Redevelopment plans for London’s Crystal Palace have hit a wall as negotiations with the site's investors – Chinese ZhongRong Group and Bromley Council – have taken significantly longer than expected.
Speaking to the
Architects’ Journal, Green Party spokesman in Crystal Palace Tom Chance said: ‘We understand that the negotiations are stuck in a catch 22 situation – that the council wants more detail on the plans before they sign off on the land deal, but the developer wants the land deal secured before they put more money into developing the plans.”
The Crystal Palace project has sparked a lot of interest, particularly since its shortlist of potential architects to redesign the site was announced back in
February. The list was effectively a roundup of some of the UK’s best architectural firms, including Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield and Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.
However, since this promising start, little has come out of the project and sticking to the initial timetable seems unrealistic. Although a spokesperson from Bromley Council commented that "discussions are continuing,” it is expected the project will face further delays.
Originally constructed in 1851, Paxton’s Crystal Palace was destroyed in a fire in 1936. ZhongRong is attempting to restore Crystal Palace to its former glory and make it, once again, a cultural destination for London. A planning application is hoped to be submitted by the end of the year.
