London Borough of Croydon
All you want to know about London Borough of Croydon
| London Borough of Croydon | |
 Shown within Greater London |
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| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Status | London borough |
| Area — Total |
Ranked 256th 86.52 km2 (33.4 sq mi) |
| ONS code | 00AH |
| Admin HQ | Taberner House, Park Lane, Croydon |
| Demographics | |
| Population — Total (2007 est.) — Density |
Ranked 9th (of 354) 339,500 3,924 /km² (10,163 /sq mi) |
| Ethnicity White British White Irish Other White White & Black Caribbean White & Black African White & Asian Other Mixed Indian Pakistani Bangladeshi Other Asian Black Caribbean Black African Other Black Chinese Other |
(2005 estimates)[1] 59.8% 1.9% 4.8% 1.5% 0.5% 1.1% 1.0% 7.5% 2.6% 0.6% 2.3% 7.9% 5.6% 1.1% 0.8% 1.0% |
| Politics | |
| Croydon London Borough Council | |
 |
|
| Leadership | Leader & Cabinet |
| Mayor | Cllr Jonathan Driver |
| Executive | Conservative |
| MPs | Richard Ottaway Andrew Pelling Malcolm Wicks |
| London Assembly — Member |
Croydon and Sutton Steve O'Connell |
| Coat of Arms | |
 |
|
| Official website | LB Croydon |
The London Borough of Croydon (pronunciation ) is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of 87 km2 (33.6 sq mi) and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London.[2] The borough is now one of London's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence in entertainment and the arts contribute to its status as a major metropolitan centre.
At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name. Croydon is mentioned in the Domesday Book, and from a small market town has expanded into one of the most populous areas on the fringe of London. Central Croydon is the civic centre of the borough and houses the largest office and retail centre in the south east of England outside Central London.
Croydon Council and its predecessor Croydon Corporation unsuccessfully applied for city status in 1954, 2000 and 2002. The area is currently going through a large regeneration project called Croydon Vision 2020 which is predicted to attract more businesses and tourists to the area as well as backing Croydon's bid to become London's Third City. Since 2003 Croydon has been certified as a Fairtrade borough by the Fairtrade Foundation. It was the first London Borough to have Fairtrade status which is awarded on a certain criteria.[3][4]
Contents |
History
The London Borough of Croydon was formed in 1965 from the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and the County Borough of Croydon.[5] It is now governed by a cabinet-style council created in 2001. The name Croydon comes from Crogdene or Croindone, named by the Saxons in the 8th century when they settled here, although the area had been inhabited since prehistoric times.[6] It is thought to derive from the Anglo-Saxon croeas deanas, meaning "the valley of the crocuses", indicating that, like Saffron Walden in Essex, it was a centre for the collection of saffron. Another opinion[7] holds that the name derives from the Old French croie dune, meaning "chalk hill", since Croydon stands at the northern edge of the chalk hills called the North Downs.[8]
By the time of the Norman invasion Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants as recorded in the Domesday Book.[9] The Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Lanfranc lived at Croydon Palace which still stands. Visitors included Thomas Beckett (another Archbishop), and royal figures such as King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.[10]
Croydon carried on through the ages as a prosperous market town, they produced charcoal, tanned leather, and ventured into brewing. Croydon was served by the Surrey Iron Railway, the first public railway (horse drawn) in the world, in 1803, and by the London to Brighton rail link in the mid-1800s, helping it to become the largest town in Surrey.[9]
In the 1900s Croydon became known for industries such as metal working, car manufacture and its aerodrome, Croydon Airport. The aerodrome became the largest in London and the main terminal for international air freight into the capital. Starting out during World War I as an airfield for protection against Zeppelins, and developing into one of the great airports of the world during the 1920s and 1930s, it welcomed the world's pioneer aviators in its heyday.[11] British Airways used the airport for a short period of time after redirecting from Northolt Aerodrome, and Croydon was the operating base for Imperial Airways. As aviation technology progressed, however, and aircraft became larger and more numerous, it was recognized in 1952 that the airport would be too small to cope with the ever-increasing volume of air traffic. The last scheduled flight departed on 30 September 1959. It was superseded as the main airport by both London Heathrow and London Gatwick Airport. The air terminal, now known as Airport House, has been restored and has a hotel and museum in it. It was partly due to the airport that Croydon suffered heavy bomb damage during World War II .[9]
In the late 1950s and through the 1960s the council commercialized the centre of Croydon with massive development of office blocks and the Whitgift Centre which was formerly the biggest in town shopping centre in Europe.[12] The centre was officially opened in October 1970 by the Duchess of Kent. The original Whitgift School there had moved to Haling Park, South Croydon in the 1930s; the replacement school on the site, Whitgift Middle School, now the Trinity School of John Whitgift, moved to Shirley Park in the 1960s when the buildings were demolished.
