Security guards in Croydon

Which parts of Croydon do we cover?

We cover the borough from Norbury, Thornton Heath and Crystal Palace in the north to Purley, Coulsdon and New Addington in the south.

The town centre. Croydon is the borough’s metropolitan centre, and the London Plan classes it as having speculative office potential: the capacity, demand and viability for new office building (London Plan). The borough had 126,000 jobs in 2023, a third of them in the Croydon Opportunity Area around the centre (GLA). That area has capacity for 14,500 homes and has been completing them faster than the London Plan rate. Trams, national rail and three Superloop bus routes serve the centre, and Fairfield Halls reopened there in 2019 after a multi-million pound refurbishment (Croydon Council).

The Purley Way. West of the centre, the Purley Way (the A23) runs north to south through Waddon and Broad Green. The council’s 2021 draft masterplan covers 378 hectares of retail parks, business and leisure parks and designated industrial estates, where about 1,705 businesses employ around 17,235 people (Croydon Council). It is one of three transformation areas the council has marked for large-scale redevelopment, with the Brighton Mainline and East Croydon, and the North End Quarter.

Industrial land. The Purley Way and Beddington Lane Industrial Area, which continues into Sutton, and Marlpit Lane in Coulsdon are Strategic Industrial Locations (London Plan).

District centres. Addiscombe, Coulsdon, New Addington, Norbury, Purley, Selsdon, South Norwood and Thornton Heath are district centres, and Croydon shares the Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood centre with Lambeth and Bromley. Croydon University Hospital is on London Road in Thornton Heath.

What needs guarding in Croydon?

Offices. Around East Croydon and the town centre, office security puts an officer on reception to greet and sign in visitors, then locks up and patrols once the building empties.

Shops and retail parks. Town-centre shops and the Purley Way’s big-box stores need different cover: shop floors in the centre, and stores with large car parks on the A23. Retail security officers in uniform can deter theft and back up staff in both.

Yards and warehouses. The draft masterplan found that operational yards and their car parking take up a large share of the Purley Way’s industrial land. Warehouse and industrial security covers gatehouse control, HGV checks and patrols of the yard and perimeter.

Small units. Most Purley Way businesses are very small, so a full-time officer often isn’t needed. Mobile patrols can check units at set or random times, and with keyholding and alarm response an officer can attend if the alarm goes off.

Building sites and cleared land. The GLA lists major strategic sites at the heart of the town centre for redevelopment (GLA). Construction site security covers sites once work starts; until then, patrols can check the hoardings.

What should you plan around in Croydon?

The BID’s Street Rangers. Croydon BID runs a team of Street Rangers across the town centre. They work with local police and the Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership, and businesses on the BID’s Radio Link can call them directly (Croydon BID). If your premises are on the Radio Link, make sure your own officers know how to use it.

A long redevelopment in the centre. The council has backed a masterplan framework for redeveloping the town centre’s main shopping centre with homes, shops, cultural venues and public space (GLA). Shops nearby should plan cover for each stage of a long programme.

Homes beside yards. The draft Purley Way masterplan shows up to 7,470 homes in four new centres, with no net loss of industrial and warehouse space (Croydon Council). As homes arrive next to working yards, agree which night-time deliveries and vehicle movements your officers should treat as normal.