Croydon Council Wasting Your Money!

Why does Croydon need another Equality Officer, costing the taxpayers £38K per annum, when it already employs five (and Bromley doesn't employ any)?

Croydon council, wasting your money!

Allders In Administration Again!

In January 2005 I wrote:

"Allders, once Croydon's flagship store, is due to go into administration in the next 24 hours.

That is bad news for the staff and pensioners as, aside from the jobs that may be lost, there is a rumour in the City of a £17M black hole in the pension fund.

The Standard reports that the company that owns the Allders chain, Minerva, only acquired Allders to get its hands on the flagship Croydon site.

What does this mean for the centre of Croydon I wonder? "

Some five and half years later, and Allders is yet again in administration.

The Telegraph reports:

"The department store, the third biggest in the UK, today appointed Duff & Phelps as administrator, blaming a sales decline on “the well-publicised economic difficulties facing the UK”. 300 jobs have been put on the line. 

The collapse comes in the year that the department store was celebrating its 150th anniversary. It remains open for trading."

What now for the centre of Croydon?

The Kiss of Death For Croydon

Oh dear, on top of the creeping decay and blight eroding the centre of Croydon, it seems that the reputation of Croydon will be further sullied if this project ever gets airtime.

The Guardian reports that:

"A new reality TV show set to rival TOWIE is being made in Croydon. 

Reality show Surrey Heights, based in Croydon, will be holding casting sessions for individuals, groups and couples at Shooshh nightclub next month."

Pass the sickbag someone!

Castles In The Air - Another "Plan" For The Whitgift Centre

PropertyWeek reports that Hammerson has signed an exclusivity agreement which will enable it to buy a stake in the Whitgift Centre in Croydon.

This of course places a question mark over Westfield’s plans for the centre, and adds to the confusion as to what exactly is going on with the shopping centre.

In November 2011 Westfield announced that it had secured an exclusive agreement with the shopping centre’s freeholder, the Whitgift Trust, to explore options to redevelop the mall. However, the shopping centre’s other stakeholders had not been consulted and agreed to sell a share of their stake to Hammerson.

"Plans" for the redevelopment of the Whitgift shopping centre have been argued about for years, eg I wrote this in February 2005:

"Minerva is funding Croydon Council's fight against the Whitgift shopping centre expansion plans proposed by Minerva's rivals, who own the Whitgift.

Minerva is paying the six figure costs of legal fees incurred by the council, at a planning inquiry into the expansion of the Whitgift shopping centre.

The owners of Whitgift are appealing against the council's decision not to approve plans to extend the shopping centre. The extension is called Bishops Court 2.

The council is reported to back the rival project called Park Place, which is proposed by Minerva."

Frankly, based on the failures of previous schemes, I don't think there will be an redevelopment of the Whitgift anytime soon. 

Nestle To Leave Croydon

Nestle has announced that it will move its UK headquarters, housing 840 staff, from Croydon to Gatwick by the end of 2012.

Nestle has been based in Croydon for over 40 years.

It had been seeking a new head office in Croydon for "several years", but it had proved "very difficult". Croydon Council said that Nestle had chosen a type of office accommodation that it could not match, this is ironic given how much empty office space there appears to be in Croydon.

Well Done Reeves

Kudos to the Reeves family, the staff of Reeves and the people of Croydon for showing what can be done in the face of adversity.

"Today, however, thanks to a combination of steely determination, black humour and the remarkable kindness of strangers – including donations amounting to more than £10,000, a handwritten letter from Prince William, and a tapestry stitched by a customer in her eighties – the store is in better shape than the family could ever have hoped. “I am absolutely staggered by the support,” says Reeves"