Croydon will become the capital of south London by helping the capital to meet its goals in creating new homes and jobs.
That was the message from Deputy Mayor of London Sir Eddie Laister who sees the borough as pivotal to helping reverse the housing shortage.
“Croydon can very much play its part and become not just an important contributor to the demands of London but become a major hub and location in its own right,” Sir Eddie told the Develop Croydon Conference which too place at Fairfield Halls on Wednesday, October 18.
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Excited: Sir Edward Lister talking about Croydon’s potential at the Develop Croydon Conference
“I think Croydon is very much beginning to be the capital of south London and we should be very excited about that and proud of the fact that al of you have dome so much to put it on the course it is now on.”
Sir Eddie spoke about the importance of the Croydon Growth Zone, a proposal to use tax revenues generate on the town and reinvest it in the borough’s infrastructure.
“With some of the money that we have been able to put in from City Hall plus the money that Croydon has raised, some very significant sums, to bring about new jobs, new investment, new facilities in the town centre, and of course to be able to pursue all of our ideas and our dreams for the Whitgift Centre and all the work of the Croydon Partnership,” he said.
Partnership working: Eddie Lister
“And all this has been about working closely with Croydon and working closely with TfL, and then that combination has brought together ideas for the growth zone.
“The idea here is that people capture both the GLA’s and the borough’s growth in business rates and share that in a way that supports the borrowing we need to do to bring about the infrastructure, to bring about the sort of change, that really needs to take place if Croydon is to fulfil its full potential.”
PHOTOS: IAN STRATTON – PHOTOGRAPHY365.COM