Reeves Corner, Croydon pic: wendylady
Following the devastating fire in Croydon during the riots, The House of Reeves furniture store will not be rebuilt on the derelict land where it once stood.
The family had planned to rebuild on the land but Chairman Maurice Reeves said it would not be viable to rebuild on their portion of land that is also jointly owned by the Whitgift Foundation.
The Whitgift Foundation have accepted an early surrender on their lease.
Reeves said: “Following a review of our position we are unable to commit to reoccupy the Whitgift Foundation part of the island site.”
The Reeves family always had two shops, one that was burnt to the ground and the other badly damaged. The total site was over 1300 square feet.
One store has been refurbished and is now thriving. Maurice Reeves said that he would like to thank all the people of Croydon who came out to support him and his family.
He also praised his staff saying that their hard work had saved the business and that he hoped that they could carry on serving the people of Croydon as they have been doing for over the last 145 years.
His son, Trevor Reeves, told EastLondonLines the damage had actually started a resurgence in the area. Reeves Corner is in the Old Town in which a multi-million pound regeneration project is now underway.
Croydon is also one of 12 towns in the country that have been picked by the Government for money to rejuvenate high streets in a scheme devised by the retail expert Mary Portas. Mr. Reeves said he had to put all emotion away and look at things in a clear and sensible light. “The family is now working together, with other business, in the interest of all in the borough.”
Gordon Thompson was jailed for 11 years in April for setting fire to the store. The fire also caused millions of pounds worth of damage to surrounding buildings.
http://www.houseofreeves.com/about-us/i2
http://www.itv.com/news/london/story/2012-05-26/croydon-picked-as-portas-pilot/
It is a shame that Reeves furniture store which was burnt down in the riots in Croydon a few years ago is not going too be rebuilt as this article has stated for whatever reason. The riots in Croydon were terrible far worse than it was at first reported by the media. The problem spread to areas all over the country unfortunately. I live in Wallington not far from Croydon and the next day that the Croydon riots started many of the shops in Wallington high street were shut and boarded up. I have visited Reeves furniture store many times and brought furniture and other articles over the years. I always got good service and value for money there. Reeves corner is a well know landmark in Croydon and it has been there since the 1800’s I believe. The other store was not attacked and burnt down thankfully. I read in the Croydon advertiser that the person who stated the blaze has been caught I hope he got a well deserved sentence. In Purley way which isn’t far from me the rioters also attacked John Lewis and other stores in that area. The rioters weren’t all black males some where white people male and female who took advantage of the situation. Two people in their 50’s who lived near me where also in on the act stealing TV’s and other articles from Comets the electrical store in Purley way. I think they got quite a time in prison when the police found out where they lived through looking at the cctv footage. Sadly some people just jumped on the bandwagon it was like a frenzy of stealing and looting.