planning Committee's report makes no final recommendation as it's a very early stage of the planning process.

There are specific recommendations made as to what should be improved in later stages.