Croydon ‘feels like the movie set of a run-down town,’ say residents desperate for improvements

By Tara O’Connor, Local Democracy Reporter

Croydon residents want to see the town’s “depressing” high street revamped as they fear it’s dying without the long-awaited Westfield shopping centre.

Last week it was revealed the company behind the stalled redevelopment of the town centre has been told to make £4m of improvements.

Using a clause in a contract, Croydon council asked the Croydon Partnership, the joint venture combining Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and Hammerson, to invest in North End.

The company has so far failed to redevelop the Whitgift Centre and the surrounding town centre after it dropped plans for a new £1.5bn Westfield shopping centre in 2019.

Plans to revamp the 1960s centre into a modern shopping mall had been in the pipeline for more than a decade by then.

The uncertainty over the future of Croydon town centre has seen it deteriorate, with more and more shops leaving. Shoppers who spoke to us all wanted to see Croydon restored to its former glory.

Michael Seymour, 58, who has lived in Croydon all his life, said shoppers are now heading to other outer London shopping districts.

He said: “Croydon has become much more run down. It used to be the biggest place for shopping that people would visit, but now people go to Bromley.

“They have got to brighten it up and make it more modern. Croydon is full of businesses but shops don’t want to come here anymore. There are too many vaping shops. I think it needs something a bit more trendy.”

Tina Crawford, 50, agreed, saying she now goes “anywhere else” to do her shopping.

She said: “I think there is no town centre anymore. It is just very, very depressing. I’ve lived in Croydon all my life and I never shop here. I only came today to meet a friend, I usually go anywhere else.

“I want them to invest in local businesses and reduce their rates. They could get artists in the empty shops to make it more interesting rather than just putting the hoardings up.”

Daniel Grossett runs video game shop Playnation Games, in North End, which has been in Croydon for 20 years.

He said: “I can’t help but feel they have allowed the allure of Westfield to stick around for ages when they should have moved on sometime ago.

“A few years ago there was talk about Croydon being like the new Hoxton, but now the town feels like the movie set of a run down town.

“I think Croydon would do well to start looking – the first thing you need to do is get independents and give them free advertising.”

The Croydon Partnership is yet to submit its plans for the future of the town centre.

Since 2019, it has hinted new plans would include fewer shops, but a council report last week revealed it would only start working on a masterplan this year.

A spokesman for the Croydon Partnership said: “As we continue, in partnership with Croydon council, to focus on defining a new approach for the regeneration of the town centre, The Croydon Partnership is committed to making a substantial investment into initiatives for the benefit of the Whitgift Centre and the wider town centre.

“While these initiatives are brought forward, we will continue to support our existing occupiers through local activations and concepts to engage the local community this year.”

Pictured top: Max Wimble, Daniel Grossett and Darren Bower at Playnation Games in North End (Picture: Tara O’Connor)