Walkabout: MP Sarah Jones (pink coat) touring the town centre this morning with the Met Police and representatives from Croydon BID. Did they drop in on Primark?
CROYDON IN CRISIS: One of the borough’s Labour MPs is accused of ‘performatively sending emails’ to a fashion chain’s CEO, when there are bigger issues in the borough, such as Westfield’s continuing delays over redevelopment
Croydon West MP Sarah Jones stirred up a social media row on Budget day when posting a photograph of the Primark store in the town centre, accusing it of being “run-down” and “unclean”.
Primark is in the Centrale shopping centre, which is managed by Westfield – or Unibail Rodamco Westfield, as the Paris-based multi-billion shopping mall operators are now known.
It is almost 14 years since Westfield first arrived in Croydon promising a £1billion regeneration of the town centre, which included rebuilding Centrale and the Whitgift Centre on the other side of North End.
The long-delayed planning application for the latest version of Westfield’s redevelopment was supposed to have been submitted this month. But the latest, best-guess estimate from insiders is that Westfield’s application won’t see the light of day until mid-2026, as the developers drag their feet yet again.
There’s been little, if anything, from the Croydon West MP about that latest blow to the borough.
State of that: Primark ‘is the least of our problems’ was one response when MP Jones posted this photo yesterday
Indeed, Jones, who has been an MP for the area since 2017, has rarely voiced public criticisms of Westfield for the development blight that they have inflicted on Croydon.
Coincidentally, the Labour MP’s constituency office, since last year’s General Election, is hidden away inside the increasingly dilapidated Whitgift Centre, effectively making her a tenant of URW.
“Our high street needs cleaning up – and it’s everyone’s responsibility,” Jones posted on her Faustbook page, with a damning photograph of the Primark shop.
“I’m calling on Primark’s CEO to sort out their shopfront on North End which is run-down and unclean. It wouldn’t be tolerated on Oxford Street, so it shouldn’t look like that here in Croydon either.”
Jones has occasionally made similarly accusatory social media posts about the state of the town centre – such as railing about the state of vandalised and out-of-order phone boxes on North End. But her Primark post is believed to be the first in which she has targeted a business trading in the borough.
“Is she posting that on behalf of Croydon’s long-suffering residents, or on behalf of her landlords?” one resident asked.
Jones’s Faustbook post drew some degree of agreement from her followers, but after her years of silence of the council’s previous Labour administration’s bankrupting of the borough, several posted comments which seemed less convinced that the MP’s intervention was appropriate or helpful.
“I think the cleanliness of the outside of Primark is the least of Croydon’s worries,” said one commenter.
Another wrote: “There’s nothing brave in sending an email.
“Rather than having a go at the retailers who are still clinging on in Croydon, how about using your influence to lobby those who abandoned it, such as Superdry Five Guys etc?
“Real change is brave – performatively sending emails is not. Croydon used to be a retail Mecca you could spend a whole day in – no longer.”
Another said: “Yeah, have a go at the only place that brings people into Croydon, why don’t you?”
Today, MP Jones, a junior minister for policing and crime in Keir Starmer’s Labour government, was on another Croydon walkabout, this time with DCS Nick Blackburn, the Met’s borough commander, and with representatives of Croydon BID, the business “improvement” district which some consider has failed to achieve anything for the improvement of the town centre.
“There are clear issues to be addressed but seeing local police in action working closely with businesses, residents and Croydon BID shows me that we are on the right path,” Jones said today.
Read more: Figures show how exodus from Whitgift Centre is speeding up
Read more: Planning application for Westfield scheme stalled to mid-2026
Read more: Another Whitgift store to close – and manager blames Westfield
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“First impressions definitely count”, says Croydon BID, the body that gets over £1m a year from a compulsory levy on town centre businesses.
“To support and meet the growing needs of the town centre business community, we have continued to invest in projects that will refresh and enhance our town centre spaces. This includes the removal of day to day dirt and grime… ” Primark should ask Croydon BID to jet wash their store front.
