Policy information sourced from Lambeth Local Plan 2020-2035
PN11: Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace
The council will support the role of Upper Norwood/Crystal Palace as a district centre and work with the adjoining London boroughs to safeguard and encourage retail uses and other appropriate town-centre uses, including housing. It will support opportunities for physical improvements to the centre which enhance and improve its character, increase green infrastructure, improve air quality and will seek to improve traffic, safety, accessibility and environmental conditions for pedestrians and cyclists in the area and public transport links to other parts of London. The council will support the vibrant arts and cultural scene and also encourage the growth of the creative and digital industries sector in the area. New housing in the wider Upper Norwood/ Crystal Palace area will be supported. Where necessary and justified to achieve the objectives of this policy, the council will use conditions and/or planning obligations in new development proposals to limit uses consented within Class E.
This will be achieved by:
- safeguarding and encouraging retail uses: within the primary shopping area, no less than 50 per cent of ground-floor units should be in retail use; all ground-floor units should be in active frontage use; and no more than 25 per cent in food and drink use;
- supporting the potential extension of the Tramlink to Crystal Palace and/ or improvements to rail frequencies on the Beckenham Junction corridor to provide improved access for the area; Gipsy Hill station is only fully accessible to one platform and development should seek to enable step-free access to both platforms;
- working with TfL on options to improve bus services towards central London and supporting planned improvements to the bus station;
- investigating, with TfL and other adjoining boroughs, ways in which traffic conditions in the area can be improved to ameliorate access to sustainable modes of transport, control speeds, reduce congestion and improve air quality, including the consideration of re-introducing two-way working at the triangle and a co-ordinated approach to road danger reduction, parking and servicing control and management;
- implementing the Healthy Route network from Crystal Palace to Herne Hill via Gipsy Hill and West Dulwich and exploring opportunities to deliver improved links southward, particularly to Croydon town centre;
- protecting Cooper’s Yard Studios for cultural, creative and digital uses; and
- working closely with the adjoining boroughs to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the management of the centre.
For more information please see the Local Plan