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I just came across this video and it made me very sad. I was born and raised near East Croydon, went to school there (Coloma), my first job was as a Saturday girl at Allders! I then got a job in London and commuted every day for years from East Croydon to London Bridge, then to Cannon Street, (usually packed like sardines!). I was married in St. Mary’s Church in West Croydon, then my husband & I emigrated to Canada, where I have lived since 1966. My memories of Croydon are of a busy, vibrant town, with great shops, a few cinemas (the Davis and Odeon come to mind), and Fairfield Hall and the Ashcroft theatre were recent additions to the cultural scene, too. Not to mention great pubs, including one, whose name I forget, which hosted a jazz club on Friday nights, which I never missed! So sad to see the old town looking so run down now, and I do hope it can be re-vitalized in the near future, if enough people care enough. 😂 2:24
First time I visited Croydon was 1972. The Whitgift centre had fountains in the middle with goldfish. The ornate architecture above eye level, a huge Alders full of excitement, a busy high street, CnA... It was magical. Even in South Croydon, look above eye level, old beautiful buildings owned by people who cared for their towns handed down to their children. Now it's a complete dump. Now look at Purley down the A23 exactly the same thing happened, then Coulsdon, even old Coulsdon, then Redhill, Crawley, Sutton, Caterham. But not Banstead or Dorking... I'll give you one guess why not?
Living inbetween Redhill and Reigate I experience a massive contrast everyday. Reigate is a well - kept, tidy town with a massive park and many good shops, whereas Redhill is falling apart every day, with it almost becoming like a ‘Mini Croydon’ of sorts.
@@MassiveLib Reigate and Dorking are relitavely similar and are both quite pleasant to live and walk around in. Purley has steadily befome a rather ‘dead’ place and feels quite barren, despite all the traffic. However Banstead is almost the odd one out, being so close to London, and yet it still feels like a proper well kept Surrey town, although maybe not as nice as Reigate / Dorking.
Well done Phil. Nice montage and music. I lived in Purley in the 60's and became very fond of Croydon throughout my teenage years: Kennards arcade with the donkey, Allders, Grants. Dad bought loads of furniture at Reeves auctions. I used to meet my girlfriend after her Saturday job in Allders and go for pie and beans at little cafe in St George's Walk, after they put the roof on because of the wind off the Nestle building. I remember the flyover being built. I remember Whitgift Triniity moving out and the Centre being built. Good record shop there. Buying strawberries for jam in Surrey Street. Great gigs at Fairfield Halls - The Nice, The Byrds, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pink Floyd. Classic cinema by Whitgift School. Last October I too went back, walking from Purley to Croydon. Heartbreaking. Purley has died apart from the huge Tesco's. Last to go was Feed-A-Pet, grimly hanging on. Now they're talking of big blocks of flats on the Sainsbury's site I believe. Royal Oak dead - formerly much drinking with mates. Walking the Brighton Road, local population very different. Allders derelict. Saddest thing - St George's Walk, and 'our' cafe, DEMOLISHED. It never really took off though. I sat on a bench by the Whitgift Centre listening to a great busker playing Kinks songs and wept.
I use to travel through Croydon in the 70s through to the mid 80s, a couple of years ago I cycled through Purley, I couldn’t believe the change that has happened. Croydon has been on a slippery slope since the mid 80s.
I was born and raised in Addiscombe, I moved away in '99. Now when I visit family I never want to go into the town centre and it's been that way for years. There is clearly no one on the council or in the planning dept who cares for, let alone loves Croydon. The trams have destroyed George Street. The departure of Allders and the arrival of pound shops and tacky pubs have done the rest. But the worst part is that no-one seems to care enough to do anything about it. Very sad.
I was brought up in Purley and visited Croydon often for shopping and to see my grandmother who lived in Heathfield Road. It was great for shopping in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Used to go to Surrey Street with my mum and then we'd have fish in chips in the in Littlewoods or maybe it was BHS, one of those. I worked in Croydon and there was always a buzz there whether in the pubs or the wine bars. Used to love Crazy H. Left in 87 and have never been back, although I have often thought I might like to. Seeing this has made me think I'll keep the old Croydon in my memories.
I remember eating in the Grants cafeteria, it had a fantastic view. I understand the floor above had a real restaurant with waiters in white jackets, but my Dad never sprung for that.
I worked for Croydon Council in crime prevention in the late 80's.Even back then the car parks were literally making millions. So much unrealized potential as a town. Hope one day they get it right.
Born in 83 in Croydon left school July 99, let me tell ya my memory of Croydon from 2000-2006 roughly, nearly every night sumin was hapnin somewhere in Croydon I proper miss the early 2000s!! Stay safe people x
I remember Croydon in the 1950s and 60s as a child and teenager, especially Kennards when it was a great store with that funny Tudor themed Lane. And the bustling market at Christmas. And the old Classic cinema. One day the world will get back to some sort of normality. But it will never be the same. Just glad I saw it before it changed. Thank God for memories. For in them, the old atmospheric Croydon lives on.
Great memories, James! I remember the Kennard’s Lane very well. There is much work to be done in the Borough but I remain hopeful that it can get back on track in the future.
If only people would actually shop at Alders, hey? Sorry, pal. Alders is why it went downhill (actually the town is busier and less sterile than places like Bromley to this day. Downhill?) Look, if a shop is unnattractive and people like yourself won't shop there to keep it open, you've decided it must close. Stop whinging and suggest something better for the spot. No reason they can't turn it into the Camden of south London as far as I can see.
@@youngmurphy7556 you clearly haven't been to Croydon. Have you seen what the place were Allders was is now? It is a joke. Other stores like HMV collapsed and it is only a matter of time before it is filled with Pound shops everywhere.
I remember Croydon well as a child. We used to get the bus from Carshalton to there to do the Christmas shopping. Allders was a favourite place to visit. The Whitgift School was there and I almost went there. I began working there in the early 70s when I left school and did so for two years. Used to visit the Greyhound pub to see new bands and sometimes the Fairfield Halls. I always remember the market down Surrey St too. I did not go back for over twenty years and hardly recognised the Croydon I knew.
Croydon council- the last refuge for those incapable of holding down a job in any other sector. I have had the misfortune to attend meetings also attended by Alison Butler, one of their more prominent voices. The woman is deluded, clueless and adept at ignoring anyone who says anything she doesn't want to hear. I'm not surprised they have bankrupted themselves when a woman like her is involved. At one meeting I attended she was defending their policy of sending staff round to monitor public waste bins and report back when they needed emptying- instead of just sending refuse collectors round with a brief to empty them if needed. Typical labour policy- why employ one team to do a job when you can waste public money and do it less effectively for twice the cost by employing two teams...
you describe most government. As well as her 200,000 a year salary the last leader of Croydon council just resigned with a 400,000 payoff. If you have no marketable skills but are good at spouting BS, go work in local government and get rich !
