The future of the rat race in Croydon is uncertain with the prospect of a new Westfield shopping centre being built where the Whitgift centre currently stands. Westfield is only one of a number of developers looking to acquire the site for redevelopment. One things for sure, whoever gets it the old site will be levelled.
So what, I hear you say. With the demolition of a site the size of Whitgift in Croydon, comes the problem of rats. There are probably hundreds of rats, if not thousands, that have made the earth under the shopping centre home for the last 45 years. When any structure gets knocked down, any rats living there disperse rapidly and in vast amounts, depending on the size of the colony. As they disperse sightings become more frequent as they are forced above ground. The dispersal of rats also causes more headaches for local residents, who are already suffering travel disruption, noise and dirt, with the rats trying to find new homes, usually in gardens near to the building site.
It’s not all as bad as it sounds though because with demolition also comes death to the rats. Inevitably, with all those structures, iron beams, bricks falling and large trucks removing rubble from the site, quite a few rats won’t make it out alive. So as with all story’s and information, there are the good and the bad sides.
