LIGHTING displays, a rooftop bar on a car park, temporary restaurants and a brewery in the historic pumping station.....

These are among the suggestions to make Old Town a "cultural destination for Croydon and beyond" alongside the Whitgift Centre revamp.

A draft masterplan for the area, largely west of North End down to Wandle Park, is to be discussed by Croydon Council's cabinet on Monday. If approved after formal consultation with the public, it will stand as planning guidance.

Planners hope to make the area easier to get around, add restaurants, shops and playgrounds and make more of its heritage, such as Croydon Minster and the grade II listed Surrey Street Pumping Station.

The plan focuses on small-scale changes such as improving shop fronts, gating the yards around Surrey Street, adding cycle routes and untangling one-way systems.

But it also sets out possible sites for new homes, including the northern end of Cairo New Road, Reeves Corner and the area around Croydon Minster and Scarbrook Road. Converting or demolishing Ryland House in Church Road is also suggested.

The urban planners commissioned by the council say: "Old Town will be Croydon's thriving historic heart, with a flourishing independent business community and attractive neighbourhoods."

Coloured lighting is proposed to make people feel safer walking through underpasses such as at Cairo New Road, and to highlight historic buildings such as Croydon Minster.

Planners say the pumping station, in Exchange Square, should be opened to the public, adding that popular proposed uses include "an artisan bakery, microbrewery or coffee roastery."

A rooftop bar or film screenings are suggested for Q-Park car park in Charles Street. The NHS building at the Reeves Corner end of Tamworth Road is suggested for a new primary school in the long-term.

The plans have been put together by the council in consultation with others including the Croydon Old Town Business Association and House of Reeves.

Cllr Jason Perry, cabinet member for planning, transport and regeneration, said: "Old Town is the historic heart of Croydon and the council and community are extremely proud of this rich cultural heritage. It is also a successful market and retail area and home to approximately 1,800 people.

"We want the regeneration of the town centre to breathe new life into Old Town, to improve its connections to the rest of the town centre and ensure it continues to develop as a thriving historic quarter, bustling with activity."

Public consultation on the draft masterplan begins next month. Details of consultation events will be published in advance.

A MOTHER has called her partner a "hero" after he demanded that paramedics delivered her baby in a hospital car park.

Carly Mitchell, 38, from Mitchley Avenue in Sanderstead, gave birth to her son Beau on the back seat of her car last Friday, even though they were only seconds away from Croydon University Hospital.

"He was due on January 9 but this was the day after," she said. "I woke up with pains just after 4am and by 5am my partner Matt had me in the car and was driving me to the hospital.

"But then about ten minutes into the journey when we were going past Fairfield Halls, I said to him, 'The baby's coming, I need to push'.

"He stayed so calm and got thinking really quickly. Instead of taking me to the maternity ward, he headed straight for A&E."

The father, Matt Hogan, 39, then drove the car into A&E just as an ambulance was pulling out of the car park.

"He stopped the ambulance which had two paramedics inside," said Ms Mitchell. "He told them what was happening and they said we had to go to the maternity ward.

"But he told them there was no time and said they had to come help. He was a real hero."

The paramedics then rushed over, saw Ms Mitchell was about to give birth and helped deliver the baby while the mother was still in the back seat.

"I was so scared and was in shock for a long time after," she said.

"It was really cold so they took him into hospital and I followed later on a trolley.

"It's amazing really, though.

I'm just glad it's over."

Ms Mitchell's mother, Sheila, was in the car when one of her daughters rang her to say the birth had taken place before reaching hospital.

"I told her I wasn't in the mood for jokes and it was too early in the morning but it was true," she said.

"I went straight to hospital and even got to the maternity ward before they did because they were still coming over from A&E."

Ms Mitchell, who has another three-year-old son called Tate, said she was looking forward to taking her maternity leave from being a hairdresser.

"I'm exhausted but it's great to have everyone home. Sanderstead is a good place to bring up the kids but I think we will eventually move somewhere quieter."

HOODED robbers stole £400 from a convenience store after attacking staff and ordering them to hand over cash.