Well done. Nice montage and music. I lived in Purley in the 60's and became very fond of Croydon throughout my teenage years: Kennards arcade with the donkey, Allders, Grants. Dad bought loads of furniture at Reeves auctions. I used to meet my girlfriend after her Saturday job in Allders and go for pie and beans at little cafe in St George's Walk, after they put the roof on because of the wind off the Nestle building. I remember the flyover being built. I remember Whitgift Triniity moving out and the Centre being built. Good record shop there. Buying strawberries for jam in Surrey Street. Great gigs at Fairfield Halls - The Nice, The Byrds, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pink Floyd. Classic cinema by Whitgift School. Last October I too went back, walking from Purley to Croydon. Heartbreaking. Purley has died apart from the huge Tesco's. Last to go was Feed-A-Pet, grimly hanging on. Now they're talking of big blocks of flats on the Sainsbury's site I believe. Royal Oak dead - formerly much drinking with mates. Walking the Brighton Road, local population very different. Allders derelict. Saddest thing - St George's Walk, and 'our' cafe, DEMOLISHED. It never really took off though. I sat on a bench by the Whitgift Centre listening to a great busker playing Kinks songs and wept.
I remember so much of what you say, including the donkey rides. Kennards used to be called Batchelors. I had to go back in 2018 to Croydon crematorium and I felt unsafe during my overnight stay in central Croydon. I appreciate that nothing stays the same and I'm now viewing the place through older eyes but how sad it has become. I felt like I was an alien in my home town. My return home to rural Cumbria couldn't come quick enough.
I was brought up in South Norwood and went to school in Croydon from 1960. What happened (as you ask) started in the '70's...and we aren't allowed to discuss it.
It’s so sad. It’s now like a ghetto. I was born here, and I worked in Grants department store as a teenager, my mum worked in Allders department store, both of those shops were prestigious, glamorous, splendid and elegant. It’s been destroyed over the past 20 years or so. Just another broken ghetto. 😥
Grants was something in its day! My sister worked in Allders, and they were both very much part of Croydon. No real focal point now and with the pandemic hitting us all, the future is far from certain.
do you remember they had an early computer type thing in the lobby to help you find what you were looking for. This was in the 70s so it was electromechanical. It fascinated me.
So very sad. I've got so many happy memories of how Croydon used to be, it breaks my heart to see it now. I've never actually lived there, but growing up in South London it was never far away. Clapham Junction was our closest shopping area, but Croydon was where we went to do our Christmas shopping, or to buy new clothes for a holiday, or even just for somewhere different to go for a change of scenery. My first ever experience of McDonald's was in Croydon! Then my mum got a job in the dress fabrics department in Allders, where she worked during most of the 80s, I would often go and meet her for lunch in an Italian cafe on the top floor of the Whitgift. A highlight of a trip to Croydon was shepherd's pie and chips followed by a slice of lemon meringue pie in the restaurant in British Home Stores...anyone remember the fizzy raspberry drink they did in there too?! The only downside was that you often had to wander around for ages with your tray of food and your bags of shopping trying to find an empty table! Happy days.
Some great memories there, Andy! A number of personal pictures painted, particularly looking for a table 😂. Great little Italian café, efficient service.
The problem Croydon has had over the past decade is the proposed Westfield which didn't happen. The shopping centres which would have become the new Westfield Croydon had to stop taking on permanent retailers because some parts of the Whitgift Centre were being rebuilt so there would be no point taking on new shops only to have to buy back the lease, temporarily move those shops and arrange the building work around the trading shops. Another problem is the layout of Centrale. The upper and lower floors are difficult to get to so visitors mainly use the ground floor so that's where the shops want to be.
I lived most of my life in Croydon, though I have lived in and visited many towns. High streets everywhere have had shops close down and premises lying empty because of competition from online retail which has accelerated under lockdown, but having said that, in other towns it's nowhere near the state of utter devastation in Croydon. Only a few years ago, Westfield was looking to build a Westfield Centre to rival the one at Shepherds Bush, now they've pulled out and a council (that I can't believe was elected twice) is bankrupt after allowing the town centre to decline.
People make a community, not the presence or otherwise of Westfield. The pandemic has shown that there is still an incredibly engaged and positive community of all faiths, cultures and ages. Is the high street dead....yes. If we're all realistic, online shopping is what we all do more than heading in to a high street. There could be an opportunity for Cronx to focus and discount the vast empty retail space at low price, to short term shops, or local producers; and created a different approach, based around what people might want to actually buy.
I lived in Croydon between 1976 and 1983 but my Dad lived there until 2014 so I always had a good excuse to visit the old place. I spent much of my teenage years in Beanos - now gone, as have all but one of the record shops. I went Purley High School for Boys - demolished and I later worked in Taberner House - also demolished. I visited the place just last month and discovered the shops that you show in the video leading up to West Croydon Bus Station have all been demolished, which was a bit of a shock given that they had been in a poor state for quite some time, especially Knitters Needs which once had a sign on it saying "Dangerous building - Do not enter - No floor!" I hope the place recovers.
Ah, yes, Beano's. My brothers went to Purley High School. The head was a sadist. He loved to cane the boys. I think he also frequented the changing rooms. Ah, those were the days 😊
Croydon Council’s greed over making money from parking significantly aided its demise. Yellow lines were put in and made residents resentful. 50% of my council tax when I lived there paid for social housing. It is a depressing place and I never go there. Put in free Sunday parking and encourage business and it might help!
Blast from the past! Croydon was the place to be as a teen, can’t forget those night out partying etc. My home for more than two decades, the buzz’s gone now and it’s not longer the same place. I feel sad whenever I visit family and friends.😢
Starting point was Allders... Once Allders has gone ... Croydon high street lost its image .. Lots of pubs and clubs has been closed because of criminal ppl . Finally , Corona finished all .. Croydon high street is empty now .. The other main reason is online shopping ..
I use to hang around Croydon in the early 80's at the weekends with my friends from school(we were from Tooting) and it was nice then but then it slowly changed(people wise) and went down hill :( Haven't been there for years now.
Last time I visited Croydon was about 11 years ago, much has changed. I remember sitting upstairs in the shopping centre looking outside through the glass, having coffee and cake. There was a toolshop selling machines established ..a very long time ago (17??). I forgot the name and the date but it also went belly up. That chinese "eat as much you as you can" shop "Stirfries"?? , is that still open or also gone and finished? I doubt whether building a new shopping centre will save Croydon because the times for shopping centers/malls have passed.
@@philswallow I came in the shop just before they closed (2008?) and they had a LOT of staff inside (familymembers?) and almost no customers. That was a bad sign and soon after that I noticed the shop being closed.
Turtles closed because their lease wasn’t renewed. They would have had to find new premises somewhere else and the owner said they weren’t going to start all over from scratch. All the leases in St George’s Walk we’re allowed to expire without renewal because there were plans for redevelopment. A shiny new shopping centre, of course. Then Howard Holdings, the company that owned it, went bust and so did the redevelopment plans. All those shops including Turtles could have stayed in St George’s Walk but instead it became a mix of closed shops and pop ups on short leases while no one knew what would happen. I knew people who worked at Howard Holdings. The person in charge of the planned redevelopment said Croydon was the new Las Vegas!
It's not illegal to state that the people running the place are useless at the job. Plus, 400K salary for a local politician - that attracts numpties more than professionals...
@@johnstilljohn3181 Who got £400k. Tony Newman is a fat waste of space and oxygen, but I am pretty sure he isn't on anywhere near £400k. Do you mean the Chief Executive?
