Croydon Development Finance: 6 Unit Residential Scheme at 96 - 98 Braemar Avenue South Croydon Enters the Pipeline

The application: scheme, units, and status

A new small scheme has entered the borough's decision queue. Application 26/01916/OUT at 96 - 98 Braemar Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 0QB is pending decision, according to the London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox). The register describes the proposal as outline planning permission for the demolition of the existing single storey office, storage building and meeting hall and erection of a three storey building, with accommodation within the roof, comprising a church hall and 6 flats with associated parking, bin and bike storage, with all matters reserved.

The unit count is modest: 6 units are proposed, per the London Borough of Croydon planning register (Idox), and the use class recorded against the application is residential, again per the same register. Our own estimate, derived from the register entry, puts gross development value at £1,605,000.

Where it sits in the Croydon pipeline

Six flats above a replacement church hall is exactly the size of scheme that keeps borough supply ticking over without ever making the headlines. The mixed community and residential content matters here. A church hall reprovided within the same building changes the funding conversation, because part of the finished asset is not a saleable flat. Sponsors tracking similar applications across the borough can see how this compares with the wider pipeline on our Croydon page, where we keep the local view of activity and funding conditions.

The status is the other thing to hold in mind. All matters are reserved, so this is a consent in principle only. Layout, scale, appearance, access and landscaping all follow later, and the drawn scheme that eventually gets built may differ from what the sponsor is currently modelling.

The finance angle: what funding the scheme will need

At an estimated GDV of £1,605,000 across 6 units, this is a small ticket by London standards, and that shapes which desks will look at it. Specialist commercial lenders and bridging specialists are the likely home for the site acquisition stage, particularly while the application sits pending decision. Land priced on an outline consent, or bought before any consent is issued, usually attracts a lower loan to value than a fully consented site, and pricing reflects the planning risk the lender is taking on.

Once reserved matters are approved, the funding shifts to a development facility drawn against costs, with challenger banks becoming competitive at that point on schemes with clear cost plans and a credible contractor. The church hall element needs to be priced honestly in the appraisal, since it contributes build cost and programme but no sales revenue.

Our read as brokers and what sponsors should line up

Our desk would advise sponsors on this type of scheme to prepare three things early: a costed appraisal that separates the community floorspace from the 6 residential units, a planning risk note covering the reserved matters programme, and an exit plan. On a scheme of this GDV, we usually see a development exit facility taken at practical completion, refinancing the build debt onto cheaper terms while the flats are marketed, rather than forcing a rushed sale into whatever the market offers on the day the last unit is signed off.