Police are investigating the robbery at Londis in Chipstead Valley Road, Coulsdon, last Tuesday, January 7.

The shop was open and a member of staff and a co-owner were inside when the two robbers burst in just before 7pm.

One jumped over the counter to take cash and a packet of cigarettes while the other grabbed a member of staff.

The co-owner of the store, who did not want to be identified, said she was pushed to the floor.

She added: "They came in – one of them looked like he was 16 or 17 and the other must have been a bit older.

"One held the guy doing the hoovering and one jumped up the counter.

"I hit the panic button. It does not make noise outside but at the police station.

"We have been here nearly 30 years.

"It is the first time this has happened.

"You don't expect them to jump the counter."

The shop remained open afterwards and CCTV footage is currently being reviewed.

Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

A Met police spokesman said: "We can confirm that police are investigating a robbery at a convenience store in Chipstead Valley Road on January 7.

"Two suspects are believed to have entered the store at approximately 6.55pm and one of them is said to have grabbed a member of staff, demanding money.

"The other suspect has then gone to the counter and grabbed cash and a packet of cigarettes before both suspects made off."

The two robbers are both described as black men in their late teens, both wearing hooded tops, scarves and gloves.

One was described as approximately 5ft 10ins tall and of large build, while the other was approximately 5ft 8ins tall and of slim build.

Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

There have been no arrests and inquiries continue.

COMEDIAN Mark Steel has made his name pointing out the silly and the sublime surrounding audiences in their home town.

But when the comic performs at Fairfield Halls next month he faces a unique challenge – how do you take an outsider's view of your own backyard?

The Crystal Palace resident explained: "This is my fifth series of the show and we've been all over the country but it struck me that in all that time I've never actually focussed on the place I've lived in and around for the last 30 years."

The show in question is Mark Steel's In Town, which seeks to subvert the typical format of a stand-up gig.

Mark said: "Comedians typically throw in a few references to the town they're playing in but I wanted to make that three minutes on 'the funny thing about Kidderminster is....' into the whole show.

"Once you look into it there's an absolute wealth of material in every single venue. It's all about perception. People in Walsall don't think twice about the fact they've got a giant hippo in their precinct but to an outsider it's bizarre.

"I do a lot of research, so if I'm going somewhere like Banbury then I'll read everything I can about it before I arrive and ask people through Twitter what I should look out for."

So, presumably his local knowledge of Croydon will make this show a breeze?

"There's plenty to talk about," he admits. "Fairfield Halls itself is an interesting place – a classic example of 1960s architecture!

"The reputation of Mayday Hospital will probably come up as well because, whether or not that's a reflection of the hospital today, it's always been a big issue.

"Croydon has its own attitude and I can't help but find that funny. I was sitting in a cafe with my kids recently and my daughter got up to go to the toilet. Someone went to take her stool without asking and when my son told her it was taken this woman started yelling at him, screaming 'What is your problem?!'. I thought it was hilarious that this eruption of indignation came when she was completely in the wrong. You see that all the time in Croydon and I think it's wonderful – it's part of the character of the place."

Mark said he has no time for the perception of Croydon as a 'Crap Town'.

He added: "It's just lazy. Everyone can see the Whitgift Centre looks dreadful and we have some other ugly buildings but there's only so much you can do when you've got a dual carriageway running through the centre of a town.

"You'll notice that people who are trying to make something beautiful very rarely include dual carriageways in their vision. You don't get people entering their garden for Britain in Bloom, saying 'What I'm particularly proud of is the dual carriageway through the middle there."

But is he optimistic about the Westfield/Hammerson £1 billion regeneration of the Whitgift Centre?

"It's hard to get excited about it when we've had 30 years of rumours that the Arabs are going to buy up the town centre and rebuild it as floating precinct in the sky or something," he said.

"It goes in cycles – usually starting with a front page in the Advertiser showing an artist's impression of some Blade Runner style future landscape. Then nothing happens and 18 months later there's another front page with the same plan but an extra turret added in, saying 'this time it'll definitely happen'.

