Developers urged to bring forward more offices

Developers are increasingly looking to create mixed use schemes in Croydon to take advantage of the increased office take-up and prestigious occupiers moving into the borough. HMRC and The Body Shop are among the big names to announce they are moving their operations in the town in recent months and Jo Negrini told the Develop […]

Croydon not afraid to be controversial

Croydon won’t be afraid to be controversial as it seeks to encourage growth in the borough. That was the message from council chief executive Jo Negrini who responded to criticism over the borough’s investment in the Boxpark pop-up mall and the new housing scheme being delivered on the site of the former council headquarters at […]

Westfield to add generation rent to the retail mix

Generation rent is taking hold on the high street and will form part of the vision when Croydon becomes home to the capital’s third Westfield. John Burton, head of development for Westfield – part of the Croydon Partnership which along with Hammerson is bringing forward a £1.4billion retail scheme on the site of the existing […]

Council chief believes Croydon can create its own eco-system

Creating a self-sustaining Croydon is a key part of the borough’s strategy according to council chief executive Jo Negrini. Responding to questions from Develop Croydon chair Mark Easton at the seventh annual summit, Ms Negrini said that capital as a whole would benefit if Croydon became more than a dormitory suburb with employment and cultural […]

Croydon completes five-year street lights programme

A multi-million-pound council project to replace and upgrade more than 23,000 streetlights in Croydon has been completed after a five-year programme. In 2011 contractors at Skanska started replacing streetlights across the borough, and on Wednesday the last column installed was switched on in Fell Road, Croydon. The upgrade is part of a 25-year, £151m Private […]

Confidence in Croydon up as poll shows priority shift

More than 91 per cent of delegates at the Develop Croydon Conference were confident that Croydon can deliver on its promises to become a 21st century Space Age city. At the start of this year’s Placemaking Croydon event, 83 per cent of those polled were either ‘confident or very confident’ when asked the same question. But this rose by […]

Croydon’s ‘uncanny’ links with the space age

Develop Croydon chair Mark Easton spoke about the genuine sense of optimism in the borough as he launched Placemaking Croydon – Space Age City as the theme for this year’s conference. Mr Easton, the BBC home editor, was returning two years after last being Conference chair and began a day full of debate by joking about […]

Gatwick announces largest ever annual investment

Gatwick Airport has named Ray Melee as chief construction officer to lead its £1.2billion investment programme. He will ensure the timely delivery of the airport’s capital investment programme that will see £240 invested in development projects in the forthcoming financial year. Current chief operating officer Scott Stanley has been appointed chief development officer to ensure […]

Croydon and Gatwick united in their ambitions for growth

Croydon will benefit from increasingly closer links with Gatwick Airport, irrespective of expansion proposals, according to former transport minister Steve Norris. In his role as co-chair of the Gatwick Growth Board, Mr Norris outlined work being done over the next decade to improve an airport that does more than 40million passengers movements a year, putting […]

Businesses urged to sign up to Good Employer Charter

Businesses are being encouraged to pledge their support to a new good employer charter which aims to boost Croydon’s economy by supporting the local supply chain. Launched at the Croydon Economic Summit on Wednesday, the Croydon Good Employer Charter asks businesses to commit to working in partnership with the council towards key principles which will […]