London Borough of Croydon

For other places called Croydon see Croydon (disambiguation)
For details of the town of Croydon on which this borough is centred see Croydon Template:Infobox London Borough The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in South London, England and part of Outer London. It covers an area of 34 square miles (87 km²) and it is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London.

The borough is now one of London's leading business, financial and cultural centres, and its influence in entertainment and the arts all contribute to its status as a major national town. People come from around the country for the attractions which include a multitude of shopping, nightlife, and entertainment venues.

At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name. Croydon is mentioned in the Doomsday Book, and from a small market town has expanded into one of the most populous areas on the fringe of London. The name Croydon 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 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).

The area is currently going through a large re-generation project, Croydon Vision 2020, which is hoped to attract more businesses and tourists to the area, to secure the borough's third city status. Central Croydon is the civic centre of Croydon and houses the largest office and retail centre in the South East of England other than Central London.

Croydon unsuccessfully applied for city status in 2000 and again in 2002.

Background

History

The London Borough of Croydon was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Coulsdon and Purley Urban District and the County Borough of Croydon. It is now governed by a cabinet-style council created in 2001.

Arms of the former Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council

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 pre-historic times. By the time of the Norman invasion Croydon had a church, a mill and around 365 inhabitants as recorded in the Doomsday Book. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Archbishop Lanfranc lived at Croydon Palace which still stands today. Visitors included Thomas Beckett (another Archbishop), and royal figures such as King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.

Croydon carried on through the ages as a prosperous market town, they produced charcoal, tanned leather, and got into brewing. Croydon saw the first railway (horse drawn) in the world in 1803, and later became a vital link in the London to Brighton rail link in the mid-1800s, helping Croydon to become the largest town in Surrey.

Into the 1900's and Croydon became known for its industry such as metal working, car manufacture and its aerodrome, Croydon Airport. It was partly due to this that Croydon suffered heavy bomb damage during World War Two.

In the late 50s and through the sixties the Council commercialised the centre of Croydon with massive development of office blocks and the Whitgift Shopping Centre. The original Whitgift School there had to move to its current site today.

There are also many former constituencies in the Borough, which include Croydon East, the historic Croydon South, Croydon North East, Croydon North West, Croydon West and Croydon.

Croydon 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, the others being the City of London and the City of Westminster. The London Borough of Croydon is also the second most populous Local government district of England without city status; Kirklees being the first.

Future

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 aim is to make Croydon 'London's Third City' and the hub of retail, business, culture and living in South London and South East England. The plan was showcased in a series of events called Croydon Expo. 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. It included the re-development of New Addington, Central Croydon (Park Place and Croydon Gateway sites) plus leisure facilities across the whole borough.

Governance

The governance of the borough is Croydon Council, which is responsible for the administration of Croydon.

Politics of Croydon Council

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 2002, 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. 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 in May 2010.

From February 2005 until May 2006, the Leader of Croydon Council was Labour Co-operative Councillor Tony Newman, succeeding Hugh Malyan. Mike Fisher, Tory 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.

Summary of council election results:

	Overall control
2006	Conservative
2002	Labour
1998	Labour
1994	Labour
1990	Conservative
1986	Conservative
1982	Conservative
1978	Conservative
1974	Conservative
1971	Conservative
1968	Conservative
1964	No overall control

Main article: Croydon local elections

The borough is covered by three parliamentary constituencies for the Westminster Parliament, these are:

• Croydon North
• Croydon Central
• 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 May 4, 2006. Previously Labour held control of the council. In the election, the Conservatives took 10 seats from Labour and 1 from the Liberal Democrats, giving the newly elected council's political composition as:

The controlling and majority group in the borough is the Conservative Party. Since the May 2006 local elections, the composition has been:

Party	Councillors
Conservative Party	43
Labour Party	27
British National Party	1
Liberal Democrats	0

Main article: Croydon Council election 2006

Council services

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.

Croydon Council Commercial Logo

Croydon Council Commercial Logo

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 London Borough of Croydon is twinned with Arnhem in the Netherlands. There is also a Guyana link supported by the council.

The Mayor of Croydon for 2006-07 is Councillor Janet Marshall.

• Leader - Cllr Mike Fisher
• Deputy Leaders - Cllr Steve O'Connell and Cllr Dudley Mead
• Chief Executive - David Wechsler - Jon Rouse (from July 7)

Civic History

See also Croydon local elections

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, 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.

Croydon Town Hall

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.

