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Category Archives: Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield
Superdry closure is the latest nail in Whitgift Centre’s coffin
With every passing announcement of the latest closure, nails are being hammered into the coffin of Croydon’s sadly declining Whitgift Centre. The latest exit is that of Superdry, the shop selling the premium British fashion brand that occupies a large, … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Housing, Mayor of London, Property, Secret Cinema, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Body Shop, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Monsoon, Sainsbury's, Superdry, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
20 Comments
Foundation sells Old Palace site to Serenity special schools
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Old Palace girls’ school closes in July, with the owners having sold the site, but for less than the £7m guide price. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES The Old Palace private girls’ school site will likely become home to … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Education, Old Palace, Roisha Hughes, Schools, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Archbishop John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, Croydon, Knight Frank, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Roisha Hughes, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
4 Comments
Bench removal confirms Perry’s PSPO is yet another failure
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor’s ‘reign of error’ now includes removing benches from the high street in attempt to solve anti-social behaviour. Except that it hasn’t… KEN LEE reports Jason Perry, Croydon’s piss-poor Mayor, has spent much of the past week … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, North End Quarter, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, London Borough of Croydon, Marks and Spencer, Mayor Jason Perry, North End, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
13 Comments
‘More buckets than businesses’: readers quiz Labour’s Davis
‘What are you going to do about the Whitgift Centre?’ one of our readers asked Councillor Rowenna Davis, Labour’s recently selected candidate to stand for election as Croydon Mayor in May 2026. ‘At the moment, there’s more buckets than businesses.’ … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Business Association, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Rowenna Davis, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 2025 FA Cup final, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Connie Duxbury, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Community Energy, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace FC, Fairfield Halls, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Neil Bennett, Oumesh Sauba, Rowenna Davis, Tory, Waddon, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
4 Comments
Negrini enjoys her centre stage return pitching for Mayor Khan
Like Banquo’s ghost, Jo Negrini has returned to haunt Croydon after her latest jaunt to the south of France for the annual “booze and hooker fest” – or prestigious international property conference – that is MIPIM. When “Negreedy” was the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Richard Plant, Sir Sadiq Khan, Stiles Harold Williams, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
10 Comments
Ex-planning chief’s rose-tinted view of Croydon developments
It appears that Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon Council’s former “director of planning and sustainable regeneration”, has been busy trying to rewrite history since leaving her £130,000-plus job earlier this month. An internal council memo gave the reason for Cheesbrough’s departure as … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
12 Comments
It’s Easter – so obviously, Whitgift Centre goes all Jurassic Park
Croydon’s Centrale and Whitgift shopping centres are staging a Dino Eggstravaganza this Easter weekend, what they call “a thrilling, prehistoric-themed experience for dino-lovers of all ages”. So, full of the meaning of Easter, then… From tomorrow, Thursday April 17, through … Continue reading
Landowner wants public cash to help delayed Westfield project
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Whitgift Foundation is in talks with the Mayor of London and central government for another multi-million-pound bail-out for Croydon, this one likely to centre around building around 3,000 homes in the town centre. That’s according … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Charity, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Old Palace, Planning, Property, Roisha Hughes, Schools, TfL, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
Tagged Croydon, Hammersfield, London, Mayor, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Roisha Hughes, Sir Howard Dawber, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
7 Comments
Kiosks to open today in clapped-out shell of Allders building
Monsoon has gone. WH Smith is soon to be no more. Sainsbury’s packed up and left. So has Body Shop. But after more than a decade of broken promises, “a bold, new retail era is being launched” by Westfield in … Continue reading
Council planning chief Cheesbrough set to take ‘career break’
EXCLUSIVE: After nearly a decade in charge of Croydon’s planning department, one of Jo Negrini’s closest colleagues is to leave Fisher’s Folly. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon Council’s “director of planning and sustainable regeneration” (try … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
28 Comments
Opportunity knocks as Negrini does a MIPIM turn for London
Watch out London. The capital city’s Mayor, Sir Sadiq Khan, has made his first visit to MIPIM, the global property developers conference staged each spring in Cannes, with a notorious reputation in the past as a “booze and hookers fest”. … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon BID, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jo Negrini, Jules Pipe, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, TfL, Tom Copley, Transport, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Booze and hooker fest, Brick by Brick, Cannes, Croydon, Homes for Lambeth, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lambeth, Mayor, MIPIM, Opportunity London
3 Comments
The Masterplan has just one aim, to make money for Westfield
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Town Hall planners handing over Masterplan responsibilities for the town centre to Westfield, as Inside Croydon reported this week, has left reader CARL LUCAS angry that our council will be missing a significant opportunity for a sustainable … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Planning, Property, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Carl Lucas, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, Hammersfield, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Neal, NEQ, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
