The changing face of Croydon

“Croydon is on a journey of transformation and for the first time in perhaps a generation has started to get more good publicity than negative publicity” Councillor Newman, CroydonCouncil.

Croydon’s skyline is dramatically changing and for a town that was seen as a mini Manhattan in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s when a majority of existing high-rise buildings were built, the new developments are looking to change the dynamic in Croydon Town Centre.

It is probably fair to say that Croydon Town Centre clears out at 5:30pm every evening. However, Westfield’s experience in London and Stratford is that if you create the environment, the people who shop there in the daytime and the residents commuting back in the evening will stay and you can create a vibrant location that people will enjoy until midnight.

This thinking is at the heart of the Croydon Partnership, a joint development between Westfield and Hammersons who plan to spend £1.4bn on the refurbishment and upgrade to the existing Whitgift Centre in the heart of Croydon. The Whitgift Centre – originally opened in 1968 – was the largest covered shopping centre in Greater London until the opening of Westfield London in 2008. Its refurbishment including what is required today with entertainment, cafes, bars and restaurants in addition to retail will put the heart back into Central Croydon and stop it’s clearing out at 5.30pm daily.

There is also the major re-development around East Croydon station including Ruskin Square to the west of the station and the large Redrow Homes development, Menta to the east. Ruskin Square will comprise some 5 Grade A Office Buildings with 1.25m, 625 new homes and 100,000 sq ft of retail, cafés, bars and restaurants.

There are many other residential developments such as Saffron Square and The Island and the refurbishment of former commercial office buildings being converted into apartments such as Delta Point and St Anne House. This increase of people residing close to the Whitgift Centre and Ruskin Square will show a substantial increase in demand for leisure and entertainment facilities.

The potential for Croydon is enormous as its current population of over 350,000 is forecasted to grow to over 400,000 in the next five years and according to Robin Dobson from Hammersons. Croydon has a catchment population of 3.3m and a potential spend of £17bn and with the West End becoming increasingly unaffordable, Croydon is uniquely located to become a new retail leisure hub destination for South London.

Croydon is also developing as a digital hub and is being promoted as an ideal location for start-ups and established tech businesses. With an abundance of commercial space  available at rent of less than half of those in Central London and 25% of its population under 16 – it has the ideally structure to succeed.

All these changes are being promoted and overseen by Croydon Council and its Planning Department has a definite strategy of where it is going by placing people and their needs at the heart of the Development Plan.

Croydon is a very good place to be in at the moment. If you are passionate about construction and would like to be part in any of these exciting projects, you can always contact recruitment agencies like Calco Services that can help you be part of Croydon life.