The NextGen Panel
A panel of young Croydon residents working with URW to shape the future of their town centre.
What is the NextGen Panel?
The NextGen Panel was created to ensure that young people across Croydon can get involved and are fundamental to shaping the future of the town centre and a new masterplan for the area around the Whitgift, Centrale and Allders shopping centres.
The panel has already met three times, with the first introductory session taking place in March, where the panellists created collages representing what Croydon could be in five years’ time. In May, we took the panellists on a tour of the site, and asked them to share their experiences living, working and studying in the area. In July the panel had the opportunity to read and provide feedback on the Summer 2025 consultation and discussed landscaped spaces before designing their own. You can read the brilliant feedback they provided in the reports below.
The NextGen Panel will continue to meet regularly across the year – running a programme of workshops, site tours and activities focused on the future of the site. They will also gain skills and new opportunities for their careers.
Our first workshop
Our first session brought together the panellists and members of our project team, including representatives from URW, Allies and Morrison and Portas.
Our second workshop
Our second session took panellists behind the scenes on a site tour, before hearing more about the Masterplan Framework.
Our third workshop
Our third session gave panellists the opportunity to read all the Summer 2025 public exhibition materials and share their thoughts, before delving into the detail of landscaped spaces and designing their own public spaces.
NextGen Careers Fair
We hosted our fourth NextGen session, a careers-focussed workshop bringing together our existing panel, welcomed new panellists and their friends for an inspiring evening focused on careers in the built environment.
This workshop forms part of our ongoing effort to give back to the panel in recognition of the valuable insight they continue to provide on The Croydon Project’s emerging designs. By creating opportunities like this, we aim to upskill young people, build confidence and open doors to professional networks to our panel.
A unique opportunity
Attendees were invited to meet the consultant team working on The Croydon Project and explore the wide range of roles that contribute to shaping Croydon’s future. The session offered a chance to:
- Hear directly from built environment professionals
- Receive career tips and guidance
- Bring along their CV for feedback
- Build connections and network with industry experts
We were joined by 11 consultants, each representing different parts of the project, including:
What our panellists told us
Attendees were asked to complete a short survey following the workshop, and we are pleased all members enjoyed the workshop:
85% found the networking opportunities most helpful
71% valued hearing professionals speak about their career journeys
57% appreciated the chance to ask questions directly
Sharing insights from the Develop Croydon Conference
The evening also provided an opportunity for URW to update the group on the recent Develop Croydon Conference. Two NextGen panellists, Yana and Hannan spoke at the event and shared their reflections and key takeaways of being part of a major industry discussion.
We look forward to continuing to work with the panel!
The NextGen network
Do you want to get involved and help to shape the future of Croydon?
If you’re 16-25 and live, work or study in Croydon, join the NextGen Network where you can:
- Share your ideas and be part of the future of Croydon town centre
- Receive regular emails and reports from the NextGen Panel and ask questions
- Be invited to all our consultation events this year
- Meet the design team
Get involved by messaging us using the contact information below.