The present borough council unsuccessfully applied for city status in 2000 and again in 2002. If it had been successful it would have been the third local authority in Greater London to hold that status along with the City of London and the City of Westminster. At present the London Borough of Croydon is the second most populous Local government district of England without city status, Kirklees being the first. It is said that there applications were turned down due to a lack of a cathedral in the borough, a historic recommendation for cities.
Croydon is currently going through a vigorous regeneration plan, called Croydon Vision 2020. This will change the urban planning of Central Croydon completely. Its main aims are to make Croydon London's Third City and the hub of retail, business, culture and living in South London and South East England.[13] The plan was showcased in a series of events called Croydon Expo.[14] It was aimed at business and residents in the London Borough of Croydon to demonstrate the £3.5bn development projects the Council wishes to see in Croydon in the next ten years.[15] There have also been exhibitions for regional districts of Croydon, including Waddon, South Norwood and Woodside, Purley, New Addington and Coulsdon. Examples of upcoming architecture featured in the expo can easily be found to the centre of the borough in the form of the Croydon Gateway site and the Cherry Orchard Road Towers.[16]
Governance
The governance of the borough is by Croydon Council, which is responsible for the administration of Croydon. Croydon shares its London Assembly member with neighboring Sutton. It is a safe Conservative seat with the south of Croydon and parts of Sutton traditionally voting towards the Conservatives. The current Assembly Member is Steve O'Connell who was elected to the assembly in 2008 with a majority of 43%. Croydon is part of the London constituency in the European Parliament. Between 1979 and 1984 it formed part of the London South constituency, followed by London South and Surrey East between 1984 and 1999 before the adoption of proportional representation.[17]
Politics of Croydon Council
- Further information: Croydon local elections
The council consists of 70 councillors elected in 24 wards. From 1994 to 2006 the Labour Party controlled the council. Thirty-seven Labour and 31 Conservative councillors were elected in the 2002 elections, plus a lone Liberal Democrat, bolstered by a subsequent defection of a councillor who had originally been elected as a Conservative, defected to Labour, went back to the Conservatives and spent some time as an independent.
At the 2006 local elections the Conservatives regained control of the council after gaining 12 seats, taking ten seats from Labour in Addiscombe, Waddon and Norwood and the single Liberal Democrat seat in Coulsdon.[18] They had seen 6% swings from Labour to Conservative in the two previous by-elections, each won by the incumbent party. Since the 2006 elections, a by-election in February 2007 saw a large swing back to Labour from the Conservatives. The next election is due to take place in May 2010 along with all the other councils in London.
From February 2005 until May 2006 the Leader of Croydon Council was Labour Co-operative Councillor Tony Newman, succeeding Hugh Malyan. Mike Fisher, Conservative group leader since May 2005, was named as Council Leader following the Conservative victory. Croydon is a cabinet-style council, and the Leader heads a ten-person cabinet, its members responsible for areas such as education or planning. There is a Shadow Cabinet drawn from the principal opposition party. A backbench cross-party scrutiny and overview committee is in place to hold the executive cabinet to account.
The borough is covered by three parliamentary constituencies for the Westminster Parliament, these are Croydon North, Croydon Central and Croydon South. There are 24 wards which represent Croydon Council. All Croydon Council seats were up for re-election for the first time since the 2002 elections, during the election on 4 May 2006. Previously Labour held control of the council. In the election, the Conservatives took 10 seats from Labour and 1 from the Liberal Democrats.[19]
The controlling and majority group in the borough is the Conservative Party. Since the defection of a Labour councillor to the Conservatives,[20] the composition of the council has been 44 Conservatives, 26 Labour, and no Liberal Democrats.
