Centrale preparing to take the centre stage (From Asian Image)

Centrale preparing to take the centre stage

12:11pm Thursday 3rd January 2002

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The Mecca Bingo club on Tamworth Road is the one thing standing in the way of significant progress on the new Centrale development literally.

When the club moves to its new premises in September this year, it will give developers the go-ahead to demolish the site and start construction work on the long-awaited House of Fraser department store.

The anchor store is promising to be the jewel in Centrale's crown.

Developers of the prestigious Centrale centre are promising to give Croydon shoppers something they have not experienced before.

The proposed shopping complex has long been a pipe dream for the town, promising to attract the kind of shopper that retail managers previously only fantasised about.

Fronting the centre's retail offering will be the prestigious House of Fraser and developers are hoping it, and other upmarket shops like it, will lure the big spenders to Croydon.

Construction work started last February to integrate the existing Drummond Centre with the new site which, when combined, will be renamed Centrale.

Three of the centre's four levels will be taken up by the 15,000sq metre House of Fraser, which is due to open in late 2004.

When finished, the centre - which will front North End will house both House of Fraser and Debenhams under one roof.

It is estimated that 1,000 full-time and part-time jobs will be created when the new Centrale centre opens in October 2003. David Parham, manager of the Drummond Centre, believes Centrale is what Croydon's retailing community has been waiting for.

He said, "Croydon has always had great retailing links but an aspirational store such as House of Fraser is the one thing that is missing from the town.

"When we compare ourselves with our main rivals, Kingston and Bromley, the only thing missing from what we offer is something a little bit upmarket.

"The other shops in the Centrale centre will all be aspirational retailers like House of Fraser. We want to create a whole new retailing experience to attract a different kind of shopper."

The site's developer, St Martin's, is also investing nearly half a million pounds in improvements to the area surrounding the centre, including the upgrading of the pedestrianised area of North End.

The Drummond Centre will continue to trade throughout the construction period and management of the project are adamant that the inconvenience to shoppers will be minimal.

Planning approval has also been given for a combined tram and bus stop to be built in Tamworth Road alongside

Centrale's six-story, curved, glazed entrance.

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