Online shopping has caused a lot of shop closures. Also, some shops just didn’t keep up with changing consumer demand. Woolworths was a classic example of this.
spent most of my teens living in Wallington so spent alot of time in Croydon moved to Perth Australia in 2002 and every time came back to the uk couldn't believe how much it had changed. Came back in 2018 couldn't believe how much croydon had changed and felt such a depressing place
when the slums gendrified they moved people up to Croydon and now Croydon has become a slum.. Well West Croydon is. It's only a matter of time before the whole of Croydon will be like broad green
Grants and Kennards closed down was a big C change. The Surrey St market has died. St Georges walk was posh back in the day, but what really killed Croydon was the Mini Manhattan building of the 60's....we lost so much history for the sake of modernisation and now we are pulling all that down!!! Rose tinted glasses???...maybe, but look at towns that resisted change and still have heritage. They appear to be doing well. As i sit in West Africa, stuck due to covid i wonder if Croydon will ever become my home again?? I think sadly not..... From a 60 year old born and raised in Croydon since 1961 (Oval Rd, East Croydon.)
@@buckers13 I grew up on the Mitcham Road council Estate from the 50s until 1986 I left and emigrated across the pond from you to Melbourne came back to Croydon in 2010 and was totally disappointed with the place such a shame
I worked in the IBM building on 17 Addiscombe Road opposite the Sorting Office from 1975 to 1981. The Oval Tavern along with the Porter and Sorter were regular lunchtime haunts. Croydon was a bustling place, it was then the biggest office conurbation in the UK except for the City of London. Saddly that may have started it's demise.
in 2012 i used to walk through this area all the time for college. lots of good memories from that time. croydon has been neglected for a long time, the shops come and go because rent is so high and people dont really go to croydon for anything special
Was strangely emotional watching this....used to sit on a bench in the Whitgift with my grandma and eat BHS or M&S Sandwiches.....and a few less wholesome stories of Croydon too lol...wow! thank you :)
Elected officials, rude boys, crime and leeches have ran Croydon in to the ground, its officially the most dangerous area in London (google it). The officials don't want the area to be a success, they want it to fail which is why its failing. Not sure the end goal, but you know for sure those same officials who let it run in to the ground will be the same officials that then go on to condemn parts of the area giving room for their property developer pals to move in and make lots of money, standard. You're all going to pay for it and reap absolutely zero benefits from it, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure those same people that wrecked it in the first place and graffitied it will all end up with a nice house at your expense and then wreck it and the whole area will be full of average speed cameras to f**k you all up on the fine front.
Croydon is not a destination. You end up there. The Council bankrupted itself after Westfield pulled the plug. Writing is on the wall now. Still live in the Borough, but going into Croydon itself is beyond depressing.
It all changed when it became a London Borough which allowed a load of Labour voters in and they knocked down the old Croydon down and built a concrete jungle
Very apt music Phil. Its so sad to see how Croydon has become quite a depressing area to shop. Very sad to see shops like Grants and then Allders (a huge loss) go and more recently Debenhams. The council has let the place go to the dogs. I'm sure most people go to the Glades in Bromley for a nice shopping experience.
Croydon is one of the last unrealised gems in London. Commuting times to the city are better than the vast majority of boroughs in London; yet real estate is
The post-pandemic era will see a shake-up in many towns and cities, particularly in the retail world but also office space with new working arrangements - let's hope there will be some good to come out of it!
Like a lot of town and city centres, we are now saying ‘that used to be….’ far too often! I don’t know what the answer is, it’s a universal problem. Some places are taking down their shopping malls and returning to streets once again. What ever the answer is it needs to be done everywhere. The same issue is prevalent here in France as well.
Croydon has lost many shops, I use to like going to C&A for clothes, Woolworths, Allders, little woods gone. Yates close down, lost the reeves corner during the 2011 riots. The old blue west Croydon bus stop changed. That massive building saffron square at least looks good I hope that Surrey street Fruits and veg market stays. It's been their since, maybe victorian times. I also hope that libraries, schools, and colleges open up, This pandemic is really making many people suffer. God bless everyone. 🙏
The new bus station is actually very good. Better than that awful Lego building before. Great little cafe inside it. C&A was for fashion victims and should not be missed by anyone.
This is happening everywhere - not just Croydon. If there's one thing that marks out Croydon as a little different, it's that the good people left. I mean, the ones who just wanted to make an ordinary, decent, working life for themselves. There were serious law and order issues that went unchecked.
I pray Croydon recovers and thrives as a pleasant, respected community that is like a big co operative with strong faith in God's Love and Wisdom, Goodness and Truth central to the core. Greed has no place there. No more demonising Croydon.
MY DAD USED TO MANAGE BUTCHER SHOPS IN CROYDON IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS AND OVER THE YEARS THEY CLOSED ......... HE PUT THIS DOWN TO SEVERAL REASONS TO MUCH DEVELOPMENT ON THE PURLEY WAY .......... SUNDAY TRADING / LATE NIGHT / 24 HR ........ THEN TO MUCH RETAIL SPACE WAS ADDED AS THE DEPARTMENT STORES CLOSED ONE BY ONE ............... THE LOCAL MAKE UP OF THE RESIDENTS CHANGED ........... THE DISRUPTION OF THE TRAM BEING BUILT ........ THE SIGHT OF THE RIOTS ON NATIONAL TV ............. LANDLORDS WANTING UNREALISTIC RENTS LEADING TO EMPTY SPACES ........ THE RISE OF ONLINE SHOPPING ........ THE LOSS OF THE WORKERS FROM THE EMPTY OFFICES ........ STOPPED BEING A SHOPPING DESTINATION .......... DEMISE OF THE OPEN STREET MARKETS ..... PARKING CHARGES WENT THROUGH THE ROOF ............ QUALITY OF OCCUPANTS OF LARGE RETAIL SPACES DIMINISHED ............ SOME AREAS BECAME A NO GO AT NIGHT........... AND THE COUNCIL NOT HAVING A CLUE
I couldn't have said it better myself. Its a crying shame. Those nights out at the blue orchid were just the best! Maybe one day again it will be great again....
The most multi-cultural area in British Isles and one of the poorest, the council are 2 billion in debt. My life long home town. The Labour party brought the N.H.S to this country making it the best place to live in the world. So I suppose, Equinox 95 the conservative party who have been in power the whole of my life, nearly fifty years renowned for making the rich richer and the poor poorer and keeping non white people out have helped? 'New' Labour means 'conservative' that doesn't count and was to get the Lib Dems. to vote for a party that sticks up for the underdog, we were conned. Why? Because everyone South of Scotland have always voted Conservative, so the only way you could have half a chance of sticking up for the poor and people of race would be to get practically right wing people to vote for a left wing party as with 'New' which the party changed to approaching the only election, where Labour who you say ruined this country got in for one term in the last half century.
I used to go shopping there in the 80s and 90s, and I worked there for a few years up to around 10 years or so ago. By then it had turned into a complete and utter sh1thole. I would never go back there again.
Croydon is just a shadow of its former self. Very sad that the Alders building was not put to better use. With the Westfield deal being pulled I don't know how it's ever going to recover. Sutton high street is the same. Huge rates being forced on retailers is causing many independent businesses to close. Online shops with no over heads allow cheaper products and in this day and age people have little or no money to spend.
I didn’t know Sutton was struggling. Bromley seems ok but people either shop online or take a trip to Bluewater where everything is in one place and parking is free!
@@philswallow Sutton is bouncing back a little we have had some regeneration in Sutton which was due to the council stepping in and purchasing buildings to maintain the rated and rent. They have also invested in the brilliant Sound Lounge where live music and acts play (where the old RBS building was in Sutton) and some great cake and community shops and coffee places. In the St Nicholas center they have a dance school for young people as well as a covid testing center and a new food court. Almost makes me want to stand as a Cllr ! Hope you and Sue are well?
I lived in Thornton Heath once. I had many, many encounters with the council and considerable experience of their complete and utter incompetence. It's hardly surprising Croydon has degenerated beyond the point of saving. This is what happens when idiots vote for labour local authorities time and again- under investment in things that bring business and fuel growth and prosperity in favour of fluffy social policies. That, and the fact that the vast majority of councillors are completely incompetent.
Labour at a national level are competent, but at a local level, they are mostly useless, immature and unrealistic in outlook and occasionally corrupt. However, the game is somewhat rigged against them. Anyone with any ability quickly ascends to the Parliamentary Labour Party and stays there. Today's Parliamentary Conservative Party are only good at cronyism, corruption and corporate fascism. Oddly, there local machine is more of a one nation, pragmatic party, but still pretty sleazy and inneffective. It's a hobby for most of them.
I grew up in Croydon. I remember my Mum telling me it was a dump (I'm guessing she didn't really want to live there) and that was in the 80s when the town centre was still thriving. I thought parts of it were nice and it has a lot of big parks but it was marred by basically one road full of ugly office blocks. I remember the Whitgift Centre with the "curly-wurly ramp" which I had fun running down; there's just more shops there now. The death of the North End area really reflects the death of town centres generally as more people switch to buying online. A lot of the companies which filled high streets have gone bust. As for the council, this has a lot to do with government imposed austerity which makes councils unable to do the jobs the law requires. We weren't seeing this before 2010.
Croydon Council had more than enough money to do what they were supposed to do. They just pissed it all up the wall. Their current woes are entirely due to incompetence.
To be fair it doesn't look much different to any other large town in Britain. They've all suffered from some dodgy planning approvals and the lack of central funding from the government
A lovely video. Very sad watching it too because I too have been here all my life. I have too seen it change so much during the last two decades and recently decline due to the way it was managed by the Labour clowns. I hope Croydon gets back on it's feet soon, but to be honest that would take some doing and so much money.
Some parts of Croydon are still nice, but London Road in West Croydon is one damn depressing half-mile of straight-up ghetto. It actually rivals Oakland, CA in terms of appearance and quality of life.
Croydon has now a debt of a billion and a half pounds. The former council leader now got a do nothing job with Arup. Carry on paying council tax, and the council will carry on laughing at you while they stuff their pensions !
It's really sad to see what a corrupt council and greedy developers can achieve. Croydon will never exist as it once was, homes that nobody can afford and lies about it being affordable, are sure to follow.
if you voted for a labour council then you get exactly what you deserve. If you voted Tory, they you have my sympathy- at least you tried, but sadly you were outnumbered by the general population who see labour as a meal ticket- more benefits, more free school meals for their unpteen illegitimate kids and less chance of a knock on the door from a policeman because he's probably been sent for diversity training rather than being allowed to do his job.
Hi Linda, when was it made? I do moderate the comments for this video as some are not in keeping with respect for all but if you can give me some more info I will try to find out what happened. The comment search on here isn't great tbh.
We all know why Croydon has gone to pot....but you can't say it. We all know why decent people and businesses have moved away from Croydon.....but you can't say it.
That's not going to happen. Westfield dodged a bullet there! COVID is going to see to it that any shopping centre will get zero investment for a good while yet.
Westfield isn't happening. Tens of millions were wasted by the incompetent labour council, and all they succeeded in doing was scaring the potential developers and investors away.
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I just came across this video and it made me very sad. I was born and raised near East Croydon, went to school there (Coloma), my first job was as a Saturday girl at Allders! I then got a job in London and commuted every day for years from East Croydon to London Bridge, then to Cannon Street, (usually packed like sardines!). I was married in St. Mary’s Church in West Croydon, then my husband & I emigrated to Canada, where I have lived since 1966. My memories of Croydon are of a busy, vibrant town, with great shops, a few cinemas (the Davis and Odeon come to mind), and Fairfield Hall and the Ashcroft theatre were recent additions to the cultural scene, too. Not to mention great pubs, including one, whose name I forget, which hosted a jazz club on Friday nights, which I never missed! So sad to see the old town looking so run down now, and I do hope it can be re-vitalized in the near future, if enough people care enough. 😂 2:24
First time I visited Croydon was 1972. The Whitgift centre had fountains in the middle with goldfish. The ornate architecture above eye level, a huge Alders full of excitement, a busy high street, CnA... It was magical. Even in South Croydon, look above eye level, old beautiful buildings owned by people who cared for their towns handed down to their children. Now it's a complete dump. Now look at Purley down the A23 exactly the same thing happened, then Coulsdon, even old Coulsdon, then Redhill, Crawley, Sutton, Caterham. But not Banstead or Dorking... I'll give you one guess why not?
Living inbetween Redhill and Reigate I experience a massive contrast everyday. Reigate is a well - kept, tidy town with a massive park and many good shops, whereas Redhill is falling apart every day, with it almost becoming like a ‘Mini Croydon’ of sorts.
@@SouthernTransportFan Even in the early 70s Redhill was considered a bit rough. What's the difference between Banstead, Reigate, Dorking and Purley?
@@MassiveLib Reigate and Dorking are relitavely similar and are both quite pleasant to live and walk around in. Purley has steadily befome a rather ‘dead’ place and feels quite barren, despite all the traffic. However Banstead is almost the odd one out, being so close to London, and yet it still feels like a proper well kept Surrey town, although maybe not as nice as Reigate / Dorking.
"I'll give you one guess why not?" because those places are where those who ruined Croydon live?
Why not?
Well done Phil. Nice montage and music. I lived in Purley in the 60's and became very fond of Croydon throughout my teenage years: Kennards arcade with the donkey, Allders, Grants. Dad bought loads of furniture at Reeves auctions. I used to meet my girlfriend after her Saturday job in Allders and go for pie and beans at little cafe in St George's Walk, after they put the roof on because of the wind off the Nestle building. I remember the flyover being built. I remember Whitgift Triniity moving out and the Centre being built. Good record shop there. Buying strawberries for jam in Surrey Street. Great gigs at Fairfield Halls - The Nice, The Byrds, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pink Floyd. Classic cinema by Whitgift School. Last October I too went back, walking from Purley to Croydon. Heartbreaking. Purley has died apart from the huge Tesco's. Last to go was Feed-A-Pet, grimly hanging on. Now they're talking of big blocks of flats on the Sainsbury's site I believe. Royal Oak dead - formerly much drinking with mates. Walking the Brighton Road, local population very different. Allders derelict. Saddest thing - St George's Walk, and 'our' cafe, DEMOLISHED. It never really took off though. I sat on a bench by the Whitgift Centre listening to a great busker playing Kinks songs and wept.
Thanks Tony, great memories!
I use to travel through Croydon in the 70s through to the mid 80s, a couple of years ago I cycled through Purley, I couldn’t believe the change that has happened. Croydon has been on a slippery slope since the mid 80s.
Awww I miss Kennards, Grants, Allders...I barely shop there now!
I was born and raised in Addiscombe, I moved away in '99. Now when I visit family I never want to go into the town centre and it's been that way for years. There is clearly no one on the council or in the planning dept who cares for, let alone loves Croydon. The trams have destroyed George Street. The departure of Allders and the arrival of pound shops and tacky pubs have done the rest. But the worst part is that no-one seems to care enough to do anything about it. Very sad.
I was brought up in Purley and visited Croydon often for shopping and to see my grandmother who lived in Heathfield Road. It was great for shopping in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Used to go to Surrey Street with my mum and then we'd have fish in chips in the in Littlewoods or maybe it was BHS, one of those. I worked in Croydon and there was always a buzz there whether in the pubs or the wine bars. Used to love Crazy H. Left in 87 and have never been back, although I have often thought I might like to. Seeing this has made me think I'll keep the old Croydon in my memories.
That's how I remember it too. A real buzz. All gone now, long before Covid.
I remember eating in the Grants cafeteria, it had a fantastic view. I understand the floor above had a real restaurant with waiters in white jackets, but my Dad never sprung for that.
Don’t go back you won’t recognise the place.
Council ran it into the ground, pay and display everywhere, expensive parking, screwed over big employers like nestle and phillips who ended up moving
Exactly corrupted croydon Council
@@dawgwithoutablog99323 it's why I voted for a mayor. Maybe things will change.
I worked for Croydon Council in crime prevention in the late 80's.Even back then the car parks were literally making millions. So much unrealized potential as a town. Hope one day they get it right.
Born in 83 in Croydon left school July 99, let me tell ya my memory of Croydon from 2000-2006 roughly, nearly every night sumin was hapnin somewhere in Croydon I proper miss the early 2000s!! Stay safe people x
🤣too young
I remember Croydon in the 1950s and 60s as a child and teenager, especially Kennards when it was a great store with that funny Tudor themed Lane. And the bustling market at Christmas. And the old Classic cinema. One day the world will get back to some sort of normality. But it will never be the same. Just glad I saw it before it changed. Thank God for memories. For in them, the old atmospheric Croydon lives on.
Great memories, James! I remember the Kennard’s Lane very well. There is much work to be done in the Borough but I remain hopeful that it can get back on track in the future.
All went downhill after Allders went into admin!
@Emma Constantinides Absolutely agree!! It's a disgrace what the borough has been turned into
The corporate greed has not helped either.🤬I loved allders too. Some good memories in that shop.
Kennards and Allders - wonderful Christmas memories from the '60's.
If only people would actually shop at Alders, hey? Sorry, pal. Alders is why it went downhill (actually the town is busier and less sterile than places like Bromley to this day. Downhill?) Look, if a shop is unnattractive and people like yourself won't shop there to keep it open, you've decided it must close. Stop whinging and suggest something better for the spot. No reason they can't turn it into the Camden of south London as far as I can see.
@@youngmurphy7556 you clearly haven't been to Croydon. Have you seen what the place were Allders was is now? It is a joke. Other stores like HMV collapsed and it is only a matter of time before it is filled with Pound shops everywhere.
I remember Croydon well as a child. We used to get the bus from Carshalton to there to do the Christmas shopping. Allders was a favourite place to visit. The Whitgift School was there and I almost went there. I began working there in the early 70s when I left school and did so for two years. Used to visit the Greyhound pub to see new bands and sometimes the Fairfield Halls. I always remember the market down Surrey St too. I did not go back for over twenty years and hardly recognised the Croydon I knew.
Croydon council- the last refuge for those incapable of holding down a job in any other sector. I have had the misfortune to attend meetings also attended by Alison Butler, one of their more prominent voices. The woman is deluded, clueless and adept at ignoring anyone who says anything she doesn't want to hear. I'm not surprised they have bankrupted themselves when a woman like her is involved. At one meeting I attended she was defending their policy of sending staff round to monitor public waste bins and report back when they needed emptying- instead of just sending refuse collectors round with a brief to empty them if needed. Typical labour policy- why employ one team to do a job when you can waste public money and do it less effectively for twice the cost by employing two teams...
Not just Labour - typical behaviour for all politicians...
Amount of money that was wasted on silly little things in Croydon as well like colourful crossings and strange arty stuff. No one asked for that.
you describe most government. As well as her 200,000 a year salary the last leader of Croydon council just resigned with a 400,000 payoff. If you have no marketable skills but are good at spouting BS, go work in local government and get rich !
Grants, Kennards, Allders. Gone but not forgotten.
Well done. Nice montage and music. I lived in Purley in the 60's and became very fond of Croydon throughout my teenage years: Kennards arcade with the donkey, Allders, Grants. Dad bought loads of furniture at Reeves auctions. I used to meet my girlfriend after her Saturday job in Allders and go for pie and beans at little cafe in St George's Walk, after they put the roof on because of the wind off the Nestle building. I remember the flyover being built. I remember Whitgift Triniity moving out and the Centre being built. Good record shop there. Buying strawberries for jam in Surrey Street. Great gigs at Fairfield Halls - The Nice, The Byrds, Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pink Floyd. Classic cinema by Whitgift School. Last October I too went back, walking from Purley to Croydon. Heartbreaking. Purley has died apart from the huge Tesco's. Last to go was Feed-A-Pet, grimly hanging on. Now they're talking of big blocks of flats on the Sainsbury's site I believe. Royal Oak dead - formerly much drinking with mates. Walking the Brighton Road, local population very different. Allders derelict. Saddest thing - St George's Walk, and 'our' cafe, DEMOLISHED. It never really took off though. I sat on a bench by the Whitgift Centre listening to a great busker playing Kinks songs and wept.
Some great memories there, wow!
I remember so much of what you say, including the donkey rides. Kennards used to be called Batchelors. I had to go back in 2018 to Croydon crematorium and I felt unsafe during my overnight stay in central Croydon. I appreciate that nothing stays the same and I'm now viewing the place through older eyes but how sad it has become. I felt like I was an alien in my home town. My return home to rural Cumbria couldn't come quick enough.
I was brought up in South Norwood and went to school in Croydon from 1960. What happened (as you ask) started in the '70's...and we aren't allowed to discuss it.
What’s that ?
It’s so sad. It’s now like a ghetto. I was born here, and I worked in Grants department store as a teenager, my mum worked in Allders department store, both of those shops were prestigious, glamorous, splendid and elegant. It’s been destroyed over the past 20 years or so. Just another broken ghetto. 😥
Grants was something in its day! My sister worked in Allders, and they were both very much part of Croydon. No real focal point now and with the pandemic hitting us all, the future is far from certain.
do you remember they had an early computer type thing in the lobby to help you find what you were looking for. This was in the 70s so it was electromechanical. It fascinated me.
