It was the end of an era for many revellers on Saturday as Croydon nightspot Tiger Tiger shut its doors for the last time.

Since reports of the High Street club's closure first emerged last week, there have been outpourings of grief on social media about the loss of yet another Croydon late-night venue.

Jan 5: Revellers mourn as Tiger Tiger nightclub in Croydon announces closure

One prominent voice was that of Thornton Heath musician Plastician, who wrote in a Facebook post that Tiger Tiger's closure represented the latest step in the "self destruction of Croydon's once buzzing night time economy".

And yesterday Croydon Council leader Tony Newman was forced to hit back at suggestions that his administration is "managing away" the borough’s nightlife in favour of more 'family-friendly' redevelopment.

He said: "I don't buy that at all. You would think at times when you read some of the comments that the council run Tiger Tiger.

"If nightclubs are profitable, they keep running. Croydon is changing, but there is a lot of stuff happening out there you might call grass roots stuff. I think there is a vibrant economy out there."

Mr Newman used the examples of Matthew’s Yard and the Oval Tavern as venues that appeared to be going from strength to strength.

But he also said there should be a focus on "speaking about the 'evening economy'...I think there is [a distinction]."

He added: "It's not to say that if you get that right, then for a smaller group of people you have the club.

"[But] I think the clubs themselves have got to make a pitch to today's generation, and that perhaps Tiger Tiger was not doing that as successfully as it was all those years ago."

Tiger Tiger is the latest in a string of late-night spots to close in the town centre in recent years, although arguably the most high-profile.

In the wake of the club’s closure, Conservative councillor Mario Creatura has promised to hold a public meeting to discuss the state of the night time economy in Croydon.

He said: "Lots of people are divided about whether Tiger Tiger closing is a good or a bad thing, but we can all agree that Croydon’s night-life has been declining for a number of years now and it doesn’t seem like anything is being done to stop it."

Paul Bossick, who runs the Bad Apple bar in Park Street, said that late night-venues such as his were "a bit of a dying breed" in the town centre.

He said: "I think some of the venues are still doing quite well - we're still growing year on year. But it's more comfortable to have a small piece of a big cake than a big piece of a small cake, which is what we have at the moment."

Mr Bossick, who managed Black Sheep bar in High Stret before it closed in 2013, said he believed a combination of heavy-handed policing and an "obsession" with redevelopment was making it harder for traditional late night venues to survive.

He said: "I can't prove what I am about to say, but the late night economy is being managed away.

“It’s a bit difficult to stay open if no one wants you around."

In his Facebook post, Plastician wrote: "The only way Croydon could claw back any kind of night time economy is to provide it with a decent enough venue to attract established, legitimate promoters and nightclub owners to invest in us.

"There are tens of thousands of people who travel out of Croydon every weekend to go clubbing. Why not provide them with a local alternative?"

Were you there on Tiger Tiger's last night open? Call the newsdesk on 020 8722 6388 or email daniel.omahony@newsquest.co.uk