Empty shops, yobs on E-bikes, asylum hotels… Sound familiar? Inside the downfall of Croydon, the once-thriving town that has become a microcosm of so many decaying British communities

Viewed from a distance (it’s best to go as far away as possible) Croydon’s concrete and glass skyline glistens almost dreamily in the sunlight.

As my train approaches the station, it’s possible to glimpse the town’s ’60s heyday as a mini-Manhattan, a bold experiment in post-war modernization.

Look closely and it’s clear why locals call it a ghost town.

The well-known 24-storey Nestlé Tower is a symbol of urban decay. Shops around it are closing and violent crime continues to rise. Nothing is being fixed as the council, which has declared bankruptcy three times in six years, is at least £1.4bn in debt.

When you talk about elections to voters here, you are always met with weary resignation or poisonous anger.

If Croydon is a microcosm of Britain, then Thursday’s town hall race reflects the shifting sands of the political landscape. The competition offers a glimpse into the near future, when four or five horse races will become the norm.

Reform, the Greens and Liberal Democrats are trailing behind Labor and the Conservative Party, and polls suggest it will be close.

When you arrive at the train station you will instantly remember that Croydon has one of the highest crime rates in the capital. One afternoon last week, from afar, six police officers in black uniforms and high-vis tunics were positioned around the concourse. These people are apparently called ‘travel safe officers’ (TSOs) who deal with low-level crimes but have no powers of arrest.

When you arrive at the train station you will instantly remember that Croydon has one of the highest crime rates in the capital.

As I turn right from the station to join the crowd heading towards the city centre, I immediately feel sorry for their helplessness.

Young men on e-bikes and scooters stream towards us, crossing the pavement like slalom skiers. That’s it for TSOs. As for the original article, there isn’t a bobby in sight.

‘Now think this is bad, wait until you see it at night,’ warns IT worker Andrew Skelton, 44. He has been living in the district for seven years. ‘Council tax has increased by 33 per cent in the last few years but what you get in return has decreased.

‘I’m still undecided about the elections. I have voted both Labor and Conservative in the past but not anymore. Not this time anyway.”

Ditch the bikes, walk a little further and Croydon begins to reveal its landmarks: the vast Fairfield Halls, south London’s largest arts centre, and opposite the Nestlé tower, which has been vacant for 14 years. With no windows, it really looks like it was hit by a bomb. On its lower floors there are scrawled slogans such as ‘This is England’. Another implores passers-by to ‘Support the UK’.

At the base of this monolith is a gloomy underpass with a shopping arcade called St George’s Walk.

A public notice hangs above its entrance: ‘BUSINESSES AND STORES AT ST GEORGE’S WALK SHOPPING CENTER ARE OPEN AS USUAL’ but it appears more than half are closed. Once you step inside, it’s not hard to see or smell why. The pungent smell of urine is unbearable.

Deniz Şengül, 51, who runs a dry cleaners, says in pain: ‘Isn’t it scary? Since there are no public amenities in the city centre, pregnant women and retirees caught for short periods of time use the arcade as a toilet.’

At the base of this monolith is a gloomy underpass with a shopping arcade called St George’s Walk

“We have security cameras of vandals who don’t even cover their faces these days, but the police don’t want to know about it,” says local business owner Deniz Şengül.

Bird droppings cover the ground, graffiti covers the walls and store shutters. Deniz says, ‘We have security cameras of vandals who don’t even bother to cover their faces these days, but the police don’t want to know about it.’

The council disagrees – Deniz adds: ‘It’s up to us to clean up the urine.’

‘There was a dry cleaners on this site just after the war. People come and tell me what life was like in the old days, how they loved coming to the arcade when they were kids, where there was a model shop, an Italian café, and a small art gallery.

‘We are now closing them one by one. A few weeks ago it was a bridal shop and then a haberdashery shop. It was previously a barber shop and cafe. ‘It’s truly tragic.’

Deniz had previously supported the Conservative Party but says broken promises ‘turned me into a Reform man’.

Joining us is 67-year-old Michael Sales, who tells me about his abstract art exhibition at a nearby cafe. ‘It’s been a month but I’ve only sold one. ‘People don’t have money anymore.’

Born and raised in Croydon, Michael watched the town’s collapse with growing anger. He offers to show me around.

Croydon was once renowned for its range and quality of shops, and he fondly remembers being taken by his mother to Grants department store on the High Street, known as the ‘Harrods of South London’.

Michael Sales fondly remembers being taken by his mother to Grants department store on the High Street, known as the ‘Harrods of South London’. It’s been closed for a long time now

Born and raised in Croydon, Michael watched with growing anger as the town collapsed

Long gone, Michael points to its grand façade, a slice of Victoriana with stained glass windows and words like ‘Glove’ and ‘Lace’ etched into the front. Beneath it, a Caribbean restaurant chain sits empty, its windows dusty and covered in posters. ‘It really is a ghost town,’ says Michael. ‘There’s nothing here.’

A stroll through the nearby Whitgift shopping center underscores his view. Only a few shops remain, abandoned.

Talk to anyone here and soon the issue of the council’s debt mountain will come up. Both the Conservatives and Labor accept that central government will need to step in to renegotiate Croydon’s debt. Meanwhile, Westminster sent commissioners to oversee the council’s administration.

Back on St George’s Walk we come across something that lifts the spirits. In Park Hill park and other green spaces, the National Gallery ‘partnered with Croydon Council’ to reproduce 30 life-size paintings, including by Renoir and Caravaggio. Fortunately, they hang on the railings without being disturbed by vandals.

‘Nice, isn’t it?’ says an old woman named Ada. ‘But if you ask me, it’s a fur coat and no panties. ‘They want to deal with the rest of the city first.’

But one store in St George’s Walk appears to be doing well. It sells and repairs E-bikes and scooters, which are considered by many to be the scourge of our age. “How are things?” I ask owner Dowell Virginie. ‘Noise,’ he replies with a grin.

Of course it is.