By Richard Plant, Develop Croydon Chair and Partner at SHW

As COVID-19 restrictions begin to ease, here in Croydon we have every reason to be positive for the future.

We’ve had development carry on as normal – there are still cranes up and they continue to change the skyscape of the town centre, something I imagine many will have noticed more as a result of fewer visits.

And the borough continues to remain an attractive proposition for investors as the nation continues through the recovery phase – with more than 2,600 homes under development at the moment in the town centre alone, and new leisure activities, many of which have been on residents’ wishlists for a long time, are coming to the borough. I know of plenty of people who will be looking forward to trying axe throwing for the first time at Boxpark, or enjoy the wealth of entertainment on offer with their families at Flip Out in Centrale.

There is encouraging news for those places outside the town centre too. Development continues to take place in our district centres and its great to see communities being asked to get involved in Shaping Thornton Heath and Future Purley.

And the Purley Way continues to go from strength to strength, with the industrial and logistics sector continuing to provide a number of jobs for people in Croydon and the surrounding boroughs.

And Develop Croydon continues to reflect the good feeling around the borough and its future. We continue to attract new partners, which adds weight to the collective voice of the Forum as we keep banging the drum for the borough’s prosperity.

We’ve continued to hold our Forum and Occupier Forum meetings virtually, introducing new partners to our existing partners and having key stakeholders join us to share crucial updates to help businesses survive and – more importantly – thrive.

And looking forward, we’re excited to focus on Purley next month with a virtual investor tour as part of the Real Estate Live UK programme – hopefully you’ll be able to join us for that to see the opportunities available in the south of the borough.

There’s so much to be excited about in the coming weeks and months and I for one can’t wait to see Develop Croydon continue to play a key role in the borough’s growth as it continues to ensure it remains a place that people want to live, work and visit.