The most encouraging event throughout the three counties has to be the breaking of the log jam over the regeneration of
Croydon. This has lasted a long time and has clearly inhibited the expansion of the Surrey town as a business centre. Now Westfield and Hammerson have seen the light and combined their different ideas on two sites into a joint venture that promises to deliver something that draws on the strength of each of them.
The chorus master for the breakthrough has been London Mayor Boris Johnson who has an ambitious concept of what Croydon can achieve. The results will show through when other major regeneration projects are started in Croydon. To some extent the nearby Sutton has caught the mood and is going for a town centre regeneration project.
Bromley, where the mood has also improved, is joining in with a new development scheme. There is also the prospect of development geared to the Crossrail route across London, the latest being a proposal by heavyweight Development Securities for a scheme at Abbey Wood, in many ways an unlikely place for a big mixed use scheme.
Even so, the approach is cautious and far from the heady days of a decade ago. However, economic necessity is providing the impetus for expansion, as witnessed by the continued growth of the Kent Science Park and its international ramifications. What the park now needs is an improvement in road.