Building that was part of Channel 4's Peep Show to help tackle Croydon’s housing crisis

Croydon Council is acceptable to o.k. plans to person an aged bureau gathering that was utilized successful Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show into 73 impermanent accommodation flats, helping conscionable the increasing request for housing.

The 1960s-built Zodiac Court, erstwhile location to Mark and Jez successful the arsenic the fictional Apollo House, is present connected way to play a cardinal relation successful addressing the borough’s lodging crisis.

The council’s connection involves turning portion of the gathering into self-contained flats, ranging from 1 to 3 bedrooms. Croydon is seeking to unafraid a 999-year lease for the erstwhile bureau section, wherever the flats volition beryllium located.

If approved astatine a furniture gathering connected Wednesday (January 23) this development would easiness Croydon’s impermanent lodging shortages. According to the council’s figures, 3,600 households successful the borough are presently surviving successful impermanent accommodation.

The borough is besides nether unit from neighbouring areas, with an expanding fig of residents needing to beryllium housed successful Croydon aft failing to find suitable accommodation person to home. Croydon faces mounting fiscal challenges successful tackling homelessness, with a projected overspend of much than £15 cardinal for 2024/25. Council reports nexus this to a terrible shortage of affordable homes and rising costs successful the backstage rental market.

The assembly hopes initiatives similar the Zodiac Court task volition assistance trim these pressures and alleviate strain connected different impermanent accommodation blocks, specified arsenic Windsor and Concord House, which are adjacent connected London Road.

Hoardings person surrounded Zodiac Court for years owed to the site’s ongoing refurbishment. The building, which had been vacant for 30 years, and its iconic operation block, required important restoration.

While Croydon volition usage portion of the gathering for its 73 units, the rest, including its tower, volition stay with the freeholder. The operation presently has abstraction for 64 units.

The assembly volition usage a premix of its wide fund, Right to Buy proceeds, £5.1m of Local Authority Housing Fund money, and borrowing to money the lease. The assembly assures residents that the determination is financially viable, with much than fractional of the backing coming from authorities grants and Right to Buy funds.

Alongside the flats, the assembly hopes to yet get the nationalist plot abstraction and assemblage gathering connected site. Once the works are finished, the developer volition lease the nationalist quadrate and assemblage centre to a section group, who volition beryllium liable for maintenance.

The assembly hopes this determination volition let the Broad Green assemblage to usage the beforehand of the gathering arsenic a nationalist space. A move-in day for the caller flats has not yet been set.