Civic History
For much of its history, Croydon Council was controlled by the Conservative Party or conservative-leaning independents. Former Croydon councillors include current MP Andrew Pelling,[18] former MPs Vivian Bendall, David Congdon, Geraint Davies and Reg Prentice, London Assembly member Valerie Shawcross, Lord Bowness, John Donaldson, Baron Donaldson of Lymington (Master of the Rolls) and H.T. Muggeridge, MP and father of Malcolm Muggeridge. The first Mayor of the newly created County Borough was Jabez Balfour, later a disgraced Member of Parliament. Former Conservative Director of Campaigning, Gavin Barwell, has been a Croydon councillor since 1998 and will contest the Croydon Central seat for the Conservatives after the resignation of Andrew Pelling at the next general election.[21]
Some 10,000 people work directly or indirectly for the council, in its main offices in Taberner House or in its schools, care homes, housing offices or work depots. The council is generally well-regarded, having made important improvements in education and social services. However, there have been concerns over benefits, leisure services and waste collection. Although the council has one of London's lower rates of council tax, there are inevitable claims that it is too high and that resources are wasted.
The Mayor of Croydon for 2008-09 is Councillor Jonathan Driver. The Leader is Cllr Mike Fisher and the Deputy Leaders are Cllr Tim Pollard and Cllr Dudley Mead. The Chief Executive since 7 July 2007 has been Jon Rouse.
Government buildings
Croydon Town Hall on Katharine Street in Central Croydon houses the committee rooms, the mayor's and other councillors' offices, electoral services and the arts and heritage services.
The present Town Hall is Croydon's third. The first town hall is thought to have been built in either 1566 or 1609.[22] The second was built in 1808 to serve the growing town but was demolished after the present town hall was erected in 1895. The present town hall was designed by local architect Charles Henman[22] and was officially opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales on 19 May 1896. It was constructed in red brick, sourced from Wrotham in Kent, with Portland stone dressings and green Westmoreland slates for the roof. It also housed the court and most central council employees.
Parts, including the former court rooms, have been converted into the Museum of Croydon and exhibition galleries. The original public library is now a cinema, part of the Croydon Clocktower. The Braithwaite Hall is used for events and performances. The town hall was renovated in the mid-1990s and the imposing central staircase, long closed to the public and kept for councillors only, was re-opened in 1994. The civic complex, meanwhile, was substantially added to, with buildings across Mint Walk and the 19-floor Taberner House to house the rapidly expanding corporation's employees.
Ruskin House is the headquarters of Croydon's Labour, Trade Union and Co-operative movements and is itself a co-operative with shareholders from organisations across the three movements. In the nineteenth century, Croydon was a bustling commercial centre of London. It was said that, at the turn of the twentieth century, approximately £10,000 was spent in Croydon's taverns and inns every week. For the early labour movement, then, it was natural to meet in the town's public houses, in this environment. However, the temperance movement was equally strong, and Georgina King Lewis, a keen member of the Croydon United Temperance Council, took it upon herself to establish a dry centre for the labour movement. The first Ruskin House was highly successful, and there has been two more since.[23] The current house was officially opened in 1967 by the then Labour Prime Minister, Harold Wilson. Today, Ruskin House continues to serve as the headquarters of the Trade Union, Labour and Co-operative movements in Croydon, hosting a range of meetings and being the base for several labour movement groups. Office tenants include the headquarters of the Communist Party of Britain and Croydon Labour Party. Geraint Davies, the MP for Croydon Central, had offices in the building, until he was defeated by Andrew Pelling and is now the Labour representative standing for Swansea West in Wales.
Taberner House was built between 1964 and 1967, designed by architect H. Thornley, with Allan Holt and Hugh Lea as borough engineers. Although the council had needed extra space since the 1920s, it was only with the imminent creation of the London Borough of Croydon that action was taken. The building is in classic 1960s style, praised at the time but subsequently much derided. It has its elegant upper slab block narrowing towards both ends, a formal device which has been compared to the famous Pirelli Tower in Milan. It was named after Ernest Taberner OBE, Town Clerk from 1937 to 1963.[24]
Taberner House houses most of the council's central employees and its 'one-stop shop' is the main location for the public to access information and services, particularly with respect to housing.
