Croydon Council will use compulsory purchase powers to ensure Park Place, the town centre's £500million retail scheme, is not held up.

Compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) could help assemble all the land required for Minerva's regeneration project, which is central to Croydon's Vision 2020 master plan for the town.

As one of the UK's largest town centre shopping schemes, Park Place is a 1million sq ft development including 103 shops, 13 large stores, 17 restaurants, a new headquarters for Nestl UK and a flagship Allders department store.

The scheme, which also includes an overhaul of Queen's Gardens, revised traffic layout at Fairfield and a bus interchange, was granted full planning permission in April 2002 and approved by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister last April.

Minerva already owns much of the island site, bounded by George Street, High Street, Park Lane and Katharine Street, but the number of interests involved could cause delays.

The council has said it will continue talks with all of the landowners and will only use CPOs as a last resort.

Councillor Adrian Dennis, cabinet member for planning and urban development, said: "While I hope outstanding land ownership issues can be concluded through agreement and negotiation, making a start on compulsory purchase procedures is a contingency that will overcome any residual obstacles."

The move also eases fears that delays could jeopardise Nestl's plans to expand and bring an additional 400 employees to Croydon.

To ensure CPO costs do not fall on council taxpayers, Minerva has agreed to reimburse the council against any expenditure including compensation.