Whitgift centre is the core of Croydon’s finest apple, fleshed out by Centrale who provide the sheen and the glorious high street which provides the taste. Somewhere the young and old can buzz about, socialising, shopping and generally enjoying what the community can offer. Be it people reggae dancing in the street or children dancing in the centre.
However something is eating away at this retail fruit, chewing it and will leave nothing but a skeleton of what it is now for future generations…..the internet. Internet sales for CDs, DVDs and clothes are rising with sites like Amazon claiming £270 million because of the easy accessibility and lack of queues but all that money is being drained out of the high street, along with over 2700 retails jobs and an entire history.
In the last 5 years a 98 year old Woolworths, TK Maxx and an 150 year old Alders’ have been erased from Croydon, leaving a sadness in those who can remember such places when they were in their prime Iris 83 says “ There was lot more community in my day the shopping centre was for everyone, not just shoppers” . It’s odd to think places like these won’t be remembered by the new generation. In the whitgift centre a unit has been opened to celebrate the changes the shopping hub has undertaken to survive in such a temperamental society – 22 years ago Whitgift centre had no roof, 30 years ago it had a roller disco now it has 3 McDonalds. Now if the pace is moulded towards the current feeling of the times, this abundance of fast foods place isn’t placing us Croydonian in a good light.
Now, another store is starting to rot away – when walking through the high street, 3 shops would jump out at me- Alders’ and Primark and HMV. In a few weeks all that will be left is Primark as the place every teenager spends their Saturday wandering around in will be closing down, HMV. Once again the war between the high street and internet has come to a head but a new contender has appeared on the scene -another kind of Apple –iTunes. There have been complaints that this is due to the vast amount today’s age are relying on technology, however not every young person is happy. Raakave, 16 says, “I’m really upset because that’s where I go and buy all my albums and cds” and when asked whether she preferred the internet or the high street “I don’t mind internet shopping but personally there’s a wider variety of things in shop because you walk around and see things that you didn’t know you wanted”.
In my opinion, the internet has forced us to neglect the high street and whitgift – to let it lose its identity which made it such an important part of Croydon culture – places like HMV was a way to connect to one of my favourite things music and the atmosphere was so pleasant, the staff were genuinely happy to help. This desertion to the internet has a negative feedback – the more we neglect our high street – the more shops close down- we don’t want to go unless we fancy a McDonalds. Until of course they start doing takeaways straight to your door.
This brings up the worrying question what will happen to the Whitgift once it is overtaken by Westfield and Hammerson who have combined ideas over what to do with the iconic establishment. Will it be commemorated for the way it brought people together or will it be forgotten by all but older generations? If we are shopping electronically who is to say that we will ever visit this new centre once the excitement has worn off – there aren’t any emotional or historical ties to bind us to Westfield like there is to Whitgift. What is certain is that the future for Croydon’s retail has to involve drastic change and the innovative plans to once again evolve Croydon into somewhere people want to be again. This time though, we have to take better care of it though.
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