| Saffron Square | |
| Structural System: | WSP Group Plc |
| Client: | Berkeley Homes (South East London) Ltd |
| Address: | Wellesley Road |
| Location Town: | Croydon |
| Start Date: | 2011 |
| Completion Date: | 2016 |
| Height: | 134m (440feet)[1] |
| Floor Count: | 43 |
| Architect: | Rolfe Judd |
| Structural Engineer: | Manhire Associates Ltd. |
Saffron Square (formerly known as Wellesley Square) is a town square and high-rise building in Croydon, United Kingdom. The purple and red Saffron Tower is currently the second-tallest building in Croydon.
Saffron Square is part of the Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration plan for the London Borough of Croydon to add to its goal of being London's Third City. The area was developed by Berkeley Homes. Planning permission for the tower was given in April 2008,[2] and construction began in 2011, with completion in 2016.
In the mid-2000s, the development of tall buildings was being encouraged in the London Plan, which would lead to the erection of new skyscrapers over the next few years as London went through a high-rise boom.[3]
By 2008, the site, on main Croydon thoroughfare Wellesley Road, had lain fallow for over ten years. The project aimed to start in 2008 with completion in 2012, however, construction started in 2011. By June 2013, the tower's construction was well underway with its final completion expected in 2015.[4] [5] As of early 2014, a large part of the project had been completed. Upon completion, Saffron Square was the tallest residential tower in Croydon, with 414 private apartments and penthouses, overtaken in 2019 by 101 George Street.[6]
Saffron Tower was nominated for the 2016 Carbuncle Cup for the ugliest building of the previous 12 months,[7] but the award went to Lincoln Plaza in Docklands.[8]
Berkeley Homes' proposals for this key northern gateway site include, but are not limited to: