Croydon Documentary. Part Two - Unplanning the Future

Love it or loathe it, Croydon is a remarkable place. The result of radical architectural and urban experiments in the 1960s, it is a strange, challenging and unique piece of city.
In the second of a two-part documentary from the Architecture Foundation, Phineas Harper investigates Croydon's future, and the role the unusual local authority is playing.
This documentary is made possible thanks to the generous support of Hawkins\Brown, an architecture firm actively engaged in improving the future of Croydon.
ABOUT THE ARCHITECTURE FOUNDATION
For over 20 years, the Architecture Foundation has brought together professionals from across the built environment to discuss and act on issues related to design and the built environment. With a renewed focus on the city and the critical intersection of architecture and politics, the Architecture Foundation works to effect meaningful change on policy and practice.
www.architectur...

[@alahreecakes]

Would love to see this team revisit Croydon for an updated film. Not sure things have gone according to plan.

[@ArthurJGibson]

I live here. Can confirm it's worse than ever.

[@ChrisSmout]

@@ArthurJGibson lol fancy seeing you here. It's much better than it was when I grew up there 30+ years ago.

[@ArthurJGibson]

@@ChrisSmout 😁

[@mickydroyboy1542]

@@ArthurJGibson 😂😂so do I …can’t disagree

[@hb3393]

oh man, this series has aged like milk! would absolutely love a third part!

[@booth2710]

Croydon has a lot going for it. Like hundreds of rail services an hour taking you out of Croydon

[@CodestarProductions]

As a Croydon resident, I'd be really interested to see another follow up video! A lot of the things being discussed in this episode didn't really pan out...

[@DoctorJazz2011]

What has not been addressed is that Croydon was its own county borough and in the 1960s intended using the future money generated from the businesses in order to provide public services, parks, etc. But when the money started coming in they were taken over by the GLC and the money was effectively stolen for use in other London boroughs. Poor Croydon, too close to London to remain independent. They tried but were betrayed!

[@steveerskine4093]

2020 and the new bridge over the railway still isn't fully open. Only access to the platforms. No linking the two sides which was the whole point. Croydon will never be fixed while the corrupt council just do what they want. Some things never change

[@peterdavy6110]

Amazing to think that the railway came to Croydon in 1841 and only now a bridge is thought necessary?

[@michaelblumberg4981]

It's even worse, for the last year you can only exit from the bridge not enter.

[@Danscottmusic]

I did wonder when they were talking about this amazing bridge project to connect the 2 halves of croydon.. all it is currently is a way in/out the station

[@yupi56]

Croydon should of stayed in Surrey

[@connie1wilson]

I left Croydon in 2014 and the bridge was fully functional, what’s happened since? It was simply a train entry/exit point. Are you now possibly able to walk towards the old post office?

[@mrlawilliamsukwarmachine4904]

The classical music at west Croydon bus garage. Should play that in more croydon locations. Keeps people behaving well.

[@mthomson4565]

That music is played in all London bus stations, at least those away from the Centre.

[@Johnstone72]

As a Croydon resident for the last 23 years, the decline in the town centre has been depressing. No doubt external factors contributed. The financial crash '08 and the riots of '11. Both were predictable enough and the consequences were even more obvious. Prevention is better than cure has long since been discarded for bigger, brighter, shinier. The redevelopment in the vicinity around East Croydon station has now been "reinvented." With? You guessed it. More high rise towers. The much vaunted bridge connecting two halves of Croydon is incomplete and serves as an additional access/egress to the North end of the platforms. The other big ticket item for "redevelopment" is? A shopping centre.....An enormous Westfields to replace the two existing shopping malls. History does not repeat its self, but sometimes it rhymes. Note: As of June 1st 2020, said enormo mall has not started construction. Edit: Croydon local authority is now pleading bankruptcy having got rid of some of these six figure earning visioneers. The town centre continues to decline. Time to demolish it and build houses. Shopping centres are dead. Amazon is killing them. Offices? Covid/zoom/Microsoft teams are making them redundant. Build affordable housing. It's what existed in the town centre before sprawl malls and big ugly super towers.

[@booth2710]

One thing I will give Croydon is that it used to be a great place for shopping. But the last time I went back to Croydon about 18 months ago it was clear to me it has become a town of poundland stores, budget stores and plastic bucket stores

[@Johnstone72]

@@booth2710 Amazon is killing retail. Where does that leave Croydon? Shopping centres? John Lewis will only be an online presence within 10 years......

[@susanarmstrong5730]

I lived in East Croydon for the first 22 years of my life, and still look back on those years with great fondness. I left to come to Canada in 1967, and I’m horrified watching this film - I find my home town unrecognizable, except for the couple of shots of the old Town Hall, (where I spent many hours in the library). Where are the great shops on George St. and North End? - Allders, Grants, Kennards, C & A, where I would meet my friends on Saturdays. I guess it’s true that you can never go back. I prefer to remember the town as it used to be. R.I.P.

[@FFM0594]

The library was great. I spent many a rainy Saturday in there.

[@paulfrowde4145]

I can remember like you.

[@richardclarke376]

Before Covid, apparently the council were GBP1,500,000,000 in debt. A truly staggering sum. How do you get into that position? All these guys sitting around blathering about 'place' on 90,000 a year may give a clue.

[@chrismichael5832]

yeah- what the feck is a "placemaker"

[@richardclarke376]

@@chrismichael5832 someone that earns 250,000 quid a year despite having no apparent skills

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

£90,000pa? Were they only working 2 days a week then? £200k+ is the going rate for a pointy headed bullshitter with an ironic haircut and designer spectacles, donchaknow...

[@giovannanichols6878]

We have been very impressed by Mr Perry, the new mayor of Croydon and his pledges to restore Croydon. We pray that he will be successful in putting into action his plans.

[@brucedanton3669]

My sadly now alas late parents both came from Croydon. My mum lived in Lansdowne Road and my dad in Violet Lane. They later moved to near Dartford where I have always lived; but we used to go back to the area when I was younger although I know they both said they were glad to have moved here really from there as it was too busy for them then. I still have an Aunt who lives in Norbury who likes living there though. Thank you too.

[@ST4RSH4PED]

fellow norbury resident here it’s not as bad as people say definitely some improvements to be had, and it’s definitely changed in the last 20 years, but it’s going strong

[@adamhawkes84]

Jo Negrini, slow clap... well done.

[@connie1wilson]

£440,000 handshake! Damn, part of the reason Croydon is up shit creak without a boat!

[@iman2341]

Network Rail are pushing ahead with the Croydon area remodelling scheme which will include an amazing new staton for East Croydon as well as more services servicing both the East and West stations. With the council in ruins at the moment this very much feels like a crossroads for Croydon.

[@KevinM913]

Visited Croydon last summer. It looked very run down and didn’t feel safe on the streets.

[@alisonlee3314]

Affordable homes for local people?..….…no...... didn't think so

[@paulstanton8332]

That was the work of a later political clique...their spiritual children are still in power

[@MattSpaul]

Really liked this pair of videos, thanks!

[@ttbdrummer]

Matt Spaul I like a good pair too

[@nieffersharif7456]

Croydon will always be home, crappy or not.

[@Righteous_Reck]

Facts

[@johnmoore9862]

Yeah facts, it’s crappy.

[@gavinyu21]

Croydon is not the most glamorous town but if they have a new tube line like the Elizabeth that goes to the city in 30 minutes, all those empty spaces can be easily rejuvenated with students and workers, especially under the housing crisis today.

[@pennyawful861]

It's so convenient that these 'deconstructionist', 'brutalist', architectures are never forced to live in these monstrosities they so wish to inflict upon the working class.

[@paulstanton8332]

This is so old hat. I probably used to say the same thing when I was a kid. Now I live in the Barbican, which is the most integrated and civilized estate in the whole of London. It might be constructed mainly of concrete but that is the cheapest way to build on that scale on such a tricky site. And the architects who designed it went out of their way to humanize it. It's not perfect, but nothing human is. Labelling poor design in this way is not only a gross simplification, it entirely misses the point. It is the original planning (often in combination with the unwarranted intrusion of engineers) that was wrong. At the heart of the problem is an inability, even among most professionals, to think at the large scale and the small scale simultaneously. When developments are limited in size and scope, the defects are easier to hide. But when entire areas are developed in one go, it is impossible to avoid them. The current talk of regeneration and gentrification is merely a smokescreen for reality. Without major reconstruction new town implants like Croydon are almost irredeemable. The sad thing is that much of this was known back in the 60s (e.g. Buchanan Report) but successive generations of politicians cherry picked ideas, cut corners, and then sold out, wholesale (and with the full participation of much of the voting public) to the private sector.

[@BM-yc8eg]

@@paulstanton8332 The Barbican was always intended for the middle classes... though I take your point

[@yourescum3068]

@@paulstanton8332 the barbican is an ugly blight on what was once the glorious square mile. It should be torn down

[@ilnikus]

Echo some of the other comments that a part three is long overdue. As a Croydon resident of almost 20 years, I have seen the centre go through periods of growth, but it is now in a severe period of decline with large buildings, falling into dereliction and a semi-vacated shopping centre. What the city needs is a council that is open, prepared to think outside the box and engage with citizens on how they would like to see the city centre evolve. Good riddance to disgraced ex-council employees such as Jo Negroni, who oversaw a period of massive decline in all that Croydon was previously known for. There are few recent successes to shout about, but to worth mentioning our Boxpark and the renovation of the electricity building into an overflow campus for London Southbank University, but sadly the rest leaves a lot to be desired.

[@MrRhay900]

There is a whole lot of pretentious bollocks being spoken here. I thankfully live a few miles outside the centre of Croydon so dont have to endure it too often. It used to be the go to area for shopping but is just so downmarket now - not helped by current pandemic which has further emptied the shopping centres. The council leaders were all self serving to a man (and woman) and should all have been made accountable for the mess the town is now in.

[@nicomonkeyboy]

This hasn't aged well. Jo Negrini was 'resigned' and the borough is now bankrupt to the tune of £1.5 billion. I don't think we'll be seeing any of these shiney developments any time soon

[@WAKE-UP-BRITAIN]

Croydon In the 80s 90s and 00s was absolutely booming especially the nightlife 💯 heroes orchid, good times

[@dlawss]

I was born in Croydon in 1954 and Christened in the Parish Church.Who on Earth gave the Council the right to cover up the old station in Town Hall Gardens ? and knock down the old Whitgift school and build a really horrific shopping centre we had enough shops in Croydon + a street market for all tastes and needs.I used to live in Bisenden Road a stones throw from E Croydon station.I attended Ashburton infants,junior and high school until i was 15. The council spent a load of money digging up tram tracks only to relay them 30 years later What a joke ! Those COUNCIL officers and PLANNERS taught us how to Demolish a once quiet and beautiful Town to the concrete stabbing Urban jungle centre for drugs and violence.WELL DONE TO YOU ALL

[@susanarmstrong5730]

Hello neighbour! I lived on Chisholm Rd. from birth (1944) to 1967, when I came to Canada. I attended St. Mary’s and Coloma, left school in 1961, and then commuted to work from East Croydon station to Cannon St. Usually had to stand all the way, because it was sardines in the rush hour! Happy days!

[@DWXY]

No one lives in the centre? A few years ago I lived in an old flat in George Street. There was no rubbish collection for me or anyone else there - presumably because the Council missed the fact that there were residents. They did collect Council Tax though, funnily enough.

[@adriancraddock3337]

Great to see Chris Morris's Brass Eye hasn't gone away.

[@backthisway]

Croydon is not a city..it is just a big town.

[@jlscoyserney]

300,000+ people. Its a city. 9th biggest in the UK

[@paulstanton8332]

But you have to humour them

[@thanos3839]

@@jlscoyserney no its a town which has characteristics of a city

[@paulhunter123]

a ghost town

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

jack stones In order to be a city in the UK there has to be a royal charter; cities are not decided on population, see Reading and Swindon.

[@mygreatbigfoot1679]

Looks like a nice place. I’m going there for my holidays.

[@stefanrashev4829]

Lots and lots of TV shows,and Commercial have been flimed in Croydon surrey UK.

[@arsenalrocka16]

they should turn the whitgift centre into a part-leisure, part-retail space with basketball and futsal courts and perhaps a large gym. Neighbouring sports shops, restaurants and bars would share in the success of these new spaces and the centre would become somewhere of actual use to the people in and around croydon

[@arsenalrocka16]

could also become the home base for croydon in a potential london basketball league

[@arsenalrocka16]

(also futsal pitches are great in terms of space usage while also being beneficial to the technical development of young football players. some spanish speaking countries have children play futsal up until a certain age in order to build up their technique)

[@arsenalrocka16]

why not have a swimming pool as well..

[@qviewq2071]

We used to live in Selhurst and drove to the deserted financial district opposite the Whitgift to shop on a Sunday. One day a traffic warden warned me that from next Sunday the council will be charging to park in the deserted area on a Sunday - so we never went back. Cretinous council killing their own town.

[@GASTROPUBLIVE]

the south end benches and trees have unfortunately become a place to sit and drink, make it a mobile hotspot for internet, put in a water fountain, a public phone, have a recycling station make it a usable sensible spot public space with a modern touch!

[@76mill]

An ideal spot for would be muggers and dindonuffins to hang around-just restin my feet officer- next to the only functioning ATM in the locale.

[@harrybellingham98]

yeah, writing southend on buildings will fix the negative feelings associated with Croydon

[@FFM0594]

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Tear it down and start again.

[@beatapanek]

How does few letters written on the building make people feel positive? I doubt this lady understands how to make people positive about the area

[@unknown_ross]

These are the type of people that smell their shit and think its a bouquet of roses... looking at you Jo

[@plummetplum]

What a load of bull. Still croydon are obsessed with massive towers of low architectural value. They ignore the locals. They cocked up that bridge which doesn't connect to cherry Orchard gardens because under Negrinis watch they didn't tie up the legal stuff for menta to complete it. Plus the bridge design with the stairs going the wrong way and other bad aspects (Google it) the architects ballsed this up too. Fairfield halls delayed by God knows how long. The centre of Croydon a ghost town and Westfields will never get built I guess because everyone knows The high street is dead. Still croydon councils glass palace looks wonderful and All those ridiculously tall ghettos in the making will keep the developers rich and rake in untold council tax. When the heck are croydon going to re surface the roads, colson road is like a third word road. Must have raked in enough parking penalties to cover that by now?

[@johnstilljohn3181]

The monstrous new tower, which is just a pile of portacabins, has created gale force conditions in George Street...

[@plummetplum]

@@johnstilljohn3181 Yep, permanent wind tunnel.

[@bevnae5149]

@@plummetplum Do you know if the bridge is eventually going to get the go ahead yet? Interesting to hear that it was because the legals never got conclusively tied up when Negrini was in charge. What a shame.

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

❤ croydon

[@PeterShieldsukcatstripey]

I like the arches. Reminds me of the barbican.

[@stephenwilkinson2030]

Born and raised in Croydon, once a great place but slowly in the 80,s started to disintegrate Alders, Grants now closed Surrey St denied the right to exist. Left in 1980 because I couldn't afford the housing, I still visit my mum but never go into the town centre as to dangerous and always glad to get on the road out. Croydon needs to stop and take a breath and truly decide what it wants to be, and for everyone's sake don't let SK or big developers have any say just listen the the people.

[@riefaification]

come off it it's not dangerous

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

@@riefaification Yes and no. North of Station Road/Tamworth Road is a bit intimidating and there have been a lot of street robberies on the London Road. The stabbings are usually, but not always, dem natty dredded yoot shanking each other over drugs and territory, so if your not part of the trade, you will mostly be ignored. However, don't look at anyone for more than a fraction of a second. Croydon's motto should 'What the fuck are you looking at?' I mostly drink in London's East End these days, because it is much friendlier and safer.

[@FFM0594]

Are you related to Stephanie Wilkinson by any chance?

[@ClaudiaOfTheWorld]

AF should collaborate with Inside Croydon to revisit this story. Their journalists have been reporting on the council crisis since the beginning! If only behind the scenes Croydon Council had been as utopian as they show themselves in this video 😢

[@count69]

5:19 I always get a bit nervous when people describe large scale public/social works as 'exciting'. I don't think we're any better at town planning than we were before.

[@paulstanton8332]

That's not due to lack of talent, it's to do mainly with politics, professional hierarchies and social stereotyping. But areas that are developed almost entirely at the same time, will always date more rapidly than those with a mosaic of scales and styles.

[@booth2710]

'exciting' is a colloquialism for 'we f ked up' ...

[@MajorKlanga]

Who wants to sit on a bench in a street with constant noisy traffic? It would take real planning to reduce traffic in the town centre. Imagine the area around Croydon Minster without traffic thundering past on Roman Way.