Geography and climate
The borough is in the deep south of London, with the M25 orbital motorway stretching to the south of it, between Croydon and Tandridge. In the north and east of Croydon the authority mainly borders the London Borough of Bromley and in the north west the boroughs of Lambeth and Southwark. The boroughs of Sutton and Merton are located directly to the west. It is at the head of the River Wandle, just to the north of a significant gap in the North Downs. It lies 10 miles (16 km) south of London, and the earliest settlement may have been a Roman staging post on the London-Portslade road, although conclusive evidence has not yet been found. The main town centre houses a great variety of well-known stores on North End and two shopping centres. It was pedestrianised in 1989 to attract people back to the town centre. Another shopping centre called Park Place, is planned to be built by 2012.
Cityscape
The CR postcode area covers most of the south and centre of the London Borough of Croydon while the other parts in the north are covered by SW and SE postcodes include the areas of South Norwood and Selhurst, Upper Norwood, West Norwood, and Norbury and Streatham.
Districts in the London Borough of Croydon include Addington, a small village to the east of Croydon which until 2000 was poorly linked to the rest of the borough as it was without any railway or light rail stations with only a few patchy bus services to rely on. Addiscombe is a town just northeast of the centre of Croydon, and is popular with commuters to Central London due to its close proximity to the busy East Croydon station.[25] Ashburton, to the northeast of Croydon, is mostly home to residential houses and flats, being named after Ashburton House, one of the three big houses in the Addiscombe area.[26] Broad Green is a small district, centred on a large green with many homes and local shops in West Croydon.[27] Coombe is an area, just east of Croydon, which has barely been urbanised and has retained its collection of large houses fairly intact. Coulsdon, southwest of Central Croydon, which has retained a good mix of traditional high street shops as well as a large number of restaurants for its size.[28] Croydon is the principal area of the borough, Crystal Palace is an area north of Croydon, which is shared with the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham and Bromley.[29] Fairfield, just northeast of Croydon, holds the Fairfield Halls[30] and the village of Forestdale, to the east of Croydon's main area, commenced work in the late 1960s and completed in the mid-70s to create a larger town on what was previously open ground.[31] Hamsey Green is a place on the plateau of the North Downs, south of Croydon.[32] Kenley, again south of the centre, lie within the London Green Belt and features a landscape dominated by green space.[33] New Addington, to the east, is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside and golf courses.[34] Norbury, to the northwest, is a suburb with a large ethnic population.[35] Norwood New Town is a part of the Norwood triangle, to the north of Croydon. Monks Orchard is a small district made up of large houses and open space in the northeast of the borough.[36] Pollards Hill is a residential district with houses on roads, which are lined with pollarded lime trees, stretching to Norbury. Purley, to the south, is a main town whose name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'.[37] Sanderstead, to the south, is a village mainly on high ground at the edge of suburban development in Greater London.[38] Selhurst is a town, to the north of Croydon, which holds the nationally known school, The BRIT School. Selsdon is a suburb which was developed during the inter-war period in the 1920s and 1930s, and is remarkable for its many Art Deco houses, to the southwest of Croydon Centre. Shirley, is to the east of Croydon, and holds Shirley Windmill. South Croydon, to the south of Croydon, is a locality which holds local landmarks such as The Swan and Sugarloaf public house and independent Whitgift School part of the Whitgift Foundation.[39] South Norwood, to the north, is in common with West Norwood and Upper Norwood, named after a contraction of Great North Wood and has a population of around 14,590. Thornton Heath is a town, to the northwest of Croydon, which holds Croydon's principal hospital Mayday.[40] Upper Norwood is, west to Croydon, on a mainly elevated area of the borough. Waddon is a residential area, mainly based on the Purley Way retail area, to the west of the borough. West Croydon is west of Croydon and Woodside is located to the northeast of the borough, with streets based around Woodside Green, a small sized area of green land.[41] And finally Whyteleafe is a town, right to the edge of Croydon with some areas in the Surrey district of Tandridge.
