Croydon's regeneration initiatives were praised by the Government's Regeneration Minister last week after she completed a whistle-stop tour of the town.

Sally Keeble MP, a minister in the Department of Transport and the Regions, visited Croydon on Thursday, February 14, as part of the government's commitment to visit the 24 towns and cities in the "Partners in Urban Renaissance" initiative.

This scheme encourages urban areas to identify common problems, and work to find regeneration solutions on a range of issues including poor health, poor educational opportunities, high crime, poor transport links and poor job opportunities.

The minister was accompanied by council leader Councillor Hugh Malyan on the tour and she found Croydon's regeneration initiatives at a more advanced stage than most.

She said: "I thought the Vision 2020 scheme was excellent because the council had clearly thought about the future development of the town including where to build up the retail economy and attracting the right type of shops."

Vision 2020 has already been recognised with Beacon status, but the minister's tour took in other lesser known achievements.

They visited several sites in Croydon, starting at the Merrill Lynch headquarters on Lansdowne Road. As one of the world's largest finance companies, it is one of the companies to relocate in Croydon in the past year.

Sally Keeble MP said: "Croydon has carved itself a role by looking to attract businesses out of London and into Croydon. They've successfully competed with other towns in the M25 corridor to attract big business, which is so important in terms of employment."

Hugh Malyan agreed: "We are encouraging small and big business to come to Croydon to sustain a prosperous economy.

"The cost and circumstances looked right to Merrill Lynch but it took a combination of assurances from the council, the Chamber of Commerce and Croydon police before they came."

Visits to the Learning Curves learning shop on Katharine Street, which has dealt with over 20,000 education inquiries in the last year and the NHS direct surgery on High Street also highlighted the way the council is seeking alternative means of providing key services.

Finally she toured some of the commercial regeneration sites which are transforming the town centre including Grants, Centrale and Park Place.

Afterwards she applauded Croydon's initiative to encourage workers to take up residency in the town centre saying: "Getting more residential developments in the town centre to make it a more attractive place for young people stands the town in good stead."

Overall the minister concluded: "It's a big thumbs up for Croydon. The Urban Renaissance programme gives us a chance to have a look at what town centres are doing, and it gives them a chance to compare ideas."

The results of the minister's tour are to be discussed at the Urban Summit at the International Convention Centre in November.

o For full details of the Vision 2020 project, check out www.croydonguardian.co.uk