Croydon has lost 113 pubs across the borough since 2000, and locals fear the town has “lost its vibrancy”. The 31 per cent decline in pubs can be blamed on high property prices and pubs being redeveloped, the chairman of the local campaign for real ale group said.
The landlord of the Dog and Bull in Surrey Street, the oldest pub in the town centre, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the impact of the Covid pandemic is still being felt.
Mark Knight, who has been the landlord for nine years said: “We are finding office workers still haven’t come back so we are down on business at lunch time.”
And the 51-year-old thinks the decline of pubs is also down to the changing habits of young people. He said: “A lot of difference has been seen in the market, the younger generation, is a lot healthier than previous. They drink more premium products but don’t drink as much. We’ve still got our regulars but that generation is getting older and older. I think Gen Z want an experience and activities rather than a traditional pub.”
READ MORE:How many pubs every single London borough has lost since 2000
Lance Goff said he doesn’t want to see more pubs in Croydon close down
(Image: Tara O’Connor)
He added that without nightclubs in the town centre, fewer people go out in Croydon at night and many who do stop at Boxpark next to East Croydon Station rather than venturing further into the town centre.
Lance Goff has been coming to the Dog and Bull since the 80s. He said: “Pubs are part of our heritage and we’re losing it. A local pub is essential to the community. I think the government should charge supermarkets more VAT and charge pubs less.”
Surrey Street has seen a handful of new venues emerge over the past few years, including Mr Fox and Art and Craft, which opened four years ago. One drinker in the craft beer bar said Croydon has been in decline since Tiger Tiger nightclub closed in 2016.
The 52-year-old, who asked not to be named, said: “I think one of the biggest problems is the rents and rates, people don’t see much for their money. Considering the amount of homes being built in Croydon there is not much for them.
“The town centre used to be a thriving hub but it has declined, the closure of Tiger Tiger was the declining moment. Croydon has lost it’s vibrancy.”
Art and Craft opened in Surrey Street four years ago
(Image: Tara O’Connor)
David Lands, chairman of Sutton and Croydon CAMRA, said that areas outside of Croydon town centre have lost a higher percentage of pubs overall, but thinks the South London town fares worse than other town centres of the same size.
He said: “The general story in Croydon is the outlying areas with some exceptions have lost more pubs on average than the town centre have. Places like Thornton Heath, over the last 20-30 years, have been reduced to two pubs out of maybe 10 or more.
And he said the trend was the same in neighbouring South Norwood. “If you go back 40 years there’s 20 pubs in SE25” he added.
This week it was announced South Croydon’s Wetherspoon pub The Skylark will be closing its doors for good on March 27, just six weeks after the town centre lost The Milan Bar, owned by the same company.
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Mr Lands said: “Croydon town centre has got fewer surviving pubs than probably most other similar London town centre. The real problem is property prices in London generally and in Croydon especially
“There’s too many places that are being bought up by developers with nothing to protect them. Croydon Council’s pub protection policy as it happens is one of the best but unfortunately you can’t force anyone to run a pub or even sell it.
“Pubs are an important for all sorts of community reasons, as meeting places for employment and the local economy. And to an extent there’s the well-being thing. Going drinking in pubs is in a controlled environment rather than going to the supermarket and drinking at home.”
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