Croydon is a gateway to the south from Central London, and therefore has a number of major roads running through it. Purley Way on the A23 road was built to by-pass Croydon town centre on which the A23 once did, is one of the busiest roads in the borough, and has been the site of several major retail developments including one of only 17 IKEA stores in the United Kingdom.[42][43] It carries on to Brighton Road which is the main route running towards the south from Croydon to Purley and continues on the A23. The centre of Croydon is very congested, and the urban planning has since become out of date and quite inadequate, due to the expansion of Croydon's main shopping area and office blocks. Wellesley Road, is a dual carriageway that cuts through the centre of the town, and makes it hard to interchange between the civic centre's two railway stations. Croydon Vision 2020 includes a plan for a more pedestrian-friendly replacement. It has also been named as one of the worst roads for cyclists in the area.[44] Construction of the Croydon Underpass beneath the junction of George Street and Wellesley Road/Park Lane during the early Sixties started, with the main aim to prevent traffic congestion on Park Lane, situated above the underpass. The Croydon Flyover on the other hand is situated near the underpass and next to Taberner House. It mainly leads traffic on to Duppas Hill, towards Purley Way with the intention for easy links with Sutton and Kingston upon Thames further afield. The major junction on the flyover is for Old Town, which is also a large three-lane road.
Topography and climate
| Climate chart for Croydon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| temperatures in °C precipitation totals in mm source: Met Office[45] |
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Imperial conversion
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Croydon covers an area of 86.52 km², the 256th largest district in England. Croydon's physical features consist of many hills and rivers that are spread out across the borough and into the North Downs, Surrey and the rest of South London. Addington Hills is a major floodplain in London for the Thames Valley and is recognised as a significant obstacle to the growth of London from its origins as a port on the north side of the river, to a large circular city. The Great North Wood is a former natural oak forest that covered the Sydenham Ridge and the southern reaches of the River Effra and its tributaries. The most notable tree, called Vicar's Oak, marked the boundary of four ancient parishes; Lambeth, Camberwell, Croydon and Bromley. John Aubrey[46] referred to this "ancient remarkable tree" in the past tense as early as 1718, but according to JB Wilson,[47] the Vicar's Oak survived until 1825. The River Wandle is also a major tributary of the River Thames, where it stretches to Wandsworth and Putney for 9 miles (14 km) from its main source in Waddon.
Croydon has a temperate climate in common with most areas of Great Britain, it is similar to that of Greenwich in Inner London: its Koppen climate classification is Cfb.[48][49] Its mean annual temperature of 9.6 °C is similar to that experienced throughout the Weald, and slightly cooler than nearby areas such as the Sussex coast and Central London.[50] Rainfall is considerably below England's average (1971–2000) level of 838 mm, and every month is drier overall than the England average.[51]
The nearest weather station is at Gatwick Airport.[52][53]
Architecture
- Further information: Architecture of Croydon and List of tallest buildings and structures in Croydon
The skyline of Croydon has significantly changed over the past 50 years. High rise buildings, mainly office blocks, now dominate the skyline. The most notable of these buildings include Croydon Council's headquarters Taberner House, which has been compared to the famous Pirelli Tower of Milan, and the Nestlé Tower, the UK headquarters of Nestlé
In recent years, the development of tall buildings, such as the approved Croydon Vocational Tower and Wellesley Square, has been encouraged in the London Plan, which will lead to the erection of new skyscrapers over the next few years as London goes through a high-rise boom.[54]
No.1 Croydon, formerly the NLA Tower, Britain's 88th tallest tower,[55] close to East Croydon station, is an example of 1970s architecture. The tower has been nicknamed the 50p building, as it resembles many 50p pieces in a pile. Lunar House is another high-rise building. Like other government office buildings on Wellesley Road, such as Apollo House, the name of the building was inspired by the US moon landings (In the Croydon suburb of New Addington there is a public house, built during the same period, called The Man on the Moon).
A new generation of buildings are being considered by the council as part of Croydon Vision 2020, so that the borough doesn't lose its title of having the "largest office space in the south east", excluding Central London.[56] Projects such as Wellesley Square, which will be a mix of residential and retail with an eye-catching colour design and 100 George Street a proposed modern office block are incorporated in this vision.
