Croydon Development Finance: 112 Unit Residential Scheme at 2 - 8 Altyre Road Croydon CR9 Enters the Pipeline

A substantial residential conversion has joined the Croydon pipeline. Application 26/01598/GPDO, covering 2 - 8 Altyre Road Croydon CR9 2LG, is currently pending decision according to the London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox). The proposal, as described on the same register, is a change of use from commercial (Use Class E) to residential (Use Class C3) to provide 112 flats under Schedule 2, Part 3, Class MA of the Town and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 (as amended), together with associated works.

At 112 units, per the London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox), this is one of the larger permitted development submissions to reach the borough this year. The register records the proposed use class as residential (London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox)), and the Class MA route means the applicant is seeking prior approval rather than full planning permission. That matters for timing: prior approval determinations run to a statutory clock, so sponsors on schemes like this often need funding lined up faster than a conventional consent would demand.

Altyre Road sits close to East Croydon station, in a part of the town centre where older commercial stock has been steadily repurposed. Office to residential conversion has been a consistent theme in the local pipeline for a decade, and a 112 flat scheme adds meaningful volume to it. We track this activity closely through our Croydon coverage, where conversion schemes of this scale have been a recurring feature of the applications we monitor.

On the numbers, Construction Capital estimates a gross development value of £29,680,000 for the scheme, an estimate derived from the unit count recorded on the London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox). A GDV at that level puts the project firmly in structured funding territory. The likely capital stack runs in three stages. First, site or bridging finance to hold the building while the prior approval is determined, typically provided by bridging specialists comfortable with pending-decision risk. Second, conversion funding once approval lands: specialist commercial lenders and challenger banks are both active on Class MA projects of this size, usually advancing 60 to 70 percent of cost with the balance from sponsor equity or mezzanine. Third, a development exit facility at practical completion, refinancing the build debt at a lower rate while the 112 flats are sold or let, which protects margin if sales run slower than appraised.

Our desk's read: whoever is behind 26/01598/GPDO should be engaging funders now, not at determination. Lenders will want the prior approval notice, a costed conversion programme, evidence of local sales values supporting the appraisal, and a credible exit assumption for a scheme of this unit count in this postcode. Sponsors who arrive with that pack assembled tend to secure sharper terms and faster credit decisions. We will report again when the register shows a determination on the Altyre Road application.