EXCLUSIVE: Work on the ageing Whitgift Centre might now not begin before 2028, while Westfield are angling for a public subsidy of at least £100m. Today, as two shops opened on the high street, STEVEN DOWNES took a place at the end of the queue
Goody bag: his freebies duly secured, Mayor Perry sets off to claim the credit in a council-funded video
They were queuing down the street on North End this afternoon to get a first glimpse inside Miniso, which describes itself as a “design-led lifestyle brand”, and is one of the first two “kiosks” to be opened in the old Allders building.
Those eager Croydon shoppers in that queue are living, breathing proof that bribery always works.
The first 200 customers today who spent a minimum of £5 were promised a “special goody bag” valued at £25. Hence security on the door, operating what might be described as a one-in, one-out policy. Goodness knows where they got that idea from.
So that’s a five-grand promotions budget blown in a couple of hours. Plus a few quid extra on what they called an “exciting… live drummer performance”. Personally, I’d have paid my own money to witness a dead drummer performance, if it gave us all five more minutes of Keith Moon or Rick Buckler…
Of course, when I say “they were queuing”, I don’t mean Jason Perry, the failed Mayor of Croydon. Perry’s far too important for queues. Or for people.
Perry had breezed into the new store and walked away with a very special goody bag, as you’d expect for someone as important as he obviously thinks he is. Whether he spent the required fiver, or whether he received £25-worth of goods, we’ll just have to wait until he files his next declarations at the Town Hall.
Queuing down the street: bribery works every time, as Miniso offered £25 goody bags on opening day today, as well as a ‘live drummer’ (as opposed to a dead one)
When iC arrived on North End, Perry was wandering around looking more gormless than usual, and just a little lost.
“What do you want me to say?” the £84,000 per year Mayor was clearly overheard to say to his minder, who might have been from Westfield’s public relations firm, or from Croydon BID – both organisations have Perry firmly in their pocket; the part-time Mayor is even on the board of the BID.
Or the assistant might have been another council employee, no doubt paid handsomely out of public money to make Perry look good and big-up the schemes of private companies, because that’s how our local government system has become subservient to Westfield, ever since Perry and his Tory mates welcomed them into this borough in 2012.
Westfield, now part of Paris-based Unibail Rodamco Westfield, have broken almost every promise they have ever made to the residents and businesses in Croydon in the near-14 years since. Even their promise of seven “kiosks” (Westfield’s choice of words in their planning application) to be opened this summer has been broken.
The kiosks are a form of “meanwhile use”, to breathe some life into a long-neglected stretch of Croydon’s high street. They come seven years after Croydon Council, at the insistence of Westfield, had sent in bailiffs to close down the bizarre bazaar that had opened as a meanwhile use inside the old department store.
According to the public relations firm that is shilling for Westfield this year, the new shops opening in Allders represent “a major milestone in the ongoing redevelopment of Croydon’s town centre”.
It is also, according to the same shillsters “a pivotal milestone in URW’s wider regeneration of the town centre”. The prospect of milestones, even minor ones, pivoting, is a little unsettling.
After Miniso (“the affordable one-stop shop for playful finds that elevate the ordinary”, apparently) and Sky, we are being told to rejoice at the prospect of a café and a florists, an ice cream outlet and a shop selling Islamic fashionwear. Pivotal, indeed.
Or not, if you listen to Inside Croydon readers. In an entirely unscientific poll run on this website this week, almost 9-in-10 respondents declared themselves underwhelmed with the collection of six kiosks that Westfield revealed this week.
“The launch of Allders Parade marks a key step in URW’s wider plans to transform Croydon town centre with new homes, green spaces, modern retail and leisure and a reimagined hub for culture and education,” according this week to someone at LCA, what used to be the London Communications Agency, lobbyists for property speculators and developers.
Nothing’s changed: from George Street, the new shops in Allders cannot be seen, as the art-washing hoardings remain in place
But we have heard all that, or something like it, several times before. And nothing ever actually changes.
So as well as the dire situation for traders inside the old Whitgift Centre – a situation which has been made worse since Westfield became their landlords – there is the disturbing news from well-placed sources that suggests that the very earliest that Westfield might even start demolition or construction work on their phased redevelopment of the old shopping centre is now 2028.
In 2012, Westfield told anyone who would listen that they’d have their shiny new shopping mall all finished by 2017.
So these “meanwhile use” kiosks in Allders could be around for some time yet.
Late delivery: developers Westfield gave Mayor Perry (left; blue suit) a guided tour behind the scenes of their much-delayed kiosks
And it is becoming increasingly apparent that what started out as a £1billion-to-£1.4billion private business scheme might now depend on a massive subsidy of public money – perhaps as much as £100million, from agencies such as Homes England and the GLA.
According to Adam Smith, the developers’ latest exec to preside over the stalled URW Croydon scheme, Westfield opening a handful of shops on North End “is just the start of delivering on our vision for the town centre, as we look to create a more sustainable, connected and community-focused future for Croydon”. Which is nice of him.
And if you want to know what Mayor Perry was told to say about his goody bag from Miniso, with its “exciting mix of must-have Vinyl Plush, blind boxes, adorable plushies, trending beauty essentials, high-quality toys and tasty snacks, all at prices that won’t break the bank”, we’re sure you’ll be able to find it on a Trumpian social media platform over the weekend.
Well worth every penny of his £84,000 a year, we’re sure you’ll agree.
Read more: After the delays, we reveal traders set for Allders kiosks
Read more: Council rushes through permission for seven kiosks in Allders
Read more: Hammer blow for Whitgift Centre with new delay to masterplan
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