Menta - Cornerstone

Cornerstone

Menta’s key milestones and news about what we do to deliver benefits
for the local communities and wider town centre through our regeneration
projects and environmental commitments.

15.11.08

Croydon makes a towering bid
By Daniel Cunningham

5.03.08

Revised plans for £500m Croydon scheme

Regeneration company Menta is poised to submit planning for a £500m mixed-use scheme in Croydon that could
see London’s tallest residential tower built in the borough.
By Jennifer Rigby

The company has concluded its consultations with key groups, the London Borough of Croydon and the local community, over its 1.5m sq ft scheme at Cherry Orchard Road and can now press on with submitting planning in the summer.
Menta has also won planning this week for a 20,000 sq ft mail sorting office close to the site, and is in negotiations with Royal Mail about relocating to the new office. Royal Mail’s departure from its existing site would give Menta control of all the land needed for the redevelopment.

Design
Its design includes four towers, one at 52 storeys, which the company thinks will be the tallest in London. The scheme, located next to East Croydon station, will provide 1,300 new homes and a 350,000 sq ft office scheme as well as shops and cafes. Subject to planning, Menta expects to start on site in mid 2009.
Menta has revised its plans as a result of the consultations and relocated the tallest tower to minimise loss of daylight for existing residents. It is also offering to contribute to refurbishing East Croydon station.

User friendly
The GLA, CABE and the London Borough of Croydon have all signalled approval for the project.
Menta director Craig Marks said: ‘The proposals have been developed to fully support Croydon Council’s Vision 2020 and will contribute to a more attractive, cohesive and user friendly centre.’

5.03.08

MIPIM 2008: Menta to lodge revised Croydon plans

Craig Marks’ Menta will lodge revised plans this summer for a £500m mixed-use scheme in Croydon, south London.
The regeneration specialist said that following consultation with the Croydon council and the local community it had reworked the MAKE-designed plans for the 1.5m sq ft development on Cherry Orchard Road.
The plans will be officially unveiled at MIPIM in Cannes next week.
The project comprises four towers, including a 52-storey residential tower, around 1,300 homes, a 350,000 sq ft office building, open space, shops and cafes.
Work is scheduled to start on-site in mid 2009.
Menta said the revised plans relocate the tallest of the four towers to the middle of the development to minimise loss of daylight to residents.
Menta added the scheme had already received indications of support from the GLA, CABE and the London Borough of Croydon.
The group has also gained consent for a 20,000 sq ft mail sorting office close to the site.
The deal would enable the Royal Mail to relocate from its existing sorting office, freeing up land for development as part of the project.

Helen Roxburgh 05/03/2008 10:30

4.03.08

New gherkins to sprout in Croydon

THESE are the first images of a £ 500m scheme that will transform the south London skyline. The four skyscrapers in Croydon have
been designed by Ken Shuttleworth, the architect behind " the Gherkin".
Construction is set to take place on Cherry Orchard Road by East Croydon station. The tallest building would have 52 storeys
and contain 1,300 homes. The plans will be submitted to Croydon Council in the summer.

High rise: how Cherry Orchard will look

High rise: Artist's impression of Cherry Orchard Road site

4.03.08

4.03.08

Skyscrapers to transform Croydon skyline
By Kirsty Whalley

Future vision: An artist's impression of the diamond-shaped towers
A bid to transform Croydon's skyline with four new diamond shaped skyscrapers will be officially launched at a property festival in Cannes.
The £500million development in Cherry Orchard Road includes plans for potentially the tallest residential tower in London at 52 storeys.
It has been designed by Ken Shuttleworth, who worked with Sir Norman Foster on the Gherkin building and will be launched in Cannes next Tuesday.
The plans were announced weeks after Howard Holdings said it wanted to build a 60-storey tower at the Whitgift Centre and plans for a 44-storey structure being built in Wellesley Road were passed.
The new residential towers will contain 1,300 homes which will be a mix of private and affordable housing. There will also be another two residential towers and an office block.
The scheme also includes a public park and developer Menta has proposed a new station plaza for East Croydon with shops, restaurants and bars at ground level, which will link existing bus, taxi and tram services with the station.
It has also been granted planning permission for a new Royal Mail sorting office to be located close to the site.
The scheme was first launched in March last year but was withdrawn over concerns about the tower's height. The revised plans show that the tallest tower has been moved to the middle of the development to minimise loss of daylight to existing residents.
Menta is carrying out a public consultation with residents over the next two weeks and said it will submit a planning application for the 1.5m sq ft development this summer.
Craig Marks of Menta said: "I am delighted to be part of Croydon's renaissance as it adapts to the needs and aspirations of its residents for the 21st century.
" The proposals have been developed to fully support Croydon Council's Vision 2020 and will contribute to a more attractive, cohesive and user friendly centre."
Councillor Tim Pollard, Croydon Council's cabinet member for regeneration, said: "Officers have been working with Menta over a lengthy period to ensure that the comprehensive development of Cherry Orchard Road can be brought forward for formal consideration by the council. We are looking forward to receiving Menta's planning application as expected this summer."

