NLA Tower (No 1 Croydon)

15th May 2007 to 19th May 2008

The NLA Tower viewed from Cherry Orchard Road. 1932x2576 2008-04-29 13:15:00	The NLA Tower viewed from George Street near the Dingwall Road junction. 1932x2576 2008-05-19 14:01:00	The NLA Tower viewed from Lower Addiscombe Road. 1932x2576 2008-04-30 12:55:00	The NLA Tower viewed from near the bus station. 1932x2576 2007-05-15 10:59:00

'The NLA Tower' stands in an island in the Addiscombe Road next to the junction with Addiscombe Grove and Cherry Orchard Road. It was designed by R. Seifert & Partners, who also designed Centre Point and the Nat West Tower among many others, and completed in 1970. It has 24 stories and is 269 feet high. 'NLA' apparently stands for 'Noble Lowndes Annuities'.

A complete refurbishment of the building began in 2005 and the exterior refurbishment was completed in 2006. The building is now officially called 'No 1 Croydon'. One supposes that 'No 1 Addiscombe' didn't have the same ring to it! However it is going to take a while before it stops being called 'The NLA Tower' and in any case you are more likely to hear it called 'the 50p building' or perhaps the 'threepenny bit building'.

The building is now lit at night with coloured lights that constantly change colours. Articles in the local press suggested that the changing colours were temporary but if the lights did ever get set to the one colour they didn't stay that way for long.

In my opinion the tower is not unattractive in its way and it particularly benefits from being isolated from other high buildings. Sadly the view of the tower on the skyline from the north has already been ruined by Altitude 25 at the south end of Addiscombe Grove and there are plans for some tall buildings at the south end of Cherry Orchard Road which will include a fifty storey tower. These will totally destroy the setting of the tower.