Notable events that have happened to Croydon's skyline include the Millennium project to create the largest single urban lighting project ever. It was created for the buildings of Croydon to illuminate them for the third millennium. Not only did this project give new lighting to the buildings, but it provided an opportunity to project onto them images and words, mixing art and poetry with coloured light, and also displaying public information after dark. Apart from increasing night time activity in Croydon and thereby reducing the fear of crime, it helped to promote the sustainable use of older buildings by displaying them in a more positive way.[57]
Demography
According to the 2001 census, Croydon has a population of around 269,100. In 2005 this was recorded to have risen up to 342,700, making Croydon the ninth most populous local authority in England out of 354 boroughs. 159,111 were males, with 171,476 females. In 2001 the number of people per hectare in Croydon was 38.21, in London 45.62, and in England 3.77.[58] The mean age of the residents of Croydon was 33.75 and 233,748 out of 330,587 residents described their health as 'good'.[59]
White is the majority ethnicity with over 72%, compared to 90% in England as a whole. Black or Black British was the second-largest ethnicity, over 13%; 11.3% is South Asian.[60]
The most common householder type were owner occupied with only a small percentage rented. Many new housing schemes and developments are currently taking place in Croydon, such as The Exchange and Bridge House, IYLO, Wellesley Square and Altitude 25. The Metropolitan Police recorded a 10% fall in the number of crimes committed in Croydon, better than the rate which crime in London as a whole is falling, in 2006.[61] Croydon has had the highest fall in the number of cases of violence against the person in South London, and is one of the top 10 safest local authorities in London. According to Your Croydon (a local community magazine) this is due to a stronger partnership struck between Croydon Council and the police.[62] In 2007, overall crime figures across the borough saw decrease of 5%, with the number of incidents decreasing from 32,506 in 2006 to 30,862 in 2007.[63] Croydon has five police stations. Croydon police station is on Park Lane in the centre of the town near the Fairfield Halls; South Norwood police station is a newly refurbished building just of the High Street; Norbury police station is on London Road; Kenley station is on Godstone Road; and New Addington police station is on Addington Village road.
Population change
The table below details the population change since 1901, including the percentage change since the last available census data. Although the London Borough of Croydon has existed as a london borough since 1963, figures have been generated by combining data from the towns, villages, and civil parishes that would later be constituent parts of the authority.
| Population growth in Croydon since 1901 | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 1951 | 1961 | 1971 | 1981 | 1991 | 2001 |
| Population | 141,918 | 185,914 | 221,692 | 264,358 | 281,273 | 299,271 | 316,084 | 333,942 | 316,296 | 319,218 | 330,688 |
| Population change | – | +43,996 | +35,778 | +42,666 | +16,915 | +17,998 | +16,813 | +17,858 | −17,646 | +2,922 | +11,470 |
| Source: A Vision of Britain through Time | |||||||||||
Economy
- Further information: Economy of Croydon
| Labour Profile[64] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Total employee jobs | 128,800 | |
| Full-time | 91,100 | 70.7% |
| Part-time | 37,700 | 29.3% |
| Manufacturing | 5,400 | 4.2% |
| Construction | 6,300 | 4.9% |
| Services | 117,000 | 90.9% |
| Distribution, hotels & restaurants | 30,500 | 23.7% |
| Transport & communications | 6,900 | 5.4% |
| Finance, IT, other business activities | 33,800 | 26.2% |
| Public admin, education & health | 38,900 | 30.2% |
| Other services | 6,900 | 5.3% |
| Tourism-related | 9,100 | 7.1% |
The main employment sectors of the Borough is retail and enterprise which is mainly based in Central Croydon. Major employers are well-known companies, who hold stores or offices in the town. Purley Way is a major employer of people, looking for jobs as sales assistants, sales consultants and store managerial jobs. IKEA Croydon, when it was built in 1992, brought many non-skilled jobs to Croydon. The store, which is a total size of 23,000 m²,[65] took over the former site of Croydon Power station, which had led to the unemployment of many skilled workers. In May 2006, the extension of the IKEA made it the fifth biggest employer in Croydon, and includes the extension of the showroom, market hall and self-serve areas.[66] Other big employers around Purley is the large Tesco Extra store in Purley, along with other stores in Purley Way which include, Sainsbury's, B&Q, Comet, Vue and Toys "R" Us along with many others. Croydon town centre is also a major retail centre, and home to many High Street and department stores as well as designer boutiques. The main town centre shopping areas are on the North End precinct, Whitgift Centre, Centrale and the St George's Walk. Department stores in Croydon town centre include House of Fraser, Marks and Spencer, Allders, Debenhams, T.K. Maxx and Woolworths. Croydon's main market is Surrey Street Market, which has a royal charter dating back to 1276. Shopping areas outside the city centre include the Valley Park retail park, Croydon Colonnades, Croydon Fiveways, and the Waddon Goods Park.
