Park Place Folly Destroying The Heart of Croydon

One of Croydon's oldest family businesses, Turtle's, is to close its doors for the last time on Christmas Eve.

The future of the business has been uncertain for the past couple of years since compulsory purchase orders were issued on Park Street shops to allow Minerva's massive Park Place retail development to go ahead.

The lease on the store which is famous for selling its huge range of hardware and tools, is coming to an end.

And owner Jeremy Turtle told the Advertiser renewing it was not really an option.
Mr Turtle said: "I am 65 and have been involved in the business for 44 years.
"I want to retire and there is nobody else in the family who is interested in taking over, so there is no choice but to close.

"Business has not been very good recently and I think it has been affected by the uncertainty. There is little chance of selling it as a going concern."

The store employs around 30 people, many of them on a part-time basis.

Mr Turtle said: "We are all very upset but you can't go on forever. I am very disappointed for my customers."

Source Croydon Advertiser

The Park Place development is dead in the water, yet it is still destroying the heart of Croydon.

Park Place Collapse

It looks like the Park Place development scheme has collapsed (or rather is going to collapse).

How many years has the council (both Labour and Tory) tried to kid us that this development would ever happen?

Who seriously believed that this scheme would ever get off the ground?

How many other development schemes touted by the council are going to fail to get off the ground?

The failure of Croydon council to plan effectively has led to the degradation and decay of the area designated for the development, eg St George's Walk. Local businesses, such as Turtle's, have been under threat of closure because of this scheme.

In May 2005 I wrote that:

"Turtle's, one of Croydon's best known independent stores, is searching for new premises after compulsory purchase orders were issued to acquire the land for the £500M Park Place shopping centre."

In February 2005 I wrote about Minerva funding Croydon Council's fight against the Whitgift shopping centre expansion plans proposed by Minerva's rivals, who own the Whitgift. I stated then that this must surely raise reservations about the council's independence.

Interestingly, John Prescott crushed the rival scheme in March 2006; Andrew Rosenfeld (owner of Minerva) having loaned £1M to Labour.

According to The Times:

"Prescott killed the rival scheme, put forward by a consortium called Whitgift, by rejecting its appeal against an earlier refusal by inspectors to give it planning permission."

Prescott denied this and another allegation. Prescott confirmed that he had received the planning applications, but said he felt the decisions should be made locally.

"I passed it over to Croydon and (the other application) City of London Corporation.

They made the decision, not me."

It is time that the council stopped kowtowing to the developers, and asserted a robust and coherent development policy that served the interests of the people who actually live and work in Croydon.

Minerva Squash Turtles

Turtle's, one of Croydon's best known independent stores, is searching for new premises after compulsory purchase orders were issued to acquire the land for the £500M Park Place shopping centre.

Park Place is Minerva's grand scheme for redeveloping part of Croydon.

Minerva, you will recall, owned Allders the failed department store.