London Mayor gives go-ahead for capital's third Westfield

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has signed off plans for the capital's third Westfield supermall in Croydon, the construction of which is due to start next year.

Croydon Council had already approved plans for the £1.4bn development in November but given the project's scale it was sent to the Mayor's office for final approval.

Khan said the plans, which include the creation of 7,000 new jobs and 1,000 new homes, will "unlock the potential" of the South London town.

"This development will play a key role in unlocking the borough’s potential and is set to deliver huge economic benefits to residents and businesses in the borough," Khan said, in a report in the Evening Standard.

The new mall is a joint venture between Westfield and Hammerson and it will sit within a redeveloped core of Croydon's former Whitgift Shopping Centre. It will be home to 300 shops, foot outlets and leisure facilities as well as a multi-screen cinema and bowling alley, set over 1.5m sq ft.

London's first Westfield mall was opened in White City 10 years ago, followed by its second in Stratford, which was opened to co-incide with the London 2012 Olympics. At the end of last year it was revealed that Australian group Westfield agreed a sale of its UK and US malls to French shopping mall giant Unibail-Rodamco for $24.7bn.