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Weekly in bid to banish ‘crap town’ label

A weekly paper has jumped to the defence of its hometown after it was shortlisted for inclusion in the latest edition of the book Crap Towns.

After the 100-strong shortlist was announced, the Croydon Advertiser came out swinging with its Cut the Crap campaign, designed to highlight all the least crappy features of the South London borough.

Editor Glenn Ebrey said reporters had hit the streets to speak to people about all the reasons they loved Croydon, including the results in a double-page spread.

The most popular responses are now being turned into a regular feature for the paper, focusing on a different reason to be proud of the town each week.

He told HTFP the Advertiser wanted to shatter the myths and negative perceptions which have built up around Croydon.

“It’s become a bit depressing really. One minute Croydon is the worst place in the country to live; the next it’s crap or its residents are the most miserable in the UK,” he said.

“The lazy perception of Croydon is that it’s a bad place to live and work – but our readers know that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

“There are plenty of positive things happening in Croydon and we thought it was high time we highlighted them.”

The double-page spread published after the Crap Towns shortlist was first released, featuring responses from local people

The latest feature focused on the Surrey Street Market – the oldest such market in London – with future pieces set to revolve around the town’s vibrant music scene, its diversity, and its community spirit.

Readers are also being asked to contribute with their own reasons why Croydon is not as crap as people may think.

Glenn added that he and the team had toyed with other, slightly milder campaign names – the more traditional I Love Croydon being among them – but in the end opted for Cut the Crap.

“It kept coming back to trying to banish the crap town label,” he said.

“Without stretching the concept too far, we want to cut Croydon out of the crap towns list for good and, also, cut through the crap that’s continually spouted about our town. Hence, ‘cut the crap’.

“At least it grabs the attention.”

The latest 'not crap' feature focused on the Surrey Street Market, with more to come in future weeks

2 comments

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  • August 1, 2013 at 8:54 am
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    “Readers are also being asked to contribute with their own reasons why Croydon is not as crap as people may think.”

    Brilliant campaign: Croydon: it’s not that crap,

    or maybe:

    Croydon, it’s not as sh*t as Slough.

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  • August 1, 2013 at 11:50 am
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    Im actually from Croydon and I can safely say it is by far the WORST place to live, Its horrible! I know so many people who want to get out of there asap!.

    Its violent, scary and not a nice place to visit at all. High crime rate, people always getting stabbed and mugged! Im sorry but what the hell is there to like about it.

    The only reason im still living there is I cant afford to move out, if i had the money id get as far from there as I can.

    The only plus side is that My home team Crystal Palace is located near there.

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