Croydon's Victorian Town Hall

The present Town Hall is Croydon's third. The first town hall is thought to have been built in either 1566 or 1609. 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 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.

Taberner House

Croydon Council's Taberner House offices

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 of Milan. It was named after Ernest Taberner OBE, Town Clerk from 1937 to 1963.

Taberner House now 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.

Ruskin House

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. 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.

Twinning

• - Arnhem, Netherlands

The London Borough of Croydon is twinned with the municipality of Arnhem which is located in the east of the Netherlands. The city of Arnhem is one of the 10 largest cities in the Netherlands.

Geography and climate

The borough sits on the edge of London, with the M25 motorway just south of it, touching Tandridge. In Croydon North the borough mainly borders the London Borough of Bromley to the east and the Lambeth to the north. The boroughs of Sutton and Merton are directly to the west.

The town is situated 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.

Croydon's main town centre houses a great variety of well-known stores on North End as well as two shopping centres in the town. It was pedestrianized in 1989 to attract people back to the town centre. Another shopping centre called Park Place, is planned to be built by 2012.

Roads

North End shopping street after the pedestrianization of the road

The centre of Croydon is also 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.

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 to 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.

Brighton Road is the main road running south from South Croydon to Purley and continues on the A23.

Purley Way on the A23, built to by-pass Croydon town centre, is one of the busiest roads in the borough, and has been the site of several major retail developments.

Topography and climate

Croydon
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     52     8 2     34     8 2     42     11 4     45     13 5     47     17 8     53     20 11     38     23 14     47     23 13     57     19 11     62     15 8     52     11 5     54     9 3 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °C █ Precipitation totals in mm Source: Met Office
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     2     46 36     1.3     46 36     1.7     52 39     1.8     55 41     1.9     63 46     2.1     68 52     1.5     73 57     1.9     73 55     2.2     66 52     2.4     59 46     2     52 41     2.1     48 37 █ Average max. and min. temperatures in °F █ Precipitation totals in inches

Croydon covers an area of 86.52 km², making it ranked as 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 referred to this "ancient remarkable tree" in the past tense as early as 1718, but according to JB Wilson, the Vicar's Oak survived until 1825. The River Wandle is also a major tributary of the River Thames, where it stretches from Wandsworth and Putney for 9 miles (14 km) until it reaches its main destination point of 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. 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. Rainfall is considerably below England's average (1971–2000) level of 838 mm, and every month is drier overall than the England average.

The nearest weather station is at Gatwick Airport.

Neighbourhoods and areas

Main article: CR postcode area

St. Mary's Church, Addington, London Borough of Croydon

The offices of the former Coulsdon and Purley Urban District Council

Postcode areas that cover the London Borough of Croydon include SE25, that mainly covers South Norwood, SE19, that mainly covers Upper Norwood, SE27, that mainly covers West Norwood and SW16, with Streatham as the main area. The other postcodes include CR0, CR2, CR3, CR5, CR7, CR8 and CR9 all in Croydon.

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. 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. Broad Green is a small district, centred on a large green with many homes and local shops in West Croydon. 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. 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. Fairfield, just northeast of Croydon, holds the Fairfield Halls 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. Hamsey Green is a place on the plateau of the North Downs, south of Croydon. Kenley, again south of the borough, lie within the London Green Belt and features a landscape dominated by green space. New Addington, to the east, is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside and golf courses. Norbury, to the northwest, is a suburb with a large ethnic population. 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. 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'. Sanderstead, to the south, is a village mainly on high ground at the edge of suburban development in Greater London. Selhurst is a town, to the north of Croydon, which holds the nationwide 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. 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. 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. And finally Whyteleafe is a town, right to the edge of Croydon with some areas in the Surrey district of Tandridge.

See also: List of districts in the London Borough of Croydon

Architecture

Lunar House, a current high rise building in Central Croydon

File:Cherryorchard.JPG

Computer Generated image of proposed Cherry Orchard Road Towers

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 being Croydon Council's own headquarters Taberner House which has been compared to the famous Pirelli Tower of Milan.

In recent years, the development of tall buildings 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.

The NLA Tower, Britain's 88th tallest tower, close to East Croydon station, is an example of original 1970's architecture. The tower has been nicknamed as the 50p building, as it resembles many 50p pieces in a pile toppled over each other. Lunar House is another high rise building in Croydon, which as with 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 so that Croydon doesn't lose its title of having the "largest office space in the south east", excluding Central London. 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.

