It is like a ghost town.

This is how business owners still trading in Croydon’s  St George’s Walk feel after construction work on £500 million plans to redevelop the area  into a huge public square outside CroydonTown Hall.

The project known as Queen’s Square is being carried out by Chinese developer R&F Properties and it includes new shops and refurbishing the Nestlé tower into three tower blocks with hundreds of flats.

Work to knock down the 1960s offices that used to be home to the Fairfield Business School as well as the buildings on one side of St George’s Walk, has been going on since November.

But on the other side of the walk, a range of small businesses are still running with their owners struggling to make a living.

To make matters worse, it is still not known when or whether this row of shops will be demolished to as part of the regeneration.

‘Too much noise’ 

Deniz Sengul runs two businesses and since work started he has lost four therapists at Posh Clinic which offers laser hair removal, massage and tattooing.

He said: “They were freelancers and they left. They said there was too much noise which was affecting the consultations.

“There is also a lot of dust and when I open the doors it all goes into my machines. It is a clinic so I have to be very hygienic.”

And he said that footfall is very low for his other business, Central Cafe.

“I get some of the construction people but I don’t get local people – A lot of people go to other places because they are scared to come here because of the construction,” he added.

“People don’t know where St George’s Walk is they think it’s gone already. It is like a ghost town.

“People are struggling here, especially because we are small businesses.”

His views are echoed by other businesses struggling to make a living in the walk.

Trade has gone down by 60%

Mohsin Ackbary has run MailSmart for five years but says business has become “challenging” since construction started.

“Our business has reduced by about 50%,” said the 44-year-old.

“Since the first block closed we’ve lost a lot of customers, they are directed by Google maps and when they see one side is closed they think we are not here any more, it is a huge problem for us.”

And Barry Wadave has run St Georges Walk Dry Cleaners for the past 18 years.

The 68-year-old has had a tough time of late, recently undergoing a major operation after he was diagnosed with bowel cancer.

So the building work surrounding his shop has been an added stress for the family-run business.

“It has been one worry after the other, trade has gone down by 60%,” he said.

“Since the closure of the other side, a lot of people think we’ve closed – It is just because of our loyal customers who know we are still trading that we can keep going, but it is not enough to pay all of our bills.

“If it carries on this way it is going I don’t think I will be able to sustain it. The future looks bleak.”

Community radio station Croydon FM has also been based on the corner of the walk for the past year.

Clive Campbell who runs the station said he has had to cancel shows last minute due to the construction around the area.

He added: “We’ve had banging and drilling – I’ve had people walk out saying they can’t do their show with the noise.”

Easter weekend woes

For bar and restaurant Alchemy, the ongoing work means they have had to stop opening for lunch in the daytime.

And over the Easter weekend when the road running between Park Street and Katherine Street closed planned events had to be cancelled.

One of the owners, who asked not to be named for personal reasons, said: “The demolition has had the effect of killing our day time restaurant trade and we are reliant on our evening and weekend event trade.”

She added that when access was particularly bad the venue had to cancel booked private events including a 97th birthday party.

Alchemy has a 4am licence and operates as a late night venue but the owner said normal events could not go ahead at Easter as emergency vehicles would not have been able to access the club.

“We could not go ahead with planned promotions for the much much younger club clientele as the police cannot get to us or fire and ambulances should they be needed,” she said.

“We are dependant on our nights and Easter is one of our big weekends, normally more profitable than Christmas.”

What does the developer have to say?

A spokesman from R&F Properties said the company issues ‘regular newsletters’ about upcoming works.

He added: “In the case of the recent closure of the St George’s Walk roadway for the coordinated demolition of the link buildings, we worked closely with our contractors and the council and information was provided by all of these parties to neighbours, including the businesses on St George’s Walk and their landlord.

“This included meetings with the tenants on St George’s Walk’s landlord in the months leading up to demolition and formal notice of the closure of St George’s Walk being issued to businesses by John F Hunt on March 13, one month prior to the closure.  We subsequently provided signage and posters for visitors to the businesses and the council put up a public notice on March 21.

“We always strive to keep any impacts of our activities to a minimum and remain committed to discussing and resolving any specific issues with individual parties on a case by case basis.”

‘Short term problems’

Croydon Council’s cabinet member for economy and jobs, Councillor Manju Shahul-Hameed, said that the council could help find the businesses alternative sites in Croydon.

And in an email seen by the BBC Local Democracy Reporting Service she said: “It is a sad fact that developments can cause short term problems many for longer term community gains.

“When finished the R&F development will create a new public space Queen’s Square fronted by café, restaurants, business and community spaces.“