Category Archives: John Burton

Hammerson’s annual report could be bad news for Croydon

Posted on February 22, 2020 by

BARRATT HOLMES, our over-development correspondent, has been skimming through the trade press and found a damning verdict on the prospects for Croydon town centre One of the best-read commentators on the commercial property market says that he cannot ever see … Continue reading →

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Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Further Westfield delays put more pressure on CEO Negrini

Posted on January 17, 2019 by

It is six years to the day since Westfield and Hammerson said that, jointly, they would redevelop central Croydon. KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter, on the increasingly beleaguered mood among senior council figures Croydon Council’s chief executive, Jo Negrini, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Tony Newman, Veolia, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Council has contingency plan for ‘blighted’ Westfield scheme

Posted on August 7, 2018 by

The council is readying itself for a ‘hard Crexit’ over a £1.4bn town centre redevelopment, according to industry watchers. By WALTER CRONXITE There could be a further delay of two more years, to 2025, before the new Westfield shopping mall … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, House of Fraser, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Financial Times predicts Hammerson will sell stake in Croydon

Posted on July 23, 2018 by

WALTER CRONXITE reports on how more boardroom manoeuvring is threatening the long-delayed redevelopment of the town centre There may be clear blue skies over Croydon during this long, hot summer, but there’s a dark cloud of uncertainty sitting right above … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, John Burton, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Director behind Westfield’s £1.4bn Croydon scheme set to leave

Posted on July 4, 2018 by

John Burton, the Aussie businessman who has driven shopping mall developer Westfield’s schemes at Stratford, Shepherd’s Bush and, more recently and seemingly with the handbrake left on, in Croydon, is to leave the company. Burton’s decision to return to his … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Full statement from Westfield and Hammerson on John Lewis

Posted on May 31, 2018 by

Here is the statement issued this morning by the Croydon Partnership which has been working since 2012 on the redevelopment scheme for the Whitgift Centre and Centrale in central Croydon: The Croydon Partnership, the joint venture between Westfield and Hammerson, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, John Burton, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Westfield finally clinch John Lewis deal for £1.4bn development

Posted on May 31, 2018 by

Croydon’s new shopping mall now won’t open until 2023 – more than a decade after the project was first unveiled. M.T. WALLETTE, our retailing correspondent, on today’s long-delayed ‘major milestone’ announcement Westfield and Hammerson this morning broke a near-six-month silence … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, John Burton, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Planning chair failed to make public declaration over Westfield

Posted on January 2, 2018 by

STEVEN DOWNES reports on a business connection between one of the Labour council’s leading figures and developers with a £1.4bn scheme in the town centre Paul Scott, the chair of the council’s planning committee, today admitted that the firm of … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Council, John Burton, Paul Scott, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Westfield takeover is a ‘positive’. Newman’s positive about that

Posted on December 13, 2017 by

MT WALLETTE, our Francophone retailing correspondent, on council efforts to pass off a pig’s ear as a silk purse (there has to be some trading standards regulations about that…) The multi-billion-pound takeover of Westfield, the shopping centre developers who have … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Westfield takeover raises uncertainties for Croydon mall

Posted on December 12, 2017 by

There’s renewed uncertainty over the future of the Croydon town centre redevelopment by Westfield, after the developers’ parent company announced in Sydney overnight that it is the subject of a £18.5billion takeover bid from French company Unibail-Rodamco. The deal, which … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, John Burton, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Westfield’s 20% affordable housing ‘unacceptable’ to GLA

Posted on November 17, 2017 by

BARRATT HOLMES on a serious problem with the £1.4billion development in the town centre which was given planning permission – for a second time – by the council this week London Mayor Sadiq Khan is likely to demand almost twice … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, John Burton, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Feeble council unquestioningly gives green light to Westfield

Posted on November 15, 2017 by

BARRATT HOLMES says ‘I told you so’ The decision of the council’s planning committee to give the go-ahead to the £1.4billion Hammersfield supermall last night was such a foregone conclusion that the Town Hall press team – never known for … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Paul Scott, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Westfield confirms another five years of blight in town centre

Posted on October 27, 2016 by

Croydon Council has spent more public money on a new slogan, two years after the last one. But as WALTER CRONXITE reports, there are risks involved when senior councillors claim to be ‘Delivering for Croydon’ and a £1.4bn flagship development … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Alison Butler, Business, Centrale, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Stiles Harold Williams, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

£1.4bn supermall may need new CPO and planning permission

Posted on April 22, 2016 by

Is this where we say ‘we told you so’? The Nirvana of a megamall in central Croydon, first aired in 2012, could be another six years away following this week’s change of plan from ‘Hammersfield’, reports STEVEN DOWNES Croydon faces … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

John Lewis keeps Croydon waiting over Westfield store

Posted on January 28, 2016 by

Westfield have yet to secure a deal with John Lewis to take a flagship department store in the £1 billion supermall that they want to build in the town centre. Getting John Lewis into the centre of Croydon has been … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Boxpark, Business, Centrale, CPO, Gavin Barwell, John Burton, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Council is spending thousands to hire image consultants

Posted on December 21, 2015 by

Croydon’s Labour-run council, which is laying off around 600 workers in the latest round of cost-cutting, has nevertheless managed to scrape together around £70,000 – possibly more – to hire a firm of consultants to try to improve the place’s … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

As Newman ‘celebrates’, Whitgift workers fret over future

Posted on September 24, 2015 by

The £1bn Hammersfield supermall may prove to be regenerative for Croydon’s economy. Once it is built. But as STEVEN DOWNES reports, uncertainty over development timescales is blighting existing businesses The start of building work on the redevelopment of Croydon town … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2018 council elections, Allders, Boris Johnson, Boxpark, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Environment, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Mayor of London, Mike Fisher, Parking, Planning, Property, Richard Chatterjee, Shirley, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Two months late, Minister rubber-stamps Westfield CPO

Posted on September 16, 2015 by

The government inspector has finally delivered his report on the Compulsory Purchase Order for a vast swathe of central Croydon, giving the go-ahead for the £1 billion Hammersfield shopping mall to be built. The Department for Communities and Local Government … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

He is the very model of a modern Comptroller-General

Posted on May 14, 2015 by

So Gavin Barwell’s personal political career seems to have hit a speed bump, as the man who was re-elected as Croydon Central MP thanks to a bunch of UKippers who bottled it, is to stay in the Tory whips’ office, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, John Burton, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Bogus Barwell’s donors include exiled oligarch and NHS seller

Posted on May 4, 2015 by

Having flagged up Bogus Barwell, the millionaire developers’ best mate, news reaches us of the donors who have contributed thousands of pounds to his “Don’t Mention the Tories” campaign to hang on to his parliamentary seat in Croydon Central. These … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2015 General Election, Business, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, John Burton, Mike Fisher, Property, Sarah Jones MP, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bogus Barwell shows his true colours as millionaires’ mate

Posted on May 2, 2015 by

Who do you want your MP to represent after being elected on Thursday? Do you want them to go to Westminster to represent you? Or do you want them to provide more support for multi-million pound property speculators? STEVEN DOWNES, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2015 General Election, Business, CPO, Croydon Central, Eddy Arram, Gavin Barwell, Housing, John Burton, Mayor of London, Planning, Sarah Jones MP, Stiles Harold Williams, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Waddon councillors silenced over Boris flyover proposals

Posted on March 8, 2015 by

Croydon Labour is supporting a multi-million-pound road-building scheme which will destroy homes and part of a public park while benefiting developers who are Conservative Party donors. And the councillors for the ward most affected have been worryingly quiet. By STEVEN … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2015 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Boris Johnson, Business, Commuting, CPO, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Emily Benn, Environment, Gavin Barwell, Hamida Ali, John Burton, Joy Prince, Kathy Bee, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Parking, Paul Scott, Peter Underwood, Planning, Property, Purley Way, Robert Canning, Tony Newman, Transport, Waddon, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Could Dead Mall Syndrome be coming to a high street here?

Posted on January 7, 2015 by

“Did you have a good Christmas?” is a question that takes on a different meaning for shop-keepers and retail analysts. STEVEN DOWNES on a shopping trend in America of which Croydon’s Hammersfield developers must be wary Next month will see … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Planning, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Newman goes big on promises on jobs, homes and investment

Posted on November 25, 2014 by

Is it mandatory to take large quantities of hallucinogenic drugs on assuming a senior position at Croydon Council or taking political office at the Town Hall? We only ask because it seems Tony Newman, the council leader, has been on … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Nathan Elvery, RIF, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MP Barwell ducks TV appearance as pressure begins to mount

Posted on November 21, 2014 by

REVERSE FERRET ALERT! Gavin Barwell, the Tory MP for the Whitgift Foundation, has pulled out of an appearance on this week’s BBC Sunday Politics programme. Barwell has never knowingly declined an invitation to attend even the opening of a fridge … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2015 General Election, Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Crystal Palace Park, Gavin Barwell, John Burton, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment