Once bustling, the shopping centre now has more than 50 empty units, with many locals saying this emptiness has become the new normal due to repeated setbacks in revitalisation and the rise of online shopping.
Your Local Guardian spoke to several shoppers, residents, and visitors to hear their views on the current state of Croydon and the Whitgift Centre.
Soba Zola, who currently lives in Wandsworth, was visiting Croydon on the day we spoke to him.
Soba Zola (Image: Ezekiel Bertrand) He said that the Whitgift Centre “isn’t what it used to be” and that “it’s definitely lost its buzz”.
Soba explained: “Back in the day, this place was packed, you’d see people everywhere.
“Now, a lot of those shops are gone, and you can feel the emptiness.
“It’s like the heart of it is missing.”
He mentioned that when the Whitgift Centre first opened, it had “everything you could want, but now it’s just not as vibrant as it once was”.
He added: “There’s potential, but it’s not being used.”
Paul Rogers, who was meeting his friend at the Whitgift Centre when we spoke to him, said that the biggest change he noticed was the disappearance of two coffee shops.
Paul explained: “We came to Croydon for a coffee, but Costa Coffee is shut.
“We saw a sign for a place here, but that was shut too.
“We’re thinking of going somewhere else, but it’s a shame because when I was last here, they said it was due for renovation, but it’s still the same quite frankly, except there’s a few more places gone.”
Paul’s friend Dan Derrick, who has lived in Shirley for 38 years, agreed with his frustration and had little hope for the shopping centre’s future.
He said: “This place is a ghost town.
“This place is dying.
“More and more shops are vanishing.
“I don’t know when URW is coming back; there are loads of buildings up the road that are just empty shelves.
“I rarely come in here now.
“When Westfield’s development was announced, more and more of these shops started closing.”
Hayley Gibson, who has lived in Croydon since 2021, was much more positive about the town centre.
The 31-year-old said she feels like Croydon is “misunderstood” and that its reputation from the past influences what people think about it.
She believes that Croydon has the facilities to achieve URW’s plans, and that it’s “between the big guys upstairs to decide whether it will happen or not”.
She added: “Croydon has changed a lot in terms of shops.
“There is a lot of space for shops to be in there.
“I feel like there is a lot of potential that Croydon has that is not being utilised.”
One thing Hailey did criticise was the emptiness of the Whitgift Centre, also calling it a “ghost town” – but added that it was one with “potential”.
She denounced the reputation that Croydon has, saying, “I think people are so scared to come to Croydon because of stabbings and the background scene of it that they don’t know the goodness that is in it”.
While Hailey sees Croydon as a misunderstood town with untapped promise, long-time resident Robert Tofield has a much bleaker outlook.
Robert, who has been living in Croydon since the 1960s, said the town and the Whitgift Centre have gone “from bad to worst” each decade.
He said: “When the Whitgift Centre first opened, we didn’t have a roof, and we didn’t have security guards.
“There was a pub – The Forum – in the middle, and there was never any trouble like there is now.
“My father, in the ‘60s, could come to Croydon without issue.
“He could leave his bike outside the Whitgift Centre for two hours and it would still be there.
“Today, if you turn your back for a second, your bike will be gone in a flash.”
While Robert has witnessed many changes in Croydon over the years, 19-year-old Conor Pace has only really seen one side of the town.
Conor said there’s rarely much to stick around for.
“You walk through Whitgift and it’s just dead.”
“There’s not really anywhere to chill or hang out unless you’re just passing through.
“If I want to do something or shop properly, I’ll go somewhere else.
“Croydon just doesn’t have those options.”
He added that Croydon “probably used to be better”, but now it feels “kind of forgotten”.
Santana Knight, who used to live in Thornton Heath, reminisced about how she used to go to the Whitgift Centre and Surrey Street Market frequently.
“Before, it would be an opportunity of ‘Oh, I could go to Croydon, and I could get anything I wanted.’
“But, unfortunately, now a lot of shops have closed due to online shopping taking over or the companies themselves could not afford to be there, it has become a bit of a ghost town.”
Santana said there are only “one or two” shops she still visits in Croydon, and she sees the Whitgift Centre mainly as a cut-through for people heading elsewhere.
She isn’t entirely pessimistic about Croydon returning to the vibrancy it once had but thinks things could improve if Croydon Council put more effort into rejuvenating the town centre.
She added: “I think if Croydon Council and everyone else was to put a lot of effort into rejuvenating the town centre, then, yes, I think it could be as vibrant as before.
“I know recently they introduced a new Asian food quarter which I think would probably bring a lot of businesses in, but I think their main focus at the moment is buying more property.
“There is a lot of potential for Croydon.”
Over the past few months, Your Local Guardian has been investigating the changing face of Croydon’s shopping landscape.
We’ve highlighted the scale of vacant units, spoken with local business owners, gathering views from shoppers, and examining what lies ahead for the town centre.
Check back in the coming days as we explore how shopping in Croydon has changed and what the future might hold.