"To be honest, if there's anything that's going to transform Croydon it's probably not another shopping centre."

Wednesday February 12, 8pm, Ashcroft Theatre, Fairfield Halls Tickets, priced £15, available on 0208 86889291 or www.fairfield.co.uk

THE jailing of the international sex trafficking gang which operated out of a Croydon internet cafe is only the "thin edge of the wedge", according to one of the investigators on the case.

Last week, four men and one woman were sentenced to between three and six years for trafficking up to 60 women from Hungary and forcing them to work as prostitutes.

Former partners Mate Puskas, 26, and Victoria Brown, 25, ran the operation out of the Cyberspace internet cafe in Surrey Street until they were arrested in September 2012, along with Zoltan Mohacsi, 36. Two other men, Istvan and Peter Toth, are still on the run.

Glenn Taylor, who worked on the case for the Home Office, told the Advertiser he had "no confidence" trafficking had been stamped out in Croydon.

"The investigation is still on-going," he said. "There was a list of co-conspirators which we are still collecting evidence on.

"This case is very much the thin edge of the wedge for trafficking in the area."

Mr Taylor said the women, who were working in nearby hotels, were often seen in the cafe.

Brown and Puskas, who have a 21-month-old son Theo, also owned a property a few doors down from the cafe where the women would often stay.

"They very much used the cafe as a front for what they were doing and as a administration base but the women were often there too," Mr Taylor said.

"Trafficking has to entail servitude and abuse and I have no confidence this is the end of it in the area."

Hamed Shahabuddin, who runs a market stall opposite the building the women often stayed at in Surrey Street, said the operation had been running for months before the police arrived.

"There were girls coming in and out, it was obvious what was going on," he said.

"There were lots of rumours going around and every Friday night as we packed up, they would come out onto the street and approach men."

Ali Hassan, who runs a stall nearby, said police walked past the property every day.

He said: "They probably knew and were waiting for the right time to make a raid. Who knows if it has all stopped, it's difficult to see behind closed doors."

Croydon police have said they pass any information given to them by the public over to a specialist unit, which was formed in 2010.

A spokesman said: "Where local officers are given information or intelligence about the possible presence of human trafficking, this information will be passed on to the specialist MPS Human Trafficking Unit, who build up a picture of organised trafficking in London and regularly carry out operations across London."

Croydon police officers also go to a monthly trafficking forum with representatives from the council and charities, including the Croydon Community Against Trafficking (CCAT) group, to share information.

Peter Cox, who set up CCAT, said: "What we really want to know is why it took so long to arrest those people.

"We know Croydon is vulnerable to trafficking so what are the police doing to help stop it?"

AN INTERIM body has now stepped in to run a troubled primary school in South Croydon after its board of governors was fired.

Regina Coeli Catholic Primary in Pampisford Road was put into special measures by inspectors in November after years of sliding down the Ofsted scale.

At the time a meeting was called where angry parents demanded the then head teacher Donal McCarthy take responsibility for the school's decline and step down.

Then at the end of December, Mr McCarthy announced his abrupt resignation after more than 21 years of working at the school.

In a letter to parents, the chairman of governors at the time, Hogarth Andall, said the "past few years have been difficult" but the school is now in a "stronger position" to move forward.

However, Mr Andall and the rest of his board have now been dismissed and replaced by an interim executive board (IEB) which will oversee the school until it is deemed to be improving.

The new chairman, David Prince – who is also the chairman of governors at Good Shepherd Catholic Primary in New Addington – told parents the Department for Education (DfE) had approved an application made by Croydon Council and the Catholic diocese for an interim board.

"The IEB remit is to recommend the best direction for the school and the pursuit of urgent yet sustainable improvement," Mr Prince said.

The team is made up of five people – two chairmen of governors at the Catholic primary school, the ex-CEO of the Catholic Education Service and two other governors.

Mr Prince said the IEB had held talks with the deputy head teacher, Ursula Hargrave, who is now running the school, and Mike Cullinane from the Diocese Education Committee to begin plans to improve the school.

