Bromley Council confirmed the exclusivity with the ZhongRong Group is finally over.

In October 2013 the council signed the controversial exclusivity agreement with Chinese developers the ZhongRong Group.

Yesterday that deal, formed after talks with the council, the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Mayor Boris Johnson, came to an end.

With a vision of rebuilding the great glass palace, ZhongRong Group chairman Ni Zhaoxing was set to invest £500 million in rebuilding the structure and restoring the park.

The plans included rebuilding the historic Italian terraces, the underpass, the dinosaur trail and maze.

Leader of Bromley Council, Coun Stephen Carr, said: "These have been and remain complex proposals.

"The potential to completely restore and improve the park as well as regeneration for the surrounding area is something we cannot ignore.

"Equally, the Council is not going to agree to something without being confident about the proposals as we are custodians of this fantastic park."

While the exclusivity agreement had ended, he said ‘confidential discussions' were still ongoing.

He added: "Local people and other interested parties should know that when there is something to say, we will keep them informed as we have sought to do all the way along this process and I thank them for their continued patience."

But some felt the process was not transparent enough.

Tom Chance, Green Party candidate for Lewisham West and Penge, said: "The consultation process was hopeless, and the consequences have included community groups blocked from improving our park, the loss of millions of pounds of lottery funding, and a huge amount of anger and resentment among local people."

The council confirmed a community project fund of £240,000 is being made available for community groups to bid on.

With funding of up to £20,000 available per group, the pot opens this spring.

The original Crystal Palace was built in 1851 in Hyde Park but moved to Crystal Palace in 1854, but it burnt down in 1936.

Read our previous coverage here.