In a 2005 survey on spending potential, Croydon came 21st (second in London behind the West End which came out first) with £909 million while the next London retail centre, Kingston upon Thames came 24th with £864 million.[67] In a 2004 survey on the top retail destinations, Croydon was 27th.[68]
In 2007, Croydon leapt up the annual business growth league table, with a 14% rise in new firms trading in the borough after 125 new companies started up, increasing the number from 900 to 1,025, enabling the town, which has also won the Enterprising Britain Award and "the most enterprising borough in London" award,[69] to jump from 31 to 14 in the table.[69]
Croydon is home to a variety of international business communities, each with dynamic business networks, so businesses located in Croydon are in a good position to make the most of international trade and recruit from a labour force fluent in 130 languages.
—Malcolm Brabon, Business Link London, Croydon Guardian
Tramlink created many jobs when it opened in 2000, not only drivers but engineers as well. Many of the people involved came from Croydon, which was the original hub of the system. Retail stores inside both Centrale and the Whitgift Centre as well as on North End employee people regularly and create many jobs, especially at Christmas. As well as the new building of Park Place, which will create yet more jobs, so will the regeneration of Croydon, called Croydon Vision 2020, highlighted in the Croydon Expo which includes the Croydon Gateway, Wellesley Square, Central One plus much more.
Croydon is a major office area in the south east of England, being the largest outside of Central London. Many powerful companies based in Europe and worldwide have European or British headquarters in the town. American International Group (AIG), the sponsors of Manchester United F.C. has its European headquarters in East Croydon in No.1 Croydon formerly the NLA Tower (50p building), shared with Liberata, Pegasus and the Institute of Public Finance.[70] AIG is the sixth-largest company in the world according to the 2007 Forbes Global 2000 list. The Swiss company Nestlé has its UK headquarters in Croydon in the Nestlé Tower, on the site of the proposed Park Place shopping centre, so the offices may be modernised and re-newed causing the company to relocate for a while. Real Digital International has developed a purpose built 70,000 sq ft (6,500 m2) factory on Purley Way equipped with the most sophisticated production equipment and technical solutions.[71] ntl:Telewest now Virgin Media has offices at Communications House, from the Telewest side when it was known as Croydon Cable.[72] The Home Office UK Border Agency has its headquarters in Lunar House in Central Croydon. In 1981, Superdrug opened a 11,148 m² (120,000 ft²) distribution centre and office complex at Beddington Lane. The head office of international engineering and management consultant Mott MacDonald is located in St Anne House on Wellesley Road. BT has large offices in Prospect East in Central Croydon.[73] The Royal Bank of Scotland also has large offices in Purley, south of Croydon. Direct Line also has an office opposite Taberner House. Other companies with headquarters in Croydon include Lloyds TSB, Merrill Lynch and Balfour Beatty. Ann Summers used to have its headquarters in the borough but has moved to the Wopses Lodge Roundabout in Tandridge.
Landmarks
There are a large number of attractions and places of interest all across the borough of Croydon, ranging from historic sites in the north and south to modern towers in the centre.
Croydon Airport was once London's main airport, but closed on 30 September 1959 due to the expansion of London and the need of more room at the airport which was impossible to provide, so Heathrow International Airport took over as London's main airport. It is now disused and is a tourist attraction.[11] The Croydon Clocktower arts venue was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.[22] It includes the David Lean Cinema (built in memory of David Lean), the Museum of Croydon and Croydon Central Library. The Museum of Croydon (formerly known as Croydon Lifetimes Museum) highlights Croydon in the past and the present and currently features high-profile exhibitions including the Riesco Collection, The Art of Dr Seuss and the Whatever the Weather gallery.[74] Shirley Windmill is a working windmill and one of the few surviving large windmills in Surrey, built in 1854. It is Grade II listed and received a £218,100 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.[75] Addington Palace is an 18th century mansion in Addington which was originally built as Addington Place in the 16th century. The palace became the official second residence of six Archbishops, five of whom are buried in St Mary's Church and churchyard nearby.[76] North End is the main pedestrianised shopping road in Croydon, having Centrale to one side and the Whitgift Centre to the other. The Warehouse Theatre is a popular theatre for mostly young performers and is due to get a face-lift on the Croydon Gateway site. The Nestlé Tower is the UK headquarters of Nestlé[77] and is one of the tallest towers in England, which is due to be re-fitted during the Park Place development. The Fairfield Halls is a well known concert hall and exhibition centre, opened in 1962. It is frequently used for BBC recordings and was formerly the home of ITV's World of Sport.