Legal & General submits planning application for new café at Crayfields Park
Legal & General has committed to further investment by submitting a planning application for a 2,200 sq ft building refurbishment and extension at Crayfields Park, to create a café and management suite. The building, known as Nash House, forms a key gateway to the 22 acre Crayfields Park in Orpington, Bromley.
A local or independent operator is being targeted for the small café on the ground floor, which would serve Crayfields Park tenants and the wider St Paul’s Cray and Orpington community. A new Management Suite is planned for the first floor, complete with terrace, for use by the Park’s Estate and Community Manager. A reconfigured car park around Nash House would create an external terrace adjacent to the café, with enhanced pedestrian access to the site and active frontage to Main Road.
The proposed scheme has a strong focus on sustainable design, with PV panels located on the building’s roof to generate green energy, as well as the use of sustainably sourced and recycled materials for construction wherever possible. Legal & General has focused the plans on the refurbishment of Nash House, improving existing brickwork and retaining much of the structure, including the First World War memorial on its external façade, which would be preserved and relocated to a prominent position directly adjacent to the café entrance.
Alongside this planning application, Legal & General are proposing to further enhance the amenity offering at Crayfields Park for its tenants, having submitted plans for a new cycle store, showers, and landscaping to the north of the site near the New Mill Road entrance.
Nigel Marsden, Senior Asset Manager, Legal & General, commented: “Sustainability and community are the main focuses for us at Crayfields Park, and this has inspired our proposed refurbishment of Nash House. The proposals aim to bring Crayfields Park another step closer to its community, whether you work for a business on-site, live nearby, or have a connection that brings you to St Paul’s Cray. Our continued investment in Crayfields Park will always be driven towards making the site more accessible and enjoyable for those who use it.”
The planning application submission for Nash House follows the news that local company, Planet Turf, has been appointed as the dedicated landscape contractor at Crayfields Park, enhancing the space and creating apprenticeship opportunities for the community.