South Norwood

South Norwood High Street. Copyright 2021 Chris Redgrave / Historic England

The South Norwood Regeneration Programme is a £2.4 million programme funded by the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund and Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone. It aims to revitalise South Norwood’s high streets and celebrate the area’s rich heritage and culture, creating a place where people and businesses can thrive.

Continuing the work of the South Norwood Community Plan (PDF, 10.7MB), the regeneration programme is improving buildings and public spaces, supporting local businesses to establish and grow, and empowering the community network.

What’s happening

Here are some of the projects happening within the regeneration programme:

• A grants scheme to improve high street shops and building facades
• Supporting businesses to turn empty commercial units into new retail and workspace
• Working with the community to enhance the public realm of the high streets
• A comprehensive programme of business support for new and existing businesses, with programmes to support the Clock Tower Market and creative enterprises
• Supporting South Norwood Business Network with the launch of the Love South Norwood app – free to download
   

Community groups

We are working with community groups to improve access to and flexibility of their existing community spaces, including:

• Socco Cheta Community Hub CIC, Portland Road, a consortium of local organisations, works start September 2021
• Stanley Arts, South Norwood Hill ,improving Stanley Arts’ South Norwood Hill façade and developing their workspaces to strengthen their role as a nexus of creativity
• Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation (CYTO), Oakley Road, improving access and usability of The Shoestring Theatre, home of Croydon’s longest running youth theatre group

We are also working with 6 community groups to develop their organisations and sustain the programme benefits in to the future:

• We Love SE25, We Love SE25 is a membership based town team made up of the existing network of community groups, establishing a unified voice for South Norwood
• South Norwood Net, a platform for local business and events and a directory of community organisations
• All Heads Recognized, a social enterprise specialising in education, training and development for all ages based in a unit on Portland Road
• CYTO, a youth theatre organisation which has been operating in Croydon for over 50 years