The group fighting against Westfield/ Hammerson’s £1bn redevelopment of Croydon town centre has lost its High Court battle after a judge dismissed its objections to the scheme.

Whitgift Trust, which manages and part owns the Whitgift Centre, has been arguing at the court over Croydon Council’s approval of the plans.

The Trust, controlled by the Anglo Irish Bank and unconnected to the Whitgift Foundation charity, objected to the consent granted to Westfield and Hammerson's proposed retail development by a planning committee last November.

It said members of the strategic planning committee that approved the scheme should have been shown a report by Deloitte.

This report stated the affordable housing aspect of the scheme was not presently viable.

But at the court yesterday Mr Justice Collins ruled that questions about the viability would not have been relevant in deciding whether or not to grant planning consent.

A Croydon Council spokeswoman said: "We are delighted with the judge’s decision to dismiss the claim and the appeal, which confirms that Croydon Council’s planning processes were followed correctly, and that the judicial review claim was entirely without merit.

“This decision takes us a step closer to realising our regeneration ambitions for Croydon’s town centre.

"The £1bn Westfield/Hammerson development is hugely important for us and, as well as providing fantastic retail and leisure facilities, it will act as a catalyst in bringing thousands of new homes, jobs and further investment to the borough, which will benefit local people.

“We continue to focus on the next stage of the process and the CPO public inquiry."

But Adrian Oliver, a director of Vail Retail, the asset managers for the Whitgift Trust, said: "We will be taking legal advice and all options are still open to us - whether we appeal or whether we move on to the public inquiry."

The next opportunity objectors will have to try and block the proposals will be at a public inquiry into the compulsory purchase order (CPO), which is crucial to the redevelopment plan.

More than 130 objections have been lodged against the CPO and they have all been sent to communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles.

The inquiry will establish whether the council can forcibly obtain land surrounding the Whitgift Centre where owners refuse to sell to the developers.

It is scheduled to run from February 3 to March 11 next year.

Croydon Council is in talks with opponents of the compulsory purchase order, approved by councillors in April, in a bid to resolve objections ahead of the inquiry.