So very sad. I've got so many happy memories of how Croydon used to be, it breaks my heart to see it now. I've never actually lived there, but growing up in South London it was never far away. Clapham Junction was our closest shopping area, but Croydon was where we went to do our Christmas shopping, or to buy new clothes for a holiday, or even just for somewhere different to go for a change of scenery. My first ever experience of McDonald's was in Croydon! Then my mum got a job in the dress fabrics department in Allders, where she worked during most of the 80s, I would often go and meet her for lunch in an Italian cafe on the top floor of the Whitgift. A highlight of a trip to Croydon was shepherd's pie and chips followed by a slice of lemon meringue pie in the restaurant in British Home Stores...anyone remember the fizzy raspberry drink they did in there too?! The only downside was that you often had to wander around for ages with your tray of food and your bags of shopping trying to find an empty table! Happy days.
Some great memories there, Andy! A number of personal pictures painted, particularly looking for a table 😂. Great little Italian café, efficient service.
The problem Croydon has had over the past decade is the proposed Westfield which didn't happen. The shopping centres which would have become the new Westfield Croydon had to stop taking on permanent retailers because some parts of the Whitgift Centre were being rebuilt so there would be no point taking on new shops only to have to buy back the lease, temporarily move those shops and arrange the building work around the trading shops.
Another problem is the layout of Centrale. The upper and lower floors are difficult to get to so visitors mainly use the ground floor so that's where the shops want to be.
Croydon as we know it now started to change from the late 1980s onwards. South end literally changed overnight in the mid 1990s.
I lived most of my life in Croydon, though I have lived in and visited many towns. High streets everywhere have had shops close down and premises lying empty because of competition from online retail which has accelerated under lockdown, but having said that, in other towns it's nowhere near the state of utter devastation in Croydon.
Only a few years ago, Westfield was looking to build a Westfield Centre to rival the one at Shepherds Bush, now they've pulled out and a council (that I can't believe was elected twice) is bankrupt after allowing the town centre to decline.
Indeed, it's not a great story at all. Well summarised, thank you.
People make a community, not the presence or otherwise of Westfield. The pandemic has shown that there is still an incredibly engaged and positive community of all faiths, cultures and ages. Is the high street dead....yes. If we're all realistic, online shopping is what we all do more than heading in to a high street. There could be an opportunity for Cronx to focus and discount the vast empty retail space at low price, to short term shops, or local producers; and created a different approach, based around what people might want to actually buy.
I lived in Croydon between 1976 and 1983 but my Dad lived there until 2014 so I always had a good excuse to visit the old place. I spent much of my teenage years in Beanos - now gone, as have all but one of the record shops. I went Purley High School for Boys - demolished and I later worked in Taberner House - also demolished. I visited the place just last month and discovered the shops that you show in the video leading up to West Croydon Bus Station have all been demolished, which was a bit of a shock given that they had been in a poor state for quite some time, especially Knitters Needs which once had a sign on it saying "Dangerous building - Do not enter - No floor!" I hope the place recovers.
Ah, yes, Beano's. My brothers went to Purley High School. The head was a sadist. He loved to cane the boys. I think he also frequented the changing rooms. Ah, those were the days 😊
Croydon Council’s greed over making money from parking significantly aided its demise.
Yellow lines were put in and made residents resentful. 50% of my council tax when I lived there paid for social housing. It is a depressing place and I never go there. Put in free Sunday parking and encourage business and it might help!
Blast from the past! Croydon was the place to be as a teen, can’t forget those night out partying etc. My home for more than two decades, the buzz’s gone now and it’s not longer the same place. I feel sad whenever I visit family and friends.😢
Let’s hope the only way is up!
Starting point was Allders...
Once Allders has gone ...
Croydon high street lost its image ..
Lots of pubs and clubs has been closed because of criminal ppl .
Finally , Corona finished all .. Croydon high street is empty now ..
The other main reason is online shopping ..
I use to hang around Croydon in the early 80's at the weekends with my friends from school(we were from Tooting) and it was nice then but then it slowly changed(people wise) and went down hill :( Haven't been there for years now.
Last time I visited Croydon was about 11 years ago, much has changed. I remember sitting upstairs in the shopping centre looking outside through the glass, having coffee and cake.
There was a toolshop selling machines established ..a very long time ago (17??). I forgot the name and the date but it also went belly up.
That chinese "eat as much you as you can" shop "Stirfries"?? , is that still open or also gone and finished?
I doubt whether building a new shopping centre will save Croydon because the times for shopping centers/malls have passed.
Do you mean “Turtles” in Park Street?
@@philswallow That's the one, I already forgot the name. I once bought some screws and bolts there.👍
I loved that shop! I found a bag of screws with their name on it when I tidied my garage last year. Gone, but fondly remembered.
@@philswallow I came in the shop just before they closed (2008?) and they had a LOT of staff inside (familymembers?) and almost no customers.
That was a bad sign and soon after that I noticed the shop being closed.
Turtles closed because their lease wasn’t renewed. They would have had to find new premises somewhere else and the owner said they weren’t going to start all over from scratch. All the leases in St George’s Walk we’re allowed to expire without renewal because there were plans for redevelopment. A shiny new shopping centre, of course. Then Howard Holdings, the company that owned it, went bust and so did the redevelopment plans. All those shops including Turtles could have stayed in St George’s Walk but instead it became a mix of closed shops and pop ups on short leases while no one knew what would happen.
I knew people who worked at Howard Holdings. The person in charge of the planned redevelopment said Croydon was the new Las Vegas!
Everyone knows what happened to Croydon...but it's illegal to express it.
Croydon not Croydon no more 😞
It's not illegal to state that the people running the place are useless at the job. Plus, 400K salary for a local politician - that attracts numpties more than professionals...
@@johnstilljohn3181 Who got £400k. Tony Newman is a fat waste of space and oxygen, but I am pretty sure he isn't on anywhere near £400k. Do you mean the Chief Executive?
What happened ?
Online shopping has caused a lot of shop closures. Also, some shops just didn’t keep up with changing consumer demand. Woolworths was a classic example of this.
spent most of my teens living in Wallington so spent alot of time in Croydon moved to Perth Australia in 2002 and every time came back to the uk couldn't believe how much it had changed. Came back in 2018 couldn't believe how much croydon had changed and felt such a depressing place
It's still my town and I still love it.
It's still home It's disgusting in my opinion
I also love it but I do hate it also but thats just me gettin old lol
and i live in broad green which is worse part.
when the slums gendrified they moved people up to Croydon and now Croydon has become a slum.. Well West Croydon is. It's only a matter of time before the whole of Croydon will be like broad green
Ive lived in Croydon over 50 years..to watch it decline the way it has is sad!
Grants and Kennards closed down was a big C change. The Surrey St market has died. St Georges walk was posh back in the day, but what really killed Croydon was the Mini Manhattan building of the 60's....we lost so much history for the sake of modernisation and now we are pulling all that down!!! Rose tinted glasses???...maybe, but look at towns that resisted change and still have heritage. They appear to be doing well. As i sit in West Africa, stuck due to covid i wonder if Croydon will ever become my home again??
I think sadly not.....
From a 60 year old born and raised in Croydon since 1961 (Oval Rd, East Croydon.)
I grew up on Oval Rd as well in the 90s. Small world, now I have since moved to Christchurch, New Zealand. Croydon will never be my home again.
@@buckers13 small world indeed!!!