Mr Andall's wife, Nicolina, said: "All the governors have been replaced and we are just normal parents now. The new body has made a number of promises so we will see how it goes."

One parent, who campaigned for the removal of Mr McCarthy, said the school now had one of the most qualified and robust board of governors in the country.

"They've been directly picked by the diocese and the DfE so we're pretty confident," the parent said.

However, others have criticised the level of Catholic influence over the school arguing that although it is a Catholic school, many of the parents and children there are not Catholic.

"Now we have two Catholic schools involved in the school and no head," a parent said.

St James the Great Primary, in Thornton Heath has partnered the school since it began to struggle two years ago with its head teacher Stephen Beck acting as consultant head.

Croydon Council has not yet indicated whether the primary will be turned into an academy or who its sponsor may be.

A PLAN to replace an empty off-licence with a betting shop is being hotly opposed on the grounds that it might corrupt nearby students.

Coral's bid to open a bookie's around the corner from Coulsdon Sixth Form College has drawn protests that it might drag youngsters into dangerous gambling habits.

Several objectors have written to the council's licensing sub-committee to voice their concerns about the plans for No. 6 The Parade in Old Coulsdon, formerly an Oddbins wine store.

Students from the 1,500-capacity college congregate in the Parade for lunch and to catch the bus most weekdays, and one resident warned of the "real danger of enticing them".

Councillor Chris Wright is a governor at the college and among the objectors. He told the Advertiser: "I believe that we should do all we can to curb gambling habits and for someone to have the opportunity so young in life might mean that they will get locked into it and that will be a big mistake."

A nearby resident, whose name has been removed from a council report, wrote: "I realise that my moral objection to gambling will not carry any weight with the licensing department, but I am concerned that many children and students pass the shop on their way to and from school and college and will be influenced to believe that gambling is an acceptable activity."

Some college students, most of whom are aged 16 to 19, did not rule out that possibility when quizzed on Wednesday.

Health and Social Care student Billie Jay, 18, said it might attract male students, adding: "We play blackjack in the college and they are always betting."

Alex Costa, 16, said: "I would not be but I mean others might. I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to get addicted."

But Jasmine Russell, 18, said: "I don't think anyone would, really – I think it's maybe more [for] older guys. I don't think people going to this college would be into it."

The college has not lodged a formal objection, but a spokesman said it would hope to work with Coral to ensure it enforced the law banning under-18s from gambling.

She added that the college advised students on making "good life choices, which include not getting into debt".

The committee is due to meet on Tuesday to approve or reject the application. Greater London Assembly member Steve O'Connell has also weighed in on the side of the objectors.

Old Coulsdon already has one betting shop, in Lacey Green about a quarter of a mile from the proposed.

SOME people might think she is hopping mad but Sarah MacRonald has made her rabbit habit into a living.

The 35-year-old not only has 11 as pets – two of which have their own Facebook pages – but has turned her Coulsdon garden into a bunny paradise and now runs Croydon's first rabbit-only boarding service.

Her love of cuddly little critters was even a factor when she split with her husband, who walked out of the door with the final words: "See how far you and your ******* rabbits get without me."

Pretty far, as it happens. The mother of three (or should that be 14) is making a successful business looking after rabbits while their owners are away from home.

"My husband was annoyed that I spent so much time with the rabbits and, to be fair, they did take over my life," she told the Advertiser.

"But, if anyone ever says 'It's me or the rabbits' then sorry, it's the rabbits every time."

Ms MacRonald's love of rabbits began when she bought her first bunny – Rupert – five years ago.

"Why did I suddenly start? I was 30 and I could," she said.

"I had my third child, my two girls were at school during the day and we had a big garden. So I thought: 'Right, now I can get that bunny."

The former bank worker bought Rupert and the largest hutch in the pet store. Ms MacRonald, who even has a rabbit tattoo, admits now she did not know what she was letting herself in for.

"I was in for a shock," she said. "I didn't realise how much care rabbits need, how much they cost, and how much I would end up loving them.

"They are the hardest animal on the planet to keep alive. They suffer from dental problems which can develop into abscesses.