[30] It includes the Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery. Croydon Palace was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years and included regular visitors such as Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I. It is thought to have been built around 960. Croydon Cemetery is a large cemetery and crematorium west of Croydon and is most famous for the gravestone of Derek Bentley, who was wrongly hanged in 1953. Mitcham Common is an area of common land partly shared with the boroughs of Sutton and Merton. Almost 500,000 years ago, Mitcham Common formed part of the river bed of the River Thames.[78] The BRIT School is a performing Arts & Technology school, owned by the BRIT Trust (known for the BRIT Awards Music Ceremony). Famous former students include Kellie Shirley, Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, Kate Nash, Dane Bowers, Katie Melua and Lyndon David-Hall.[79] Grants is an entertainment venue in the centre of Croydon which includes a Vue cinema and the Tiger Tiger nightclub.[80] Taberner House houses the main offices of Croydon Council, and was built between 1964 and 1967. It has been compared to the Pirelli Tower in Milan. Surrey Street Market has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276 linking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The market is regularly used as a location for TV, film and advertising. Beanos, a collectors' record store that has been in Croydon for over three decades, was once the largest second-hand record shop in Europe.[81] The Parish Church of St John the Baptist is a large church dating from the 15th century. It was largely destroyed by fire in 1867 and rebuilt by Sir George Gilbert Scott. It is the burial place of six Archbishops of Canterbury with monuments to Archbishops Sheldon and Whitgift. BedZED, Beddington Zero Energy Development, is on the outskirts of the borough.
Transport
There are two main interchanges for all public transport modes (national and local rail, tram, and local buses) at West Croydon and East Croydon station.
National and international travel
Croydon is linked into the national motorway network via the M23 and M25 orbital motorway. The M25 skirts the south of the borough, linking Croydon with other parts London and the surrounding counties; the M23 branches from the M25 close to Coulsdon, linking the town with the South Coast, Crawley, Reigate, and London Gatwick Airport. The A23 connects the borough with the motorways. The A23 is the major trunk road through Croydon, linking it with Central London, East Sussex, Horsham, and Littlehaven. The old London to Brighton road, passes through the west of the borough on Purley Way, bypassing the commercial centre of Croydon which it once did.
The Brighton Main Line railway route south from Croydon links the town to Sussex, Surrey, and Kent and to Central London to the north: providing direct services to Hastings, Southampton, Brighton, Portsmouth, Gatwick Airport, Bedford and Luton. Also running through Croydon is the N/S cross-country line which links Manchester and Reading directly with South London, the Southeast, and the South Coast. The main station for all these services is East Croydon station in the centre of the town centre. East Croydon station is the largest and busiest station in Croydon, third busiest in London, excluding Travelcard Zone 1. The station at West Croydon serves all trains travelling west except the fastest. There are also more regional stations scattered around the borough. Passenger rail services through Croydon are provided by Southern, Southeastern, First Capital Connect and CrossCountry.[82] A pilot scheme launched by the Strategic Rail Authority, Transport for London and three train operators is designed to encourage more passengers to travel off-peak. In full partnership with the South London Boroughs which includes Croydon, SWELTRAC, SELTRANS and the transport users group, the scheme promotes the advantages of off-peak travel following improvements to safety, travel connections and upgrading of station facilities. The Thameslink Programme (formerly known as Thameslink 2000), is a £3.5 billion major project to expand the Thameslink network from 51 to 172 stations[83] spreading northwards to Bedford, Peterborough, Cambridge and King's Lynn and southwards to Guildford, Eastbourne, Horsham, Hove to Littlehampton, East Grinstead, Ashford and Dartford. The project includes the lengthening of platforms, station remodelling, new railway infrastructure (e.g. viaduct) and additional rolling stock. When implemented, First Capital Connect services would call at other stations in the borough including Purley and Norwood Junction.
The closest international airport to Croydon is London Gatwick Airport, which is located 19 miles (31 km) from the city centre. The airport opened on August 1930 and is a major international operational base for British Airways, easyJet and Virgin Atlantic. It currently handles around 35 million passengers a year making it London's second largest airport and the second busiest airport in the United Kingdom after