THE council's chief executive has promised to investigate why a member of staff told a business owner he was investigating a break-in that never happened.
The mysterious incident occurred on January 26 at Matthews Yard when owner Saif Bonar was meeting with Tracey Rabbetts, director of Croydon Radio, in the town centre cafe's co-working space.
As they spoke, Dayo Ogunmuyiwa, senior retail project officer at the council, entered and made his way towards the store room, stopping when he saw Mr Bonar.
The businessman said Mr Ogunmuyiwa seemed surprised to see him and, when asked how he could help, the council officer replied that the police had sent him an e-mail to say Matthews Yard had been burgled the previous evening, and he was investigating.
Mr Bonar explained there must be a mistake because his business had not been burgled and Mr Ogunmuyiwa left. He has not yet explained his actions.
The Advertiser has seen an e-mail from Ms Rabbetts in which she corroborated Mr Bonar's account and described the incident as "most unusual".
Mr Bonar raised concerns about the encounter with several councillors, Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell and Mr Ogunmuyiwa's manager.
Last Saturday he received an e-mail from chief executive Nathan Elvery, in which he confirmed he was aware of the issue and had "instigated an investigation".
That afternoon, Mr Bonar met with the police who said the authority needed to look into the matter internally.
The Advertiser contacted the council and asked them to explain what Mr Ogunmuyiwa, who is listed online as the lead contact for Surrey StrEatery, the pop-up market near Matthews Yard, was doing at the café that day.
On Tuesday we were told by a press officer there was "nothing in it" and the council would not be making any comment. The officer would not confirm or deny that Mr Ogunmuyiwa was there.
Mr Bonar told the Advertiser: "I'm just confused by the whole thing and the wall of silence.
"A simple and honest conversation two weeks ago could have saved a lot of time and effort.
"He wasn't there to see me about a burglary. There was no doubt about it."
The unexplained visit came the morning after Mr Bonar publicly appealed for funds to help prevent Matthews Yard from going into administration.
Mr Bonar set up the venture after being inspired by the civic response to the 2011 riots.
It has become a popular café and community space but ran into difficulty last year – failing to pay staff and accruing debts of about £100,000.
