Croydon's economic fight-back 'highly commended'

Croydon has been ‘highly commended’ at a prestigious national awards ceremony for its work to boost the local economy and bring jobs and opportunities to the borough. The event was hosted by Tony Blair’s former media advisor Alastair Campbell.

The commendation at the Regeneration & Renewal awards ceremony in London (23 September) recognised Croydon’s work in ‘nurturing start-ups, attracting inward investment and developing local skills.’

This recognises the work of the Croydon Enterprise programme, a partnership between the Council, businesses and the voluntary sector.

The news has been warmly greeted by Tony Kildare, Chief Executive of the Croydon Economic Development Company, which now delivers the Croydon Enterprise programme as part of its remit which also includes work on jobs, skills, investment, environmentally responsible business and the borough’s Economic Recovery Plan.

“This is national recognition for a programme that is helping people start, develop and grow businesses, drawing on a wide range of services, including finance and skills training,” he said. “This is a well deserved acknowledgement for Croydon and gives positive encouragement to the business community in a time of challenging economic conditions. It will also help counter some of the economic doom and gloom in the media.”

Croydon Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, Councillor Steve O’Connell also welcomed the commendation; “I am pleased to see all the hard work that has been done in Croydon by so many people and organisations working together,” he said. “It illustrates the strength of the local partnerships that the Croydon Economic Development Company is building on.”

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Note to Editor: Croydon was up against very strong competition in this category from Glasgow International Financial Services and London Borough of Islington who were the overall winners in the ‘boosting the local economy’ category.