Subway permanently closed to make Croydon safer

A public subway near East Croydon station which attracted repeated antisocial behaviour has been permanently closed to make the area safer and cleaner.

A fire in the subway under Altyre Road led to the entrances being closed and fenced to prevent entry to the disused and unsafe site. However, people still gained illegal access to set up an unauthorised encampment in the subway, leading to further antisocial behaviour.

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon, has pledged to make Croydon cleaner and safer for everyone, particularly in the town centre. The subway closure is part of the work of the council's new town centre taskforce - a group of key statutory, community and voluntary sector organisations, working together to share intelligence to clean up hotspot areas and deal with antisocial behaviour.

The subway is now temporarily secured with steel gates and fencing, preventing further access and reducing the risk of more serious incidents taking place there. It will be filled and no longer used. Pedestrians wanting to cross the road will not be impacted by the closure and will be able to do so using the designated crossings.

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon, said: "I want to ensure that people in Croydon are safe as they go around the borough. The antisocial behaviour in this subway resulted in a serious fire which gutted the site and for safety reasons it was closed. The subway was not safe to reopen as a public right of way. Our community outreach teams sensitively supported all those involved and continues helping anyone involved in such incidents to prevent problems from happening again."