[@LJ07EBP]

Ever since that start of 2017 Croydon has really changed with all its gangs.

[@joshm7081]

Never seen so much self congratulatory nonsense in my whole life. They get paid all that money and the only building that's actually finished is, you guessed it, the council building. Everything else is either crap or unfinished/unstarted. Croydon Council are absolute shysters. It sickens me seeing that money come out of my bank every month.

[@FrozenHero2010]

Seems that that this is more about publicity for Hawkins/Brown and East than about Croydon. "Croydon is a mess and we're here to fix it."

[@harrparr8988]

Footbridges and public seating can improve a town centre. Who knew.

[@michielverhasselt1136]

very cool!

[@searcherholic3473]

This appears mainly aimed at architecture students. Still. Big up Croydon

[@markbeaumont3292]

None of these areas have been maintained and they are falling into disrepair

[@thedave7760]

Hi What Lenses and camera did you shoot this on?

[@capitalb5889]

I am familiar with Box Park. A great addition, but surely over the top to call it a "district". Croydon is not New York and Box Park is a building next to the station.

[@matthewprince9705]

How did Jo Negrini have the gall to take part in this? Was she deluded? The people were blaming POLITICIANS, but she clearly doesn't think they're talking about her or her team. Maybe she thinks it's the "previous lot"?

[@toffthe]

This hasn't aged well. Placemaking team ? How about ensuring your tenants don't live in leaky homes covered in black mould.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

I wish I could give you a like for this comment. Well done. Regina Road is not weather ingress. It's faulty plumbing in several flats above the tenants affected. This is easily repairable, so why wasn't it? I live in an identical Wates Home, built slightly after the Regina Road buildings, and it is bone dry and has never leaked from inside or out. It's not a design fault, but a maintenance failure. So the Council can't blame anybody but themselves.

[@henrylelen]

@@PORRRIDGE_GUN fix it yourself

[@mattbutler6742]

“West Croydon as a front door” yeah right

[@wendyflanagan5738]

My humble birth place but I moved to Lancashire to teach. I could not afford a house there.

[@debbiedee2742]

Seems a bit rundown and a lot of shops are closedown

[@StillOnFire]

Still waiting for an entrance on the other side of the bridge. Lol.

[@noprobs4552]

I like your videos

[@jessicabreadon6127]

Croydon council has lost millions so any new ventures they think will happen I'm not sure how long it will take. I'm sure very slow but I love croydon

[@buchyu]

Croydon Council, particularly under the rule of Labour and Ms Negrini, have made ALL the same mistakes of the 60's. The only difference now is that the 'concrete jungle' is denser and has more glass and cladding! No long term view or regard to history. No care to the views of residents - the suburbs are also being systematically destroyed by reckless overdevelopment. Their talk of thinking about "the total place" is laughable. Short termist in view and Croydon has become a social housing dumping ground with little emphasis on amenity. A deluded idea of making Croydon a cross between Shoreditch and Dubai has been pursued. Unfortunately Ms Lewis, South End and so many other areas with redesigned roads/pavements have again no thought to practicality and supporting local business e.g. loss of parking space for wider pavements and benches. At least the benches provide a resting and loitering place for the alcoholics and drug addicts though...

[@thefrontroomtv]

Our home....

[@dotdots2660]

Why do they keep calling it a city. It’s a London borough.

[@andygee8716]

No city status without a cathedral.

[@SP-lw7mr]

Architecture is probably the least of Croydon’s problems. A rapidly changing demographic, rising crime and both businesses and people leaving in their droves. I left 15 years ago and wouldn’t even bother going there to shop any more. It’s bleak, dirty and intimidating. I prefer to drive miles to Bluewater. The parking is free, it’s clean, safe and there’s better quality shops.

[@MsSandyblair]

Croydon Council, is now broke, so in order for Croydon to walk into the 21 century, its gonna have to come from private investments. The question is, who's going to invest in an area, that has so much trouble?(part of the problem is there's no jobs in the area for the kids, so they just hang on the streets, then fights break out, giving the area a bad name) If those issue could be addressed, then Croydon could be a breathtaking place to work and live, it could be right up, there with New York.

[@CurseofNephros]

The comments around the 'bridge to nowhere' are hillarious, you wonder if the people commenting have ever used it! It's been open for years but it doesn't actually link both sides of the station, it was built with open aspect the wrong way round so it faces out of the station not into it, and to top it all off it is often closed in inclement weather due to inappropriate surfaces (which was supposedly part of the reason for closing off the underpass it replaced). I understand it is to be demolished and replaced with a more appropriate design when the station is redeveloped in the future to add additional platforms.

[@peterdavy6110]

Ruined Surrey Street though didn't they. Oh yes, it's not a city either. It is my home town though and I still love the old place.

[@bevnae5149]

What did they do to Surrey Street out of curiosity?

[@wendyflanagan5738]

Surrey Street was a brilliant market when I was growing up in Croydon. I hope Croydon survives all the complicated challenges and is a pleasant town to live in, work in and remember as a success story. Think holistically.

[@tommcdaniel7775]

nice film - shame about the dark grading in some of the interviews compared to the bright footage outside, bit of colour correction needed :)

[@busker1]

I'm sure the architects didn't design all these little interventions out of the goodness of their hearts. Obviously the Council planners must've commissioned them.

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

Right let us put this in perspective, most of that video shows St. George's House (AKA the Nestle Building) and the NLA Tower (AKA the Threepenny Bit Tower and the 50p Tower from the shape of those coins). The height of those buildings is less than the Flatiron Building (1901) in New York. They have been surpassed but the tallest building is less than the (now demolished) Singer Building (1908) in New York.

[@foggymountainbreakdown206]

Okay i get it - architects built office monoliths in the 60s, now they are all empty those same architects are focusing on wall paintings and public seating projects.....small fry perhaps?. As a croydon resident i suggest we ban architects from the entire borough for 30 years. By then all of the previous brutalism inflicted on the poor place will be viewed as 'period' and most likely listed.

[@paulstanton8332]

No not the same architects and little to do with them in any event. The main problem was and is a lack of clarity about planning priorities (architects work to a brief and the brief is normally prepared by planners , councillors, or increasingly private developers). The inherent problems in Britain's spatial planning policies have been further exacerbated by a growing obsession with private enterprise.

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

There is a lot to be said for Soviet style centrally planned and rational cities. Many of which have aged better than Croydon.

[@tutornick]

Shame you are prohibited from using the new station crossing bridge....

[@BH-2]

Croydon as a city requires total demolition and rebuild lol 😂

[@yourescum3068]

Croydon is an example of why we should maybe listen to the "frigid risk averse" planners rather than the disgusting machinations that these short termist architects seem to like building

[@alexwatson5507]

Unfortunately the local Labour council run the Croydon into unimaginable debt leaving the residence with further financial burdens and they have been thoroughly caught involved in massive fraud and corruption through a company called brick by brick! I loved my little town growing up and still hold it fondly in my heart, but decades of bad management and corruption by Labour have blighted Croydon and they continue to run it into the ground with failed policies and financial destruction to this day! The council tax payment, from Labour as well, is shocking. What a mess! Trust me anyone reading this! Voting for Labour or the Tories will always be a mistake! 2 sides of the same coin.

[@wendyflanagan5738]

Could making Croydon more Vegan friendly for young and old re charge the Croydon brand? UK is successful Vegan wise. Please don't bulldoze Croydon and be unfriendly to those living there just to make it seem aesthetically and architecturally up to date. Without affordable places to live the future is not in Croydon. People make Croydon not just the architecture. It is for faith and families and keep spaces for beautiful parks so there is soul energy. Love you Croydon.

[@ArthurJGibson]

This honesty feels like Brass Eye. 😂

[@juliegwilliam8503]

So this is what bankrupt Croydon! Croydon is a town not a city? Hope you're all very proud of Croydon's demise! # take responsibility

[@user-s1o3nr532]

Depressing to see that even now architects are talking a great design, yet still putting up monumentally ugly structures. However worthy the new arches are, they look cheap, flimsy, and don't really do anything for the beautification of the town. The brutalist mentality still thrives, just on a cut-price scale.

[@zebedep]

Do we know when this was made? Croydon has gone from bad to worse.

[@patrickholt2270]

You've got to have a humanistic eye, and not be thinking about money, to actually create places that are attractive and therefore more liable to prosper. That's what the Tories got wrong in the 1960s, being Tories. And of course it gives the lie to the idea that public spending doesn't generate growth. Public investment is investment.

