Concerns have been raised that Croydon can’t grow the rate of the numbers of people in employment in the borough..

At a meeting of the council’s overview and scrutiny committee on Tuesday, October 29, Councillor Sean Fitzsimons compared the borough to places like Stratford which have seen more employment growth.

He said: “Croydon employment levels have pretty much plateaued over these last 20 years compared to other parts of London which had greater challenges

“Croydon used to have companies like Nestle, insurance companies, food manufactures, and it had a big tech scene.

“Where there are these jobs many of them pay significantly good wages. Other areas of London are getting businesses people and jobs to them.”

But Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, cabinet member for economy and jobs said that there has been a growth in some industries in Croydon.

She said: “Over the past five years we have seen a 45 per cent growth in tech and digital. We’ve got 2000 businesses in these fields and 8,000 jobs have been created through these businesses.”

Cllr Fitzsimons described it as a generation-long problem and asked how the  medium to large companies can be encouraged to come to Croydon.

“It is a generation-long problem that Croydon can’t grow our employment rate like other parts of London,” he said. “If you look at the way growth is happening in London, it is becoming a bit lopsided – South London hasn’t had as much capital investment as North London.”

Economic development manager, Carol Squires, said that the council is trying to create a ‘Croydon is open’ message to businesses.

She added: “What has been interesting is there is a significance amount of office space being let at the moment – that smaller companies are finding challenges getting the right kind of space means it’s about creating a nurturing environment for the right kind of jobs.

“It is making sure we grow our growth sectors, so finance, tech and micro business.

“In a way we are quite strategically placed being at the gateway into London and being on the growth corridor all the way down the A23 to Gatwick.”

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that 75.4 per cent of 16-64-year-olds in Croydon are in full time employment.

This is in line with the 75.3 per cent national average but below the overall London figure of 79.1 per cent.