Demographics

File:IYLO.JPG

Computer generated image of new apartments, called IYLO, in Croydon

According to the 2001 census, Croydon has a population of around 269,100 although 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. Out of this 159,111 were recorded to be males, with the overall majority of females around 171,476. The 2001 Density census records the number of people per hectare. The rate for Croydon was 38.21, compare this to the rest of London, which is much more crowded at 45.62 and the rest of England which was an average of just 3.77. The mean age of the residents of Croydon was 33.75 and 233,748 out of 330,587 residents described their health as 'good'.

As for ethnicity, white is the majority with over 72%, although compare this to the rest of England where about 90% of the people come under the white ethnicity. Black or Black British was the second largest record ethnicity, as it made up over 13% of the authority. 11.3% is South Asian.

The most common householder type were owner occupied with only a small percent, compared to Inner London, rented from either the council or the Housing Association. 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. In terms of crime, the Metropolitan Police have 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. Croydon has had the highest fall in the number of cases of violence against the person in South London, and, in terms of overall crime numbers, it 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. In 2007, overall crime figures across the borough have seen a decrease of 5% - with the total number of incidents decreasing from 32,506 in 2006 to 30,862 in 2007. Croydon currently holds five different police stations which stretch across the borough. Croydon police station is on Park Lane in the centre of the town and is in close proximity to 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.

Economy

Further information: [[:Economy of London]]

Labour Profile
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 23,000m², 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. 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.

In 2007, Croydon leapt up the annual business growth league table, with a 14 per cent rise in new firms trading in the borough after 125 new companies started up in Croydon, increasing the total 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, to jump from 31 to 14 in the table.

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

The Croydon 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.

Direct Line House in Central Croydon are occupied by the Direct Line insurance firm

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 headquarters and British headquarters in the city. American International Group (AIG), the sponsors of Manchester United F.C. have their European headquarters in East Croydon inside the tallest office building in the city, No1 Croydon formerly known as the NLA Tower and 50p building, shared with other companies Liberata, Pegasus and the Institute of Public Finance. AIG has been described as the sixth-largest company in the world according to the 2007 Forbes Global 2000 list. The Swiss company Nestlé also has there UK headquarters in Croydon, known as the Nestlé Tower, and is 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. ntl:Telewest now Virgin Media has offices at Communications House, from the Telewest side when it was known as Croydon Cable. The Home Office Border and Immigration 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 in Croydon. BT has large offices in Prospect East in Central Croydon. 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 their headquarters inside the borough but have since moved to the Wopses Lodge Roundabout in Tandridge.

Places of interest

File:DH 91 Albatross - Fortuna - Croydon Airport 1939.jpg

The control tower of Croydon Airport in 1939, with the Imperial Airways de Havilland DH 91 Albatross Fortuna alongside

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 down 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. The Croydon Clocktower arts venue was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. 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 and the Whatever the Weather gallery. 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. 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. 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 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. 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.

File:Bedzed.jpg

BedZED

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. Grants is an entertainment venue in the centre of Croydon which includes a Vue cinema and the Tiger Tiger nightclub. 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. 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 then 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

Main articles: List of stations in London Borough of Croydon and Tramlink

Croydon is a hub for transport, and is one of the most commuter friendly places to live in London. The old London to Brighton road, the A23, passes through the west of the borough on Purley Way, the retail district of Croydon which includes an IKEA store. The M25 motorway forms part of the boundary of the borough. The M23 motorway also starts at the very south of the borough and borders Tandridge.

Former lines on the Woodside and South Croydon Railway

Due to the lack of London Underground stations in the borough, South London has an extensive railway network, the busiest in London. The main line through Croydon is the Brighton Main Line which travels from either Victoria or London Bridge station to a number of destinations in Sussex, Surrey and Kent. The main operator of services in the borough is currently contracted to Southern although others include Southeastern, First Capital Connect and CrossCountry. East Croydon station is currently the largest and busiest station in Croydon, third busiest in London (excluding Travelcard Zone 1)

The East London Line is to be extended to the borough by 2010 as part of London Overground, two stations, Norwood Junction and West Croydon, will be connected to London Underground services. Currently the closest tube station is apparently Morden tube station, 139 minutes away to the west.

Croydon is the hub of Tramlink services in the capital. It is the only tram system in London at the moment and was once called the Croydon Tramlink but was changed due to expansion.

A map of the Tramlink network.

Now it serves Wimbledon, New Addington, Elmers End, Beckenham, Mitcham and the Purley Way retail and industrial area.

