Croydon underpass work finally expected to start after three-year wait

The TfL cash was supposed to come from the body’s Liveable Neighbourhoods fund, which was paused while it tried to fix its finances.

Having secured a funding deal until March 2024, it said it is exploring relaunching the scheme.

At the time Croydon Council pledged £7 million for the project from its Growth Zone Fund.

It will use this money to fill in one of the underpasses as part of the original plan.

Work on Croydon Council’s Minster Green project is expected to get underway early in 2023, it was originally supposed to start back in 2020.

Information on the project reads: “This ambitious council-led project aims to re-establish the Minster’s role as the historic core of Croydon through the redesign of the surrounding public realm and parks.

“The area surrounding the Croydon Minster is of historical importance as Croydon’s place of origin.

“Croydon’s association with the Archbishop of Canterbury over nine centuries has shaped the identity of the area and left an enduring physical legacy, principally in the quality of its historic buildings.

“While the Minster is one of the borough’s few Grade I listed buildings, the surrounding public realm is of poor quality.

“The two green areas on either side, Minster green and St. John’s Memorial Gardens, are underused and neglected.”

It is expected to include a new public space in front of the Minster as well as improving the pedestrian and cycle routes around the historic building in Church Street.