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… Continue reading
The 2025 Labour Party Conference begins in Liverpool on Sunday. Here, our columnist, ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, the party’s former director of policy, assesses the state of Labour little more than a year into Keir Starmer’s government. And he takes a look at the chaos in ‘Your Party’
Natasha Irons, the MP for Croydon East, has organised an Advice Fair on Saturday October 4 between 10am and noon, to be held in New Addington.
The London Fire Brigade’s control officers took the first call to the fire just before 4pm on Saturday afternoon and sent six fire engines and around 40 firefighters from Croydon, Wallington, Norbury, Addington and Purley fire stations to the scene.
