When it opened in 1992, Sutton’s new £100 million St Nicholas Centre was expected to be one of the South East’s “premiere shopping centres”, but now it’s about to be demolished.
As part of a wider regeneration of Sutton town centre, the council has selected a development partner to rebuild the shopping centre and provide a new Civic Hub to replace its existing council buildings, as well as a new retail centre to replace the old one.
The proposed Civic Hub should be completed by mid-2029, and the council expects it will reduce their office costs by around £1 million a year.
Around 740 new homes – 50% of which will be affordable housing for local families, including nearly 300 homes for social rent – will be built on the existing Civic Offices, Gibson Road car park and Secombe Theatre sites. There will also be improvements to the public realm, such as new ways to access the town centre.
The Omniplex Cinema and the St Nicholas Centre Car Park will be retained.
Although the shopping centre cost around £100 million to build in the early 1990s, the council was able to buy it for just £26 million in August 2021.
The decision follows the recent openings of Oru Sutton and Throwley Yard, the plans for a new home on the High Street for Sutton College, as well as the construction of new council homes at Beech Tree Place and Elm Grove in the town centre.
