A levy forcing developers John Laing to start work on land offered to them by Croydon Council has been lifted.

Croydon Cabinet agreed on Monday December 12 to allow John Laing to stop paying money, believed to be hundreds of thousands of pounds, as part of CCURV plans to redevelop the College Green area and Barclay Road Annex parts of central Croydon.

This levy, 4.75 per cent on the market value of the land, is in place to force the developers to begin work as soon as possible.

The decision comes almost exactly two years after the council had to take out a £145m loan from the government to support CCURV when John Laing was faced with an additional £94 spend on interest rates and tax to begin construction on four regeneration sites.

Cabinet member for economic regeneration Coun Tim Pollard said: "The market isn’t right at the moment to begin construction. We are also now in a position to start work on Wellesley Road adjacent.

"It would be wrong to the market forces wasn’t the main reason but it is everyone’s interest we produced the project at the right time."

He said he was unsure when the payment would be re-introduced.