Croydon to be renamed in £50M scheme (From This Is Local London)

Croydon to be renamed in £50M scheme

6:00am Wednesday 1st April 2009 in News Exclusive By Matthew Knowles

Croydon is to be renamed in a £50million attempt to rebrand the borough, council sources revealed.

Officials trying to attract new business to the borough believe changing Croydon’s name will remove any negative stereotypes associated with the borough.

Croydon was famously berated by pop star David Bowie who described it as a “complete concrete hell”.

It was also voted chavviest town in the country in 2008 and gives its name to the Croydon facelift - a hairstyle where girls scrape back their hair into a ponytail to achieve a Botoxed effect.

Croydon Council has hired international marketing consultants Polar Foil, who rebranded the Post Office and British Airways, to give Croydon a public relations makeover.

A council source said: “Some people have a negative image of Croydon, so by renaming the borough we think we can have a fresh start.

"Obviously there will be costs involved in putting up new signs and getting organisations and businesses to change their letterheadings but we think it will prove worthwhile in the long run.”

It is believed the marketing firm already has a list of names it is considering.

One name is Crocusvale which comes from the original Anglo Saxon name for Croydon - croh, meaning "crocus" and denu “valley”.

Another name is understood to be Mosstown named after its most famous export supermodel Kate Moss who was born in Addiscombe and attended Riddlesdown High School in Purley.

A third idea Croie Dune comes from the old French, meaning "chalk hill", as Croydon stands at the northern edge of chalk hills called the North Downs.

A spokesman for Polar Foil said: “With French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s recent admiration for Croydon we think our third choice may well be the most popular.

"We will be launching a full consultation of residents on Wednesday morning (April 1) lasting until lunchtime.”