26.10.07

World Architect News, 21.03.07

A new landmark, mixed-use scheme is set to bring world class architecture to the heart of Croydon, providing over 1million sq ft of new office, retail and residential space. The proposed development will provide dramatic regeneration to an area on Cherry Orchard Road, and is additionally set to transform East Croydon station into one of the leading commuter transport hubs in London.

Four new towers a public plaza and a new urban park will form the main focal point of the development which will complement and help bring forward the rejuvenation of East Croydon Station. The buildings will be designed to respond to the environment at different times of the day and the seasons throughout the year.

Menta, the development company have employed MAKE Architects and planners GL Hearn to develop plans for the site on Cherry Orchard Road. The development is in its early stages, but is likely to include a new station plaza with shops, restaurants and bars at ground level uniting existing bus, taxi and tram services with East Croydon Station. Above street level will be office space and a mix of private and affordable residential dwellings. Menta are seeking the views of Croydon Council as the proposals develop.

The development is being designed to enhance and complement the surrounding area, responding to the public realm and Croydon’s existing skyline. MAKE Architects are working up plans in accordance with Croydon’s Unitary Development Plan and 2020 Vision plans.

Sustainable architecture will be key throughout the development and a number of sustainability initiatives are being examined.

Craig Marks of development company Menta said: “We recognise the need to transform central Croydon into a place where people can live, work and socialise. The creation of a high quality transport interchange, which will provide improved links between trains, trams and buses is a crucial element of our proposals. We want improvements at East Croydon Station to be the catalyst for wide scale regeneration and urban renewal of the area surrounding Cherry Orchard Road.

“ Within our scheme we aim to deliver a vibrant mix of social, affordable and private housing. Our plans have the potential to create up to 2,500 new jobs”

12.03.07

A masterplan for a £500m mixed-use tower close to the Croydon Gateway site will be unveiled by developer Menta at MIPIM next week. Designed by Ken Shuttleworth’s Make, the project will comprise 1m sq ft on 6 acres between the eastern side of East Croydon station and Cherry Orchard Road. It will include a 25-storey, 350,000 sq ft office tower and three residential towers, one of which could be 40 storeys high. Menta hopes to be on site by 2008, with completion by 2013. Knight Frank is advising Menta.

09.03.07

13.10.06

Menta to resubmit plans for £200m Sheffield scheme

Regeneration specialist Menta is to resubmit plans for a mixed-use scheme in Sheffield's Upper Don Valley as it steps up its battle to end deadlock on its £350m regeneration plans for the run down area.
The submission follows the council's rejection of plans from Menta for the £200m Beeley Wood Sustainable Community, comprising 550 homes, environmental improvements and a bridge over the River Don connecting with the city's supertram network.
The group is separately proposing a 267,000 sq ft office and industrial scheme on 20 acres of former industrial land in the area and a £45m 126,640 sq ft office project.
However, planning officials have ruled that Menta's proposals conflict with its long-standing plans for an industrial-led scheme in the area.
Menta today said it remained "steadfast in its belief" that the council's proposals for the Claywheels Lane and Beeley Wood area of the Upper Don Valley were "insubstantial and economically unsound based as they are on a several years out of date Unitary Development Plan".
Craig Marks, a director of Menta, added: "Given the substantial evidence our consultants have put forward, we have illustrated that the historic Unitary Development Plans being dogmatically pursued by the council will lead to a continual downward spiral of neglect and decay in this part of the Upper Don Valley."
Menta said it still had the option of an appeal to central government but hopes that the new planning proposal may break the stalemate which threatens redevelopment of the Ski Village through crucial investor confidence in the Upper Don Valley.

Paul Norman 13/10/2006 12:15