@@buckers13 I grew up on the Mitcham Road council Estate from the 50s until 1986 I left and emigrated across the pond from you to Melbourne came back to Croydon in 2010 and was totally disappointed with the place such a shame
I started life in Canning Rd. Moved away 18 years ago. I feel like crying when I see Croydon now.
I worked in the IBM building on 17 Addiscombe Road opposite the Sorting Office from 1975 to 1981. The Oval Tavern along with the Porter and Sorter were regular lunchtime haunts. Croydon was a bustling place, it was then the biggest office conurbation in the UK except for the City of London. Saddly that may have started it's demise.
I used to love going to Croydon back in 90s and 2000s had awesome shops. Went back few months ago and made me feel upset
in 2012 i used to walk through this area all the time for college. lots of good memories from that time. croydon has been neglected for a long time, the shops come and go because rent is so high and people dont really go to croydon for anything special
Was strangely emotional watching this....used to sit on a bench in the Whitgift with my grandma and eat BHS or M&S Sandwiches.....and a few less wholesome stories of Croydon too lol...wow! thank you :)
Elected officials, rude boys, crime and leeches have ran Croydon in to the ground, its officially the most dangerous area in London (google it). The officials don't want the area to be a success, they want it to fail which is why its failing.
Not sure the end goal, but you know for sure those same officials who let it run in to the ground will be the same officials that then go on to condemn parts of the area giving room for their property developer pals to move in and make lots of money, standard.
You're all going to pay for it and reap absolutely zero benefits from it, but don't worry, I'm pretty sure those same people that wrecked it in the first place and graffitied it will all end up with a nice house at your expense and then wreck it and the whole area will be full of average speed cameras to f**k you all up on the fine front.
Croydon is not a destination. You end up there. The Council bankrupted itself after Westfield pulled the plug.
Writing is on the wall now.
Still live in the Borough, but going into Croydon itself is beyond depressing.
It all changed when it became a London Borough which allowed a load of Labour voters in and they knocked down the old Croydon down and built a concrete jungle
Makes me sick to see what's happened to the place I was born and have lived all my life
It is sad, Mark. No clear way forward yet, either.
Only moved from there to durham at the age of 18 I still love visiting but it's lost so much
I lived in Croydon all my life and it’s very sad to see how crap it looks 😢
Very apt music Phil. Its so sad to see how Croydon has become quite a depressing area to shop. Very sad to see shops like Grants and then Allders (a huge loss) go and more recently Debenhams. The council has let the place go to the dogs. I'm sure most people go to the Glades in Bromley for a nice shopping experience.
Croydon is one of the last unrealised gems in London. Commuting times to the city are better than the vast majority of boroughs in London; yet real estate is
The post-pandemic era will see a shake-up in many towns and cities, particularly in the retail world but also office space with new working arrangements - let's hope there will be some good to come out of it!
I agree
The infrastructure is in place. The old croydon wont be simulated until 2100 though so better get those memories documented
I was born in mayday hospital. Move away 20 years ago. Went back a year for a visit and I'd have to say they have killed it.😢
Main Street Croyden. Welcome to the new Detroit. Perhaps I can get some cheap apartments down there.
Croydon posh tho
@@jacobsalter629 not u lying
Nothing is cheap inside the M25
as bad as it is there you still won't find any cheap accomodation in Croydon - not now ..
@@booth2710 That sucks fanny
Croydon was a good place when I lived in old town with my family as a boy. Lots to do. Looks like it's all gone proper down the toilet now :-(
bitter sweet seeing this. an ole croydon native. thank you.
Thanks mate, it’s hard seeing when it will improve but I think/hope that the only way is up!
Blimey, I recognized some places but it's changed so much since I moved to California in 1990!!!!
This westfield stuff mess up croydon big time
Also i subbed to your channel 😉👍
Thank you!
@@philswallow no probs 👍
I'm surprised none of the 100s of pigeons that now live in Central Croydon didnt show up in your footage
Lol! 🐦
the pigeons are useful, They do a great job of eating up all the piles of vomit that swamp the streets of Croydon after a Friday and Saturday night
Like a lot of town and city centres, we are now saying ‘that used to be….’ far too often! I don’t know what the answer is, it’s a universal problem. Some places are taking down their shopping malls and returning to streets once again. What ever the answer is it needs to be done everywhere. The same issue is prevalent here in France as well.
Blame the council for spanking money away and paying millions for a hotel that is now looking derelict
Croydon has changed over the years.
dear god!
is there more?
no...
best in the 80s 🥳🥳🥳left long ago ⭐️⭐️
Croydon has lost many shops, I use to like going to C&A for clothes, Woolworths, Allders, little woods gone. Yates close down, lost the reeves corner during the 2011 riots. The old blue west Croydon bus stop changed. That massive building saffron square at least looks good I hope that Surrey street Fruits and veg market stays. It's been their since, maybe victorian times. I also hope that libraries, schools, and colleges open up, This pandemic is really making many people suffer. God bless everyone. 🙏
The new bus station is actually very good. Better than that awful Lego building before. Great little cafe inside it.
C&A was for fashion victims and should not be missed by anyone.
Reeves is still there and looks like it’s stuck in the 70’s lol
This is happening everywhere - not just Croydon. If there's one thing that marks out Croydon as a little different, it's that the good people left. I mean, the ones who just wanted to make an ordinary, decent, working life for themselves. There were serious law and order issues that went unchecked.
I pray Croydon recovers and thrives as a pleasant, respected community that is like a big co operative with strong faith in God's Love and Wisdom, Goodness and Truth central to the core. Greed has no place there. No more demonising Croydon.
Are the taxis still at East Croydon station .? Remember Kennards and the smell of coffee being ground .?Ah well !
no, there's a tram line outside. You can't get near it in a vehicle
MY DAD USED TO MANAGE BUTCHER SHOPS IN CROYDON IN SEVERAL LOCATIONS AND OVER THE YEARS THEY CLOSED ......... HE PUT THIS DOWN TO SEVERAL REASONS TO MUCH DEVELOPMENT ON THE PURLEY WAY .......... SUNDAY TRADING / LATE NIGHT / 24 HR ........ THEN TO MUCH RETAIL SPACE WAS ADDED AS THE DEPARTMENT STORES CLOSED ONE BY ONE ............... THE LOCAL MAKE UP OF THE RESIDENTS CHANGED ........... THE DISRUPTION OF THE TRAM BEING BUILT ........ THE SIGHT OF THE RIOTS ON NATIONAL TV ............. LANDLORDS WANTING UNREALISTIC RENTS LEADING TO EMPTY SPACES ........ THE RISE OF ONLINE SHOPPING ........ THE LOSS OF THE WORKERS FROM THE EMPTY OFFICES ........ STOPPED BEING A SHOPPING DESTINATION .......... DEMISE OF THE OPEN STREET MARKETS ..... PARKING CHARGES WENT THROUGH THE ROOF ............ QUALITY OF OCCUPANTS OF LARGE RETAIL SPACES DIMINISHED ............ SOME AREAS BECAME A NO GO AT NIGHT........... AND THE COUNCIL NOT HAVING A CLUE
I couldn't have said it better myself. Its a crying shame. Those nights out at the blue orchid were just the best! Maybe one day again it will be great again....
