Category Archives: CPO

Builders brand Gove’s latest CPO reforms as ‘desperation’

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on how a ‘very un-Conservative’ policy shift has probably come too late to save Croydon town centre New powers handed to local authorities by the Conservative Government could, just, open the way for Croydon Council … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Old Palace closure brought on by shaky Foundation finances

CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s not much that has happened in Croydon in the last dozen years or so that cannot be traced back, in some respect, to the £1billion-plus non-development of the Whitgift Centre. And as the accounts of landowners … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, CPO, Education, Jane Burton, Old Palace, Schools, Trinity School, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

What will the ‘new’ Westfield deal really mean for Croydon?

STEVEN DOWNES outlines some of the likely consequences of this week’s announcement that Paris-based Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield have bought out their former partners Hammerson for the redevelopment of the town centre In all the flurry of civic excitement over the announcement that … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Westfield seals deal to buy Hammerson out of town centre

Westfield’s parent company has this afternoon confirmed that they have bought out Hammerson, the owners of the Centrale shopping centre, from their half-share of the Croydon Partnership, the joint venture which has inflicted a decade’s worth of development blight on … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Westfield non-developers facing £5m fine for failed supermall

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council concedes it is virtually powerless over land-owners and developers for long-delayed regeneration scheme, as influential scrutiny chair admits her committee is not convinced things will change. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The company formed 10 years ago … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

£81,000 part-time Mayor takes on yet another directorship

Almost three months since he was appointed to the board of the town centre’s Business Improvement District, creating ‘clear conflicts of interests’, Jason Perry’s declarations have yet to be updated by the council. By KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter … Continue reading

Posted in Allders, Business, CPO, Croydon BID, Mayor Jason Perry, Property, Stiles Harold Williams, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Mayor Perry has ‘second thoughts’ about investing in Croydon

‘Things are going to get worse before they get better,’ said the borough’s £81,000 per year part-time Mayor last week, as he begins to find his Town Hall task a bit of a struggle, reports WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Jason … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Art, Boxpark, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, CVA, LOST, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Founder of Secret Cinema makes bid to move in to Allders

EXCLUSIVE: The old department store could be about to get a new lease of life with ‘immersive’ performances of movies such as Dirty Dancing, Blade Runner or Guardians of the Galaxy. By STEVEN DOWNES Fabien Riggall, the man who has … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Allders, Art, Business, Cinema, CPO, Croydon Council, Dance, Music, Planning, Secret Cinema, Theatre, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Westfield wants to revive plans for Croydon’s blighted centre

More than three years after shelving their £1.4bn scheme for the town centre, the developers’ monster mall is back on the drawing board – but with significant differences. By STEVEN DOWNES Like a Frankenstein monster after being given a shot … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, House of Fraser, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments

Negrini lands cushty consultancy with ex-council supplier

EXCLUSIVE (and available in all good, and some not-so-good, newsagents): The exec who walked away with a £440,000 pay-out from the borough she helped to bankrupt has re-emerged with a juicy ‘consultancy’ from one of the firms she used to … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Boxpark boss wants to take on Whitgift Centre redevelopment

Our retailing correspondent, MT WALLETTE, on the latest opportunistic comments from a business owner who claims a ‘track record’ of handling the local council The entrepreneur behind Boxpark claims that he is ready to step in and take over the … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Boxpark, Business, Centrale, CPO, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

After billions in regeneration deals, might Bingle eye Croydon?

STEVEN DOWNES on the man behind one of London’s biggest lobbying firms, a former senior figure at ‘the PR firm for despots and rogues’ In Southwark, activists who have been campaigning against a massive transfer of public property over to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, Paul Scott, Planning, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council concedes the end of its retail dream for town centre

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Do you feel ‘fortunate’ that the long-promised, council-backed scheme to regenerate the town centre has flopped? Because that’s the spin that Town Hall chiefs are putting on the collapse of the project and the end of a … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Oliver Lewis, Planning, Sarah Hayward, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Newman bypassed cabinet and colleagues on CEO decisions

Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the latest decision by decree from the council leader, and with a profile of the interim CEO who had a chequered career before joining Croydon Before she was announced yesterday as the interim replacement … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Labour councillors signal major Town Hall U-turn over Westfield

Croydon Council is preparing to complete a full 180-degree U-turn over their position on Westfield and the long-promised and undelivered £1.4billion temple to consumerism in the town centre. “It makes sense for radical overhaul of the proposals for Croydon,” was … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Sean Fitzsimons, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Back to the drawing board for new plans for the Whitgift Centre

The council has today issued documents that admit the era of big, shiny shopping centres is over and that the £1.4bn Westfield development is ‘unlikely to be implemented as consented’. Our unbuilt shopping centre correspondent, MT WALLETTE, reports Less than … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

£90m West Croydon deal promises 55% affordable homes

The developers behind a massive residential scheme in an old entertainment venue on Streatham High Road and the redevelopment into luxury flats of the Star and Garter home on Richmond Hill have spent £90million to move in on West Croydon. … Continue reading

Posted in Business, CPO, Croydon Central, Housing, Property, St Michael's Courtyard, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Concrete-coated Brexit is a disaster for Croydon’s Westfield

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Britain’s exit from Europe has played a major part in the collapse of the town’s Westfield scheme, says SIMON SPRAGUE During the General Election campaign in December, I made the perhaps unwise decision to join Twitter. I set … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Central, Mario Creatura, Simon Sprague, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Scaled-down town centre development could take 10 years

MT WALLETTE, our unbuilt shopping malls correspondent, reports on the deep hole that Croydon has got itself into over the aborted Westfield development Croydon Council has allowed itself to be mugged by a couple of multi-national developers, and has handed … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Mario Creatura, Paul Scott, Planning, Property, Timothy Godfrey, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Negrini draws ridicule for her £81 On The Buses guided tour

Hold very tight please! Our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON, is ready to be taken for a ride around Croydon town centre, all in the name of a good cause Croydon’s beleaguered £220,000 per year chief executive has attracted yet more … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Boxpark, Brick by Brick, Business, Centrale, Colm Lacey, CPO, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Menta Tower, Paul Scott, Property, Purley Way, Ruskin Square, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Westfield ‘review’ drags on as retail has worst year since 1995

Our retailing correspondent MT WALETTE can find no good news for the nation’s high streets – which is very bad news for Croydon’s retail-led town centre ‘regeneration’ Last year was the worst on record for retailing in this country, with … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Debenhams, House of Fraser, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Westfield letter that Tony Newman didn’t want you to see

Croydon Council tried to cover-up a letter from the CEO of Westfield to the council leader that warned of “the deep structural changes currently facing retailers… illustrated by the growing number of bankruptcies, CVAs and retailers announcing declining financial results”. … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Another body-blow as Hammerson lists malls for sale

The latest body-blow to the prospects of the £1.4billion redevelopment of Croydon town centre came last night, with all the force of an Anthony Joshua uppercut: Hammerson is exiting the retail shopping park business, and doing so as fast as … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, CPO, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£2.5bn fund closure is bad news for Croydon’s Westfield hopes

The doubts about whether the Westfield redevelopment of Croydon’s Whitgift Centre will ever begin grew even greater this week, as one of the country’s biggest property funds began blocking investors from making withdrawals, blaming both Brexit and the retail downturn … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, CPO, Croydon Council, Paul Scott, Planning, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

How wait for Westfield is turning North End into Hooky Street

Serious doubts exist over Westfield’s plans to redevelop in the town centre. Yet while the council does its best to close down legitimate high street businesses, or mismanages one of the country’s oldest traditional street markets and drives away stall-holders, … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, CPO, Crime, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments