With its lanes of empty shopfronts and drip buckets scattered across the marble flooring, it’s no surprise that many now see the Whitgift Centre as more of a cut-through than a destination. Far from the buzz of its heyday, the shopping centre sits in a kind of stasis, awaiting its long-promised redevelopment under URW (formerly Westfield).
But looks can be deceiving. There is still life in the Whitgift for those who know where to look. Tucked away in a once-bustling corner is what some now call Croydon’s ‘real cultural quarter.’
At its heart is the brightly coloured and heavily greened Turf Projects. “It’s a Tardis of art,” said co-founder B Atherton, describing the complex of creative spaces hidden beyond its shop front exterior.
Turf has occupied its Whitgift space since 2017, though it began its work in Croydon in 2013. Inside its premises and across the borough, it provides exhibition opportunities and creative spaces for under-supported local artists.
From town centre murals to community-designed crazy golf courses, Turf’s work is rooted in place and participation. Their Whitgift base is a vibrant, multi-layered hub, home to painting and sculpture studios, a graphic design station, and more, all within its organised creative chaos behind an unassuming shopfront.
‘We spent five months without heating’
Yet the space has faced numerous setbacks and remains far from secure. Although footfall has long been declining, Turf once benefited from passers-by heading from the town centre to the Wellesley Road underpass, right outside its entrance.
That changed overnight when Croydon Council closed the underpass without warning, virtually wiping out Turf’s ground-floor passing trade. The council later apologised to affected businesses but has no plans to reinstate the route. Instead, it is pressing ahead with a new and safer surface-level crossing on Wellesley Road.
According to B, this is just one of several challenges Turf has faced during its time at the Whitgift. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “We always knew the Whitgift had a limited lifespan.”
As URW advances its Masterplan Framework to transform the shopping centre into a multi-use development, Turf says it is still unclear how the changes will affect them.
“All we need is certainty,” B added. “But being stuck in stasis means we can’t invest in the space or plan for the future. We spent five months without heating because we didn’t know what was happening.”
Even so, Turf continues to attract a wide audience. B estimates half their visitors come from outside the borough; proof, she says, that Croydon has cultural pull when given the platform.
“It is hard to get people down to Croydon,” she told the LDRS. “But there’s really good evidence that people will travel here.”
She pointed to local successes like board game café The Ludoquist! and the nearby Pollock’s Toy Museum as signs that creative, independent businesses are still choosing Croydon.
While B acknowledged the council’s efforts to support the arts, particularly through the Borough of Culture which Croydon was named in 2023, she believes their impact is limited by financial pressures and a lack of confidence in local communities.
“The council can’t really help, to be honest; they don’t have the money,” she said. “We’re realistic. We know essential services come first, but we just want more support.
“They said they would bring art into empty units in the town centre, but that never really happened. The council doesn’t believe its local communities can deliver. It has shown that repeatedly.”
Regular campaigning
Though Turf is not aligned with any political party, it is proudly political and regularly campaigns on local issues affecting access to culture and community space. One example was their bid to save Heathfield House, a council-owned building they hoped to turn into artist studios at no cost to the council.
That grant-funded proposal was ultimately rejected in favour of a 125-year leasehold. “We had funding, but it wasn’t enough,” B told the LDRS.
B and the team believe Croydon must take a more holistic approach to cultural support and avoid what she calls ‘art washing’, which she describes as superficial gestures that mask the lack of meaningful investment.
“It’s not just about supporting pop-ups and murals,” she said. “It’s about creating permanent spaces and forcing developers to include existing communities.”
Croydon has a proud artistic legacy, home to filmmaker David Lean and artist Tracey Emin, but B believes the borough’s size and diversity mean its creative potential is far from fully realised.
“We’ve supported over 500 artists since launching,” she added. “And we bring Turner Prize people down to Croydon. One hundred per cent of people say Turf is a welcoming place to be. That says so much.”
For the past year, Turf has used a space at Reeves Corner to showcase local artwork to pedestrians and tram and train users.
Alongside partnerships with the BRIT School and artist collectives such as MOSS (learning disabled artists) and Art Press (young creatives aged 13 to 18), Turf sims to support talent at every stage.
A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “We have worked closely with Turf Projects as a community partner, such as during the London Borough of Culture, when they received grant funding to deliver creative programmes. They have worked with our placemaking and regeneration teams over a number of years on town centre projects and were commissioned to lead the public engagement around the Town Centre Regeneration Strategy.
“We will continue to engage with the charity and our other partner organisations as the Executive Mayor’s Growth Plan and Town Centre Vision projects develop.
“As part of the Town Centre Vision, we are building a surface-level crossing on Wellesley Road that will improve connectivity from East Croydon to the town centre. We closed the underpass in Wellesley Road due to health and safety concerns following a fire, caused by antisocial behaviour, and to allow structural surveying work for the crossing to take place.
“We are working to minimise disruption to local businesses by progressing the in-fill of the subway and construction of the crossing at pace. We continue to keep our residents and businesses updated and have been speaking directly to Turf Projects to address any concerns.”