The most multi-cultural area in British Isles and one of the poorest, the council are 2 billion in debt. My life long home town. The Labour party brought the N.H.S to this country making it the best place to live in the world. So I suppose, Equinox 95 the conservative party who have been in power the whole of my life, nearly fifty years renowned for making the rich richer and the poor poorer and keeping non white people out have helped? 'New' Labour means 'conservative' that doesn't count and was to get the Lib Dems. to vote for a party that sticks up for the underdog, we were conned. Why? Because everyone South of Scotland have always voted Conservative, so the only way you could have half a chance of sticking up for the poor and people of race would be to get practically right wing people to vote for a left wing party as with 'New' which the party changed to approaching the only election, where Labour who you say ruined this country got in for one term in the last half century.
I used to go shopping there in the 80s and 90s, and I worked there for a few years up to around 10 years or so ago. By then it had turned into a complete and utter sh1thole. I would never go back there again.
looks like huddersfield am from there been like this for 10 years plus we got nothing i shop online
I am glad I live in Croydon... Victoria, Australia... it is much nicer than this Croydon.....
Croydon is just a shadow of its former self.
Very sad that the Alders building was not put to better use.
With the Westfield deal being pulled I don't know how it's ever going to recover.
Sutton high street is the same.
Huge rates being forced on retailers is causing many independent businesses to close.
Online shops with no over heads allow cheaper products and in this day and age people have little or no money to spend.
I didn’t know Sutton was struggling. Bromley seems ok but people either shop online or take a trip to Bluewater where everything is in one place and parking is free!
@@philswallow Sutton is bouncing back a little we have had some regeneration in Sutton which was due to the council stepping in and purchasing buildings to maintain the rated and rent.
They have also invested in the brilliant Sound Lounge where live music and acts play (where the old RBS building was in Sutton) and some great cake and community shops and coffee places.
In the St Nicholas center they have a dance school for young people as well as a covid testing center and a new food court.
Almost makes me want to stand as a Cllr !
Hope you and Sue are well?
All good mate, we must meet up soon!
Beautiful piano music. Who wrote that piece?
Hi Andreas, the track is "Incomplete" by Gavin Luke. I've now added that to the description, thanks for asking about it!
@@philswallow Thank you sir 😉
It's the same all over the British isles now I'm afraid. Margate, Blackpool and all the iconic seaside resorts are run into the ground
I lived in Thornton Heath once. I had many, many encounters with the council and considerable experience of their complete and utter incompetence. It's hardly surprising Croydon has degenerated beyond the point of saving. This is what happens when idiots vote for labour local authorities time and again- under investment in things that bring business and fuel growth and prosperity in favour of fluffy social policies. That, and the fact that the vast majority of councillors are completely incompetent.
Labour at a national level are competent, but at a local level, they are mostly useless, immature and unrealistic in outlook and occasionally corrupt. However, the game is somewhat rigged against them. Anyone with any ability quickly ascends to the Parliamentary Labour Party and stays there. Today's Parliamentary Conservative Party are only good at cronyism, corruption and corporate fascism. Oddly, there local machine is more of a one nation, pragmatic party, but still pretty sleazy and inneffective. It's a hobby for most of them.
I grew up in Croydon. I remember my Mum telling me it was a dump (I'm guessing she didn't really want to live there) and that was in the 80s when the town centre was still thriving. I thought parts of it were nice and it has a lot of big parks but it was marred by basically one road full of ugly office blocks. I remember the Whitgift Centre with the "curly-wurly ramp" which I had fun running down; there's just more shops there now. The death of the North End area really reflects the death of town centres generally as more people switch to buying online. A lot of the companies which filled high streets have gone bust. As for the council, this has a lot to do with government imposed austerity which makes councils unable to do the jobs the law requires. We weren't seeing this before 2010.
Croydon Council had more than enough money to do what they were supposed to do. They just pissed it all up the wall.
Their current woes are entirely due to incompetence.
To be fair it doesn't look much different to any other large town in Britain. They've all suffered from some dodgy planning approvals and the lack of central funding from the government
A lovely video. Very sad watching it too because I too have been here all my life. I have too seen it change so much during the last two decades and recently decline due to the way it was managed by the Labour clowns. I hope Croydon gets back on it's feet soon, but to be honest that would take some doing and so much money.
what happened ? go to any town centre anywhere in the UK and you'll see the same. It's not rocket science.
Disagree. Look at Kingston
Some parts of Croydon are still nice, but London Road in West Croydon is one damn depressing half-mile of straight-up ghetto. It actually rivals Oakland, CA in terms of appearance and quality of life.
😂bloody hell phil 😂do choose the better bits
Croydon has now a debt of a billion and a half pounds. The former council leader now got a do nothing job with Arup. Carry on paying council tax, and the council will carry on laughing at you while they stuff their pensions !
Croydon is so posh but the council messed it up and left a road abandoned
Croydon hasn’t been ‘posh’ since the 20’s
And misspent on a lot BS that no-one ask for.
Posh? Lol wtf!!??
It's sad to see!
Greed and mismanagement from the Labour run Council and no support for local business
Croydon will probably get worse to get better !!!!
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I would not feel safe walking through Croydon now as i did in the 60s and 70s
I grew up here mid 80s born. This town was once a nice place. A community. Now....... an absolute corporate dump
It's really sad to see what a corrupt council and greedy developers can achieve. Croydon will never exist as it once was, homes that nobody can afford and lies about it being affordable, are sure to follow.
It looks amazing compared to derby the ghost town of the east Midlands
Very nice and I am your new subscriber from Afghanistan.
Thank you and welcome to my Channel!
Beano's music shop gone black sheep bar gone & my favourite night club blue orchard long gone.
Not looking forward to the croydon council tax increase this year 😞
Should be good
@@Johnstone72 More money for nothing. Now will be spent on servicing debt whilst services get markedly worse.
if you voted for a labour council then you get exactly what you deserve. If you voted Tory, they you have my sympathy- at least you tried, but sadly you were outnumbered by the general population who see labour as a meal ticket- more benefits, more free school meals for their unpteen illegitimate kids and less chance of a knock on the door from a policeman because he's probably been sent for diversity training rather than being allowed to do his job.
I live in Croydon all my life.
A dive now
Where is my comment
Hi Linda, when was it made? I do moderate the comments for this video as some are not in keeping with respect for all but if you can give me some more info I will try to find out what happened. The comment search on here isn't great tbh.
Glad I left in 2009 and moved to Kent.
A curse is on the place
Car park robbery and over camera use
I've lived in Croydon for over 10 years and I never want to leave it
We all know why Croydon has gone to pot....but you can't say it. We all know why decent people and businesses have moved away from Croydon.....but you can't say it.
Its lockdown wdym what happened to Croydon they are going to destroy the mall and build a new one called Westfield
No, sadly no money for a new Westfield.
They have been saying that for years
That's not going to happen. Westfield dodged a bullet there! COVID is going to see to it that any shopping centre will get zero investment for a good while yet.
Westfield isn't happening. Tens of millions were wasted by the incompetent labour council, and all they succeeded in doing was scaring the potential developers and investors away.
No they aren't..
Lived here for over 10 years and can’t notice a difference.
the future happened... is that not obvious enough?
Exactly.
::coof::