"You also have to be really careful with what they eat because they have very sensitive digestive systems.

"It's also really important that rabbits have a friend and aren't left to live on their own."

And, like that, Ms MacRonald's rabbits multiplied. After Rupert, she bought three Netherland Dwarf females and then, when they would not bond, three males as well. One was called Steviebunbunbabybadboy.

Contrary to the impression given by the way they are kept in pet shops, rabbits need a large amount of space in which to live, so the garden of Ms MacRonald's home in Portnalls Road quickly became a maze of runs and coops.

With her house a veritable bunny metropolis, last April a friend happened on an idea. Why not turn it into a holiday camp too? Celeb-Bunnies was born.

While she used to work at a bank now Ms MacRonald charges £20 per bunny, per night (£25 for two) to take care of rabbits while their owners are away from home.

The boarding service was fully-booked over the summer and business has been so good that, for now, she does not have to return to the job she gave up after having her third child.

Her aim is to one day open a full rabbit rescue and, to that end, is studying for an online diploma in rabbit behaviour, physiology and welfare.

Growing up in a house full of rabbits sounds like every child's dream, but her children, Megan, 13, Molly, 11, and Connor, 6, are not as keen as you would think.

"Connor likes them, but the girls are bored of it," she said. "They get excited by other people's rabbits but aren't interested in ours. They keep telling me to stop getting them.

"I can't imagine not having them. It's just a shame I haven't got a passion for something that's going to make me rich."

THE chair of the Royal British Legion's New Addington branch is appealing against a head office decision to uphold a complaint against him.

Michael Lyons was suspended from his post in June while the Legion investigated a complaint that he "may have inappropriately used Legion funds and may have brought the Legion into disrepute".

The 79-year-old said the panel that met in mid-December has upheld the complaint, but he has challenged the decision in line with procedure.

He maintains he has done nothing wrong and is waiting to hear whether the RBL will grant him an appeal. He risks a longer-term suspension from club activities if his appeal fails.

A spokesman for RBL said she could not comment until the process was finished.

A NINETEENTH primary school looks set to convert to academy status, with Croydon's education chief admitting he would "not be surprised" if all the council's primaries were academies within five years.

The "outstanding" Fairchildes, in New Addington, has won approval from the Department for Education (DfE) to convert to academy status, subject to formal consultation with parents.

If it goes ahead it is also looking at bringing the less successful nearby Rowdown school alongside, leaving no council-run primaries in New Addington and Fieldway.

There are no secondary schools left under Croydon Council's direct control, a dramatic shift since academies were introduced in 2000.

The shift has sparked some concerns but the council's education chief says he is not worried about the shift in emphasis.

Cabinet member for learners and families, Tim Pollard, said: "From where I sit there is no difference between a local authority school and an academy.

"We have got very supportive groups of academies who work together and work with the local authority.

"I would not be surprised if in five years, all of the primary schools were academies.

"But really it does not matter providing the schools have a will to work together and to work with the local authorities."

The council still monitors schools and, Cllr Pollard added, can refer them to the Secretary of State or Ofsted it they fail to respond to its concerns.

Adapting to its changing role, the council is setting up a company to sell education services to schools and earn back some of the Government education cash that goes directly to academies.

But Councillor Kathy Bee, the council's shadow education spokesperson, said she worried the council may end up with too little money to effectively monitor academies.

"Croydon Council is still doing at least one visit a year to all the academies, but that might become unaffordable," she said.

She added that in her view, academies' success was due to their leadership, rather than their structure, and leadership could always change.

One of the reasons for outstanding primary schools' recent plans to convert has been so they can help weaker schools as an academy sponsor.

Without that structure, there remains the risk the DfE might pick an academy chain to take over the weaker school, in line with its policy of converting under-performing primaries.

Last year it picked the Harris Federation to take over Roke school, sparking huge opposition among parents.

Cllr Pollard said: "It is more sensible for the school providing support to become academies themselves.

"That way, before the DFE says 'you must become a sponsored academy and we will choose,' you get to choose."