And Sarah Jones should tell Croydon council to clean up the graffiti above street level that is clearly visible in North End and along parts of Wellesley Road
that area is the least of the problem.. its West Croydon station and London Road that is a complete eyesore with open dealing and the overwhelming stench of weed, refuse and urine…
Totally agree, very interesting that some shops with support have opened up at Allders and been photobombed by Mayor at their opening and he gushed about how much he was involved in bringing subsidised business. Yet more new shops with better frontages have opened on the London road without his help or support and are better frequented by shoppers. He still fails to deal with the waste and anti social issues on the road.
Sarah Jones MP of Croydon West constituency . How on earth did she become Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire of the United Kingdom? The irony is that she represents the biggest and most violent dump arguably in the whole of the UK and has not done anything for the ward for 8 years.
Presumably you were unaware that Chris Philp was Minister of State for Crime, Policing and Fire from 26 October 2022 to 5 July 2024. He’s been the MP for Croydon South for over 10 years, and in that time has not done anything for anyone but himself
IC does not like links but do google Mick Lynch an Chris Philp on National TV
Quite untrue.
Ms Jones has done a lot since taking over and is quite active in dealing with issues in the constituency. There are many actual non political residents that will disgree with the assertion she has done nothing. The reality is that the Council and Mayor are the ones who deal with services and the state of West Croydon. Here is a fundamental reality we have.
In 2011 the then leader and Police protected the centre from the rioters. Not one person was allocated to the London road or Broad Green with rioters bombing cars by my road and torching the mansions along with destroying Tesco local, Lidl, wiping out Rock bottom stock – so many businesses gone in days. The £20m and Boris? That would have many locally giggling insanely and more accurate to your assertion of done nothing for the area for 16 years. Mr Fisher? Resigned in shame. Newman? stood down in disgrace. Ms Ali caretaker and unable to do anything. Perry? ignores the problems as his priority is elsewhere.
Please do put the InActions to the right people. Peoples political agendas do no favours to residents at this stage. We need actions not more chat from councillors from the south or those with political agenda’s of blame
So that period, from 2017 to 2020, when she said and did nothing about her political colleagues Tony Newman, Paul Scott and Alison Butler trashing the council’s finances, earning her the nickname “Silent Sarah”, never happened then?
Exactly what’s wrong with Primark except some concrete staining common to buildings of that vintage and it being Primark?
I think Superdry had some … erm… corporate problems that were not solely Croydon related. I think they’ve found new investors now…
Yes the render could be freshened up but the reality is that Primark branch does some heavy lifting when it comes to footfall in our town centre. It’s not the aged shop front which is continuing to fuel the negative image of Croydon.
A bigger issue is crime, perception of crime, the feeling of safety or lack of it from West Croydon station through North End, the lack of shops and lack of careful duration of which shops are opening to make our town centre attractive.
Primark’s facade is not the hill to die on when the town centre saga is like a ship with no rudder.
Isn’t it Westfield’s and not AB Foods responsibility to clean up the facades as they own the freehold to the building? Just seems that that there is no communication between polical parties and Mrs Jones could of contacted Mayor Perry to get a lead.
It is not a great problem regardless and she seems like more of a talker than a doer.
The quality of shops on North End, London Rd and Church Street are also a problem. Oxford Street realised this and Westminster City Council now have control what shops can be opened. Before, many sweet shops there were not paying business rates or property rent . Croydon Council should take note but they are historically useless.
West Croydon is also a significant issue and is perhaps the face of Croydon all over social media right now. Most of the recent £1.5m improvemnt fund won should be contributed to the establishment of two police station boxes from the station to the hospital 24-7.
exactly.. how many world food shops all selling the same stuff do you need on one stretch of road.. that and the double parking by delivery lorries and customers holding up the busses, the mess all over the pavements.. I could go on… I feel for the few decent shops along the road…..