Royal Mail have been given the green light to redevelop its office in East Croydon and relocate its base to Waddon.
As part of the plans, the current delivery office in Addiscombe Road will undergo redevelopment to provide around 200 new homes and retail space.
Royal Mail, who claim the current site which operates over several floors no longer meets its requirements, will relocate its delivery office to a new site on the Wandle Park Trading Estate in Waddon.
The planning application was submitted to the council in July, following public consultation on the proposal in June.
The relocation of the delivery office will take place on a phased basis starting with deliveries to customers in South Croydon.
It is expected the move will begin in mid January and will be completed by the Spring, but the enquiry office at Addiscombe Road will remain open for the collection of mail until the relocation to the new site is complete.
The move is part of Royal Mail's modernisation of its operations. Responding to concerns that some customers- especially those without cars- will be unable to get to the new site, the company has said customers will not need to travel to the new office to pick up undelivered items if they are unable to do so.
As well as leaving items with a neighbour where possible, Royal Mail say customers will be able to arrange redelivery free of charge on a day convenient for them- including a Saturday or they can deliver to a different address within the same postcode area.
Royal Mail’s Delivery Director for Croydon, Steve Selby, said: "We are delighted that the Council has given planning consent for the redevelopment of our existing delivery office site, which is no longer fit for purpose.
"The planned redevelopment of this site will complement the Council’s plans to regenerate the area around East Croydon station and will offer more housing, retail opportunities and employment for people living in Croydon.
"Our new delivery office, which we expect will be fully operational by the Spring 2014, will offer better facilities for our people and our customers in Croydon.
"We will do all we can to minimise disruption to our services as the move takes place and we are committed to maintain the high level of service our customers expect and deserve from Royal Mail from our new office."
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