Mayor approves Croydon Westfield shopping centre plans

The project is a joint venture by developers Westfield and Hammerson

The Mayor of London has rubber stamped plans to build a new £1.4bn shopping centre in Croydon.

The project was given the go-ahead by Croydon Council in November, but due to the size of the scheme it had to be scrutinised by Sadiq Khan.

Mr Khan said the mall - a joint venture by Westfield and Hammerson - will "unlock Croydon's potential".

The south London shopping centre will replace the existing Whitgift Centre and create 7,000 jobs.

Work to demolish the existing Whitgift Centre will begin later this year, with Westfield Croydon aiming to be open by 2022.

Compared to the other two Westfield shopping centres in London - one in White City and the other in Stratford - the Croydon complex will be the smallest.