25 Comments
Housing association CEO takes lead role at Whitgift Foundation
For the first time in more than 400 years, the Whitgift Foundation is to be led by a woman. “That’s if you don’t count Queen Elizabeth I,” confided a wag at the Whitgift Almshouses, where the charity and multi-million-pound property … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Charity, Fiona Fletcher Smith, Roisha Hughes, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Archbishop of Canterbury, Charity Commission, Christopher Houlding, Court of Governors, Croydon, Fiona Fletcher-Smith, Hammersfield, Old Palace, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Roisha Hughes, Trinity School, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
6 Comments
Another Whitgift store to close – and manager blames Westfield
There’s another closing down sale in the Whitgift Centre. And this time, the exiting retail business, toy store The Entertainer, has made it abundantly clear that their decision to quit the increasingly empty Croydon shopping centre was entirely down to … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Mayor Jason Perry, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Camden Coffee House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Sainsbury's, The Body Shop, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
3 Comments
Westfield’s latest charm offensive: £1,000 to handful of groups
Westfield, part of the multi-national Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield property group which is worth many billions, last month announced an “important strand of our community strategy”: doling out some modest grants to community groups and charities in the borough. It is more than … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Charity, Community associations, CVA, Mayor Jason Perry, North End Quarter, Steve Phaure, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Voluntary Action, CVA, Hammersfield, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Steve Phaure, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
6 Comments
No apologies from council for Christmas closure of subway
A week on since Inside Croydon reported on the plight of Whitgift Centre traders, cut-off from their customers by the abrupt, no-notice closure of the Wellesley Road pedestrian underpass, and Croydon Council has responded. With an unapologetic tweet. It is … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammerson, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Pedestrian underpass, Tory, Wellesley Road, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
10 Comments
Foundation sets £7m price tag on Old Palace’s listed buildings
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Whitgift Foundation, the borough’s biggest landowner, is now flogging off the Tudor palace home of the charity’s founder. It might not be an ‘easy’ sale. By STEVEN DOWNES “For sale with vacant possession”. The estate agent’s … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Education, Old Palace, Schools, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Andrew Christie, Archbishop John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, Croydon, Knight Frank, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
3 Comments
Subway closure leaves Whitgift traders shut out for Christmas
Businesses struggling for survival in the long-neglected Whitgift Centre say they are enduring their worst Christmas trading season in 25 years The closure of the Wellesley Road pedestrian subway has entered a second week, with potential customers blocked off from … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammerson, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Pedestrian underpass, Tory, Wellesley Road, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
11 Comments
Waiting for Westfield leaves us Urban Room for improvement
With not a moment to lose, KEN TOWL dashed down to the Whitgift Centre to try to discover what the multi-national developers might have in store for the town centre, amid their models made of cereal packets and design briefs … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, North End Quarter, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Allders Car Park, Allies and Morrison, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, London, North End Quarter, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
12 Comments
Westfield wants to build five times as many flats in town centre
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The one-time shopping mall developer is shapeshifting its business towards residential property, but appears in no hurry to action any of its promises after more than a decade of blight to North End. By our housing correspondent, … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, North End Quarter, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Allders Car Park, Allies and Morrison, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, London, Mayor Jason Perry, North End Quarter, Scott Parsons, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
6 Comments
Westfield appoints firm that oversaw King’s Cross scheme
Westfield has today begun what they call “a year-long programme of engagement”, before the Paris-based shopping mall developers finally put together a planning application, by our reckoning the third, for what was once a £1.4billion regeneration scheme in Croydon town … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, North End Quarter, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Allders Car Park, Allies and Morrison, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, London, Mayor Jason Perry, North End Quarter, Scott Parsons, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
1 Comment
Frankie Goes To Croydon – a walking show with a big reveal
The first Croydonites Fringe Festival was staged over the weekend, a curtain-raiser for a month-long programme of theatre around the borough, and KEN TOWL was there to see it all unveiled at one of the shows I’m standing in the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Art, Centrale, Croydonites Festival, Ken Towl, Theatre, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Amy Gwilliam, Centrale, Croydon, Croydon Town Hall, Croydonites, Croydonites Festival, Croydonites Fringe, Frankie Foxtone aka The Profit, Hammersfield, Ken Towl, Nestle Tower, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield
2 Comments
Westfield reveal consultation and more delays on ‘masterplan’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After being crushed by developer blight for more than a decade, the town centre faces an even longer wait for the big reveal of Paris-based multi-national’s latest proposals. By STEVEN DOWNES It could be more than a … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Nazeya Hussain, North End Quarter, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Allders Car Park, Centrale, Croydon, Hammersfield, North End Quarter, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
11 Comments
