Croydon We urgently need to find a way to break this stalemate. We can’t afford to wait two or three years for Westfield and Hammersons to battle it out in the courts while our shopping district continues to decline. And major investment in our shopping district is the catalyst we need to secure other investment in our town - there are a number of major residential schemes with planning consent that are not financially viable in the current housing market, but that would become viable once it was clear that Westfield/Hammersons was definitely going ahead. I am meeting with the Mayor of London shortly to ask him to intervene to break the deadlock.
Making the town a more attractive place for businesses to locate We have had some positive news in recent months. The Government and the Mayor have provided £23 million to support the long-term recovery of the town in the wake of the riots. The Council is using this money to set up something akin to an Enterprise Zone in the area between Wellesley Road and the railway with reductions in rates to encourage businesses to locate there. It is also using this money to improve the public realm in the town centre - for example by introducing pedestrian crossings across Wellesley Road so people don’t have to use unpleasant subways. Network Rail and the Council are currently building a second ticket hall at the other end of East Croydon station and a pedestrian bridge over the railway to tackle overcrowding in the current ticket hall and provide a much better connection between the station and the shopping district.
A UNIVERSITY-BACKED INNOVATION CENTRE WILL HELP BRING NEW JOBS TO OUR TOWN
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