Plans for a six-storey hotel with up to 91 rooms in South Croydon are set to go before councillors, despite concerns over its design, lack of parking and flood risk.
Croydon Council’s planning committee is due to consider the outline application for 1A Brighton Road at its meeting on Thursday, September 3. The proposal would replace a long-vacant former car showroom site with a hotel and dining facilities.
The application has been submitted by Qasim Gulamhusein through 1a CR2 Ltd. It seeks approval for the principle and scale of the development, while details including the layout, appearance, landscaping and access would be dealt with at a later stage.
The building would be up to six storeys high, reaching approximately 17.1 metres at its tallest point. It would step down towards the adjacent Swan and Sugar Loaf building, which is locally listed and now contains a Tesco Express with flats above.
Planning officers have recommended approval but have criticised the applicant’s indicative design. Their report describes the proposals as “poor” and warns that the elevations could create a “homogenised and oppressive” appearance.
Officers said the design did not adequately respond to the character of Brighton Road and placed too much emphasis on the building’s bulk. However, because the application is in outline form, the final appearance would be considered through a future reserved-matters application.
No guest or disabled parking proposed
One of the main objections concerns the decision to make the hotel entirely car-free.
The plans do not include parking spaces for hotel guests or disabled visitors. The applicant argues that the site is well served by public transport, with frequent bus services and South Croydon station within walking distance.
Transport for London encouraged the applicant to provide a Blue Badge space. Council officers, however, said an existing disabled parking bay outside 18 Selsdon Road could meet that need.
They added that providing a space on the site could affect the building’s frontage, reduce the efficiency of the layout and interfere with local bus routes.
Conservative South Croydon councillor Danielle Denton has objected to the scheme, raising concerns about its height, bulk and the wider impact of developing the site as a hotel.
She has argued that the land should instead be used for family-sized homes, given the borough’s housing needs.
Council officers said the application could not be refused simply because residents or councillors would prefer housing. They concluded that hotel use was acceptable in principle for South Croydon town centre.
Flood risk identified as a concern
The site has also been identified as being in a high-risk flood area.
To reduce the risk to future occupants, officers have recommended that there should be no sleeping accommodation at ground or basement level. The entrance to the basement would also have to be raised by 600mm above ground level.
The council’s Lead Local Flood Authority has raised technical concerns about drainage, including site levels, overland flow routes, discharge rates and the proposed drainage system.
Planning officers said those matters could be dealt with through conditions if permission is granted.
The applicant would also be required to sign a Section 106 legal agreement. This is expected to secure contributions towards local employment, carbon offsetting and air-quality improvements before final permission is issued.
Long history of unbuilt schemes
The site has stood empty since the former showroom was demolished in late 2021.
Several housing schemes have been approved for the address since 2007, but none was built. Officers noted that the current applicant is not required to implement those earlier permissions.
The hotel proposal is also not the first hotel scheme considered for the site. Council records show that an earlier outline application for a five-storey hotel at 1A Brighton Road was granted by the planning committee in April 2025, with councillors voting nine to one in favour.
A separate 2026 planning notice also lists a rival outline proposal for a five-storey block containing 25 flats and two commercial units at the same address.
The latest hotel application, reference 26/00079/OUT, will be considered by Croydon’s planning committee on Thursday evening. The committee’s decision will determine whether the principle and scale of the larger hotel scheme can move forward.
