Squatters take over center which has been unused for four years – Inside Croydon

Squatters have taken over the council-owned Goldcrest Youth Center in New Addington for almost a month, turning it into a real community hub – and have so far successfully resisted all attempts to remove them.

Delivering their message: squatters moved into Goldcrest Center almost a month ago

The center has been closed since the pandemic four years ago and the cash-strapped council has put the building up for sale from early 2022, with the usual lack of success or effort from their estate agents, Stiles Harold Williams.

The asking price for the former youth club and health center is £1.2 million.

The building has been occupied for the past three weeks by the same group of activists who have done more to support homelessness than Croydon’s useless council.

Banners appeared outside the Goldcrest Center: “Corrupt Bankruptcy Board,” says one. “Housing is a human right,” says another.

Inside the community centre, Reclaim Croydon has been able to provide shelter and food to people who would otherwise be homeless.

“What happened at Goldcrest is emblematic of the failings of Croydon Council,” said a statement issued by Reclaim Croydon.

“New Addington needs its community centers and Croydon’s homeless need housing. The council failed the people on both fronts.

“We see community assets being foreclosed and sold off and we see none of the promised housing being built.

“Is it any wonder we see such high crime rates when so many people are poor and bored? Instead of addressing the root causes of this alienation and despair, the government would rather park facial recognition vans in the city center every week and increase surveillance of everyone in the area.

Community Center: Reclaim Croydon has been very organized in developing a home in the long disused council building

“They would rather criminalize the poor than help them.

“We, the occupiers of what used to be Goldcrest Youth Centre, are a symptom of the corruption at the heart of Croydon Council.

“It’s only through people organizing together and reclaiming power for themselves that we can truly see positive change in the neighborhood. Build communities, not cages!”

The council is actively looking to evict Reclaim Croydon. Bailiffs had a few tries on Monday but left disappointed.

Stiles Harold Williams, after more than two years, is no closer to finding a buyer for the building.

Read more: Squatters take over Brick by Brick’s abandoned office building

Inside Croydon – If you want real journalism, delivering real news, from a publication that is based in the borough, please consider paying for it. Sign up today: Click here for more details

• If you have a story about life in or around Croydon, or want to advertise your residents’ association or business, or have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@ btinternet.com

• As featured on Google News Showcase

• ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s most rotten boroughs for the seventh consecutive year in the annual summary of civic advertising in Private magazine