AN EAST Croydon cyclist who lost his leg when he fell from a cliff is now teaching adults and teenagers with mental disabilities how to ride a bike.

Jim Bush was on a work secondment in New Zealand with his accountancy firm 20 years ago when he went climbing up Mount Hopeless with crampons and ice picks.

"There was a wonderful snowy peak and we thought it would be good to reach the top," the 48-year-old said.

"But on the way down, I slipped on a snow slope and went skidding down the mountain.

"I knew how to use my crampons but they wouldn't catch. My fellow climbers saw me tumble over the edge of some sharp rocks and thought I was gone forever."

However, Mr Bush was caught by a rock jutting out of the mountain side.

"Someone came down to find out what was left of me but we were in the middle of nowhere and it took 24 hours to reach a hospital," he said.

The former triathlete went through four amputations after gangrene set in and now has a prosthetic leg above the knee.

After he returned to Croydon, he volunteered for the London Cycling Campaign. It was when he moved to the Croydon branch that he met Liz Mincer, a parent who wanted to set up a cycling class for people with disabilities.

The Park Hill resident said: "I joined in 2002 when Liz ran the classes. Back then it was a real struggle to get funding and we bought specialist bikes second hand off eBay."

In 2007, Mrs Mincer moved away and the project was taken over by Wheels for Wellbeing, which managed to secure more than £330,000 from the Big Lottery Fund (BLF) four years ago.

"It meant we could really splash out on staff and new bikes, some of which cost up to £4,000 with wheelchairs on the front," Mr Bush said.

In September, the BLF came to film Mr Bush and his class, which is run at the Croydon Sports Arena from 9.30am to noon on Tuesdays.

He said: "Hopefully, we will have our funding extended, otherwise we will fall off a cliff.

"These classes are very important, it's about empowerment. Most of the people who come here are told all the time they can't do this, can't do that.

"This gives you back your sense of freedom. And it's good to be outside, taking exercise in the fresh air."

Phil Hazel, who works at Priory School in South Norwood, said the teenagers he brought to the arena every week looked forward to it all the time.

He said: "They get a huge amount of enjoyment from it and stimulation. They like the wind in their faces. There are bikes here for all types of disabilities, come rain or snow."

For more information, visit www.wheelsforwellbeing.org.uk or call 020 7346 8482.

A DOG walker was given a £75 fine for walking his well-behaved pet through a Croydon park - despite there being no signs to indicate the ban.

Roy Barnes was walking his 10-year-old black American cocker spaniel Toby through Queen's Gardens next to the council offices at Bernard Weatherill House when he was stopped by an enforcement officer.

The 64-year-old voluntary worker was told he was not allowed to walk the pooch through the green space and was issued a fine on the spot.

Mr Barnes, who had never walked his dog on the council land before, said the Fell Road entrance he walked through did not have any signs indicating he could not walk through the park.

He said: "It just makes no sense and I was really disgusted. Even when I offered a polite explanation he was having none of it.

"I told him it was fair enough if they were the rules and I wouldn't do it again but he still issued it.

"It's this sort of thing that gives authority figures a bad name. He seemed to be trying to make the most of what little authority he's got."

After he was given the fine, two police officers arrived at the scene and questioned why Mr Barnes had been fined.

When the officers were told the reason, Mr Barnes said they seemed shocked at the petty by-law and called the enforcement officer back.

The dog-lover tried to appeal against his notice but was told he was not allowed and could only make representation.

Once Mr Barnes has made representation, the next step would be to take the matter to court, so he decided to pay the fine.

Mr Barnes said: "I don't want to go to court. I paid the fine because I don't want a criminal record. I checked a number of times and there were definitely no signs there.

"He was only a young lad so he probably thought he had to do his job to the letter, but I was just furious. The dog was on the lead and he didn't go to the toilet so it just doesn't seem fair."

A council spokesman said: "The council will always listen to representations against penalty charge notices issued in circumstances such as this and each case is judged on its merits.

"We endeavour to ensure all signage is clear but where this is found to not be the case we take suitable steps to ensure things are put right."