There are also a large number of London Bus services in the borough that reach Central London, Purley Way, Bromley, Lewisham and a number of other civic centres in the South. London Buses route X26, the longest London Bus route in London, provides services to Heathrow Airport via Richmond and Sutton. There is a large bus station at West Croydon which is undergoing a major re-development to make the station more modern and future proof.

Services

Bethlem Royal Hospital, Shirley

Health

Mayday University Hospital is a major NHS hospital built on a 19 acre site, located in Thornton Heath near the west of the borough. Mayday is a District General Hospital with a 24-hour accident and emergency department. NHS Direct has a regional centre based at the hospital. Former names of the hospital include the Croydon Union Infirmary from 1885 to 1923 and the Mayday Road Hospital from 1923 to around 1930. The NHS Trust also provides services at Purley War Memorial Hospital, in Purley.

There used to be a hospital on Duppas Hill but services transferred to Mayday, as the size of this hospital was insufficient to cope with the growing population of the borough. Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Centre and the Emergency Minor Treatment Centre are other smaller hospitals operated by the Mayday in the borough. Cane Hill is a psychiatric hospital in Coulsdon.

Education

Main article: Schools in Croydon

The borough is one of the boroughs in London with the most schools in it. They include primary schools (95), secondary schools (21) and three further education establishments. Croydon College has its main building in Central Croydon, it is a high rise building. John Ruskin College is one of the other colleges in the borough, located in Addington and Coulsdon College in Coulsdon. The London Borough of Croydon is the local education authority for the borough.

The Croydon Playcare Company(aka Gingerbread Corner)was the first Latchkey sceme in England set up in 1976 and was then called Croydon Gingerbread Charities. Its main aim was to provide quality childcare for single parents of children aged between 5 -11 during school holidays and after school. Now almost 30 years later Playcare has grown and now caters for children between the ages of 0 -16 and includes school pick up and drop off, a nursery and 11 Plus youth club. [1]

Libraries

One of the local Libraries in Croydon

The borough of Croydon has 14 libraries, a joint library and 1 mobile library. Many of the libraries where built a long time ago and therefore have become outdated, so the council started updating a few including Ashburton Library which moved from its former spot into the state-of-the-art Ashburton Learning Village complex which is on the former site of the old 'A Block' of Ashburton Community School which is now situated inside the centre. The library is now on 1 floor. This is what the council wanted to roll out around the borough but due to the cost of this one, it was decided that doing this would cost to much.

South Norwood Library, New Addington Library, Shirley Library, Thornton Heath Library, Selsdon Library, Sanderstead Library, Purley Library, Coulsdon Library and Bradmore Green Library are examples of older council libraries. The main library is Croydon Central Library which holds many references, newspaper archives and a tourist information point (one of three in South East London). Upper Norwood Library is a joint library with the London Borough of Lambeth. This means that both councils fund the library and its resources, but even though Lambeth have nearly doubled their funding for the library in the past several years Croydon has kept it the same, doubting the future of the library.

Religion

2001 Census
	Croydon	London
Christian	215,124	4,176,175
Buddhist	1,579	54,297
Hindu	16,781	291,977
Muslim	17,642	607,083
Sikh	1,310	104,230
Atheist (No Religion)	48,615	1,130,616
Other Religions	2,830	186,347

Croydon is made up of many different cultures and ethnicity's from around the world. According to the United Kingdom Census 2001, the borough has over 215,124 Christian's, mainly Protestants. This is the largest religious following in the borough and has many more believers than the next religion Islam. There are just 17,642 Muslim followers in the borough, which makes up some of the 607,083 in London as a whole. But over 48,615 people are atheists, meaning that they don't believe in a religion at all, compared to only 26,506 people in close by borough of Kingston upon Thames, although this is a less populated borough.

There are currently more than 35 churches in the borough, with Croydon Parish Church being the main one. This church was founded in Saxon times, since there is a record of "a priest of Croydon" in 960, although the first record of a church building is in the Domesday Book (1086). In its final medieval form, the church was mainly a Perpendicular-style structure, but this was severely damaged by fire in 1867, following which only the tower, south porch and outer walls remained. Under the direction of Sir George Gilbert Scott the church was rebuilt, incorporating the remains and essentially following the design of the medieval building, and was reconsecrated in 1870. It still contains several important monuments and fittings saved from the old church.

Croydon is currently going through a large re-generation plan and part of that plan is to add a Cultural Quarter to the centre of Croydon. