Wetherspoons closures: a hangover or failed Croydon revamp?

The closure of two popular Wetherspoons venues, The Skylark and The Milan Bar, has left Croydon pub-goers feeling flatter than a stale pint of lager.

Both finally shut their doors for the final time at the end of March, despite more than 1,200 locals signing an online petition protesting against the move.

Greg Boyce, who organised the campaign, said both pubs were places that brought people together.

He said: “The Skylark pub has a historic ties to the area and is an asset to the local community, attracting all age groups.”

Abigail Clarke, an ex-employeer at The Skylark, told me: “I’d been working there for over two years and it had basically become my second home.

“I’ve always felt that there’s a sense of community amongst all age groups and I thoroughly enjoyed becoming more familiar with regular customers.”

She added that Wetherspoons was more than just a typical pub and offered a safe environment for the elderly, university students and families. “It was so lovely and rewarding to be a part of such an intimate establishment and being able to create a comfortable space for any age group.”

Abigail mentioned her suspicions that the two pubs closing was linked to the failure of Croydon’s £1.4bn Westfield development scheme that was meant to transform the town centre and take Croydon in a different direction.

She added: “It’s clear that something better coming to Croydon. I believe it needs a drastic modern makeover and perhaps the closure of The Skylark and The Milan Bar, sad though it is, will be part of it.”

Wetherspoons, which has 850 venues across the UK, promised to relocate all staff members from Croydon to different pub locations to avoid redundancies.

Abigail, for example, was relocated to The Moon & Stars in Penge, alongside many of her colleagues who were also switched to different locations within close proximity.

The abandonment of the Westfield project, coupled with the Croydon Council’s serious financial problems, has left local residents feeling apprehensive and uncertain about their town’s future. 

Tim Martin, founder of the Wetherspoons chain, blamed the closures in part on “extraordinarily high rates” and said: “I think everyone who lives in Croydon knows the town centre needs a mixture of business and community investment, it’s very rundown.”

Local fans of the company’s approach to serving good value food and drink can still use The George, located on George Street.