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?
URW has assembled Croydon’s NextGen Panel and an even wider network of young people aged between 16 and 25 – to bring the borough youth’s passion, creativity and skills together.
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 five times, with the first introductory session taking place in March 2025, 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. In November we hosted a careers-focussed workshop, creating an opportunity to open doors to professional networks and guidance. Our most recent session in April 2026 brought new and existing members together to review the emerging designs and hear how their previous feedback has shaped the proposals.
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.
Our fourth workshop
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!
Our fifth workshop
In April 2026, we hosted our latest NextGen Panel session online as part of our Spring 2026 consultation for The Croydon Project. The session gave panel members the opportunity to hear directly from the project team about the latest proposals.
URW and masterplan architects Allies and Morrison shared an update on the emerging vision for the town centre, explained how previous NextGen feedback has helped inform the latest proposals and opened up a discussion on what matters most to young people to help inform our evolving design.
Key themes raised by the panel included:
- Housing affordability and build quality
- Accessibility and inclusion
- Culture and creative space
- Leisure uses for young people
- Retail and independent businesses
- Croydon’s heritage and identity
Panel members shared a wide range of ideas, including calls for more active and social leisure uses such as mini golf, bowling, padel and creative clubs as well as space for independent shops that reflect Croydon’s character.
There was also strong interest in celebrating Croydon’s heritage and identity, creating more art spaces, and bringing more colour, vitality and openness back into the town centre.
The discussion also raised important questions about accessibility, including how the proposals will support residents and visitors with disabilities.
Thank you to everyone that took part. Your feedback will help shape The Croydon Project and ensure young people continue to play an important role in conversations about Croydon’s future.
Ideas shared:
“More art spaces” and “more colour, and vitality around the arts.”
“Once upon a time Croydon was buzzing with people but now it feels like it only for locals and is avoided. I wonder if we can make it feel more open.”
“How are we prioritising accessibility for disabled people who may be wheelchair bound, or visually impaired?”
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.