[@asocialscientist1253]

"other boroughs should take not of croydon", a place that has deteriorated beyond belief since the release of this propaganda video. Madam Neogrini has been axed and since caught taking a 600k payout. Church street, whitgift centre, and just the town in general has gone so so downhill since this vid was released. at the moment, the place is the pure underworld of london, crime, drugs, you name it.

[@doktergroen]

I haven’t seen a single cycle lane.

[@Natttttttttt]

They’re there and replacing a lot of the roads now. Look again :-)

[@rat_king-]

7:53 yeah No one fucking sits on those benches? why? turn the camera left 90degrees That building is a Pub. people are going to sit in the pub not out side on the sodding corner!

[@johnstilljohn3181]

Brash, towering monuments have massively increased in Croydon - they are building more now...! And they are so poorly finished, it's not funny. People who are living in the Purple Peril at West Croydon are really suffering...

[@dariaadamus4302]

@John Still John what do you mean by saying that people living in Purple tower in west Croydon are suffering? This building is fancy inside out with high standard super modern flats, I was honestly considering moving there and now I’m curious what’s wrong with it? Please explain?

[@peterwlwong2882]

For Croydon be a better city for businesses and for living will need a underground train for a start.croydon have enough office spaces to attract businesses from London on the other side of the Thames.we have heard Westfield will come to Croydon and that have gone cold.over the years the domestic ,violence and social crimes have a bad impact in Croydon.shopping in Croydon is no longer a joy for years.central Croydon roads are either one way or can’t get to by cars.car parks are expensive ,road signs and parking on road restrictions are very confusing..with one of the shopping Heritage Surrey street market on its last leg and the freedom and less stress shopping in purely way as well as the internet shopping. Why would any good people chose to shop in Croydon central.without a fast and efficient transport system how could Croydon attract businessesTo set up offices in Croydon.

[@vickitoriana3454]

Croydon isn't a city... They haven't once consulted croydonians about what they might like their living space to be like. I've lived in croydon all my life and while I watch this circle jerking documentary I feel genuinely sad that people who have no emotional investment to the town rip the guts out of my home.

[@ashyclaret]

They do that in ever town in England. Outsiders come in and decide what the town needs and bugger off, sharpish.

[@equinox95]

The first thing to do is remove Labour from control of the council.

[@garyknowles2002]

Keep polishing that turd!

[@TIMBOWERMAN]

Southend High Street? In Essex?

[@PORRRIDGE_GUN]

South End. Not Southend. The other end of that thoroughfare is North End. The bit in the middle is High Street (pedestrianised)

[@SeanReillyEsq]

Hilarious watching this with my wife who was born in, and grew up around Croydon. She says she hopes you've chained down the street furniture.

[@craignunnallypurcell]

Ignoring the ground plane is a problem of course...

[@pmajudge]

CROYDON ! Became the " DALLAS" of CROYDON ! IT LOOKED SOPHISTICATED & STYLE ! COULD HAVE BECME A " CITY " IF NOT FOR THAT RIOT!!! CAUSED In TOTTENHAM COURT ESTATE. 🙄🙄😯😲😱😱!!! MIGHT HAVE PROGRESSED BEAUTIFULLY!!! FROM,U.K. (2023).

[@sarahharbert8944]

Those delightful chairs that were installed in south end you talk about have now been removed due to the local drunks hanging out their everyday making local residents lives a nightmare. So yeah great idea

[@mariangallagher9158]

Dive

[@paulm8690]

OOOooooo a couple of benches. That's where the 1.5 billion quid went. Hilarious.

[@mgladdish]

This has really not aged well. The oh-so-wonderful architected locations here are now dirty, crap and unpleasant. The much-lauded station footbridge still doesn't act as a public space or connect the two halves of Croydon, and its cheap wonky roof does little to stop the rain, leaving the floor a slippery hazard for us mere plebs using the thing. Today's architects may have smarter beards and talk about how their creations will be used, but it seems they haven't actually learned anything in practice from their forebears.

[@Thefuzzion115]

Lol a monster is born

[@lukeeclair7736]

Architects are clueless, aren't they? Those pointless bloody arches just look ugly?!

[@antonzigando150]

box park is garbage, all the new giant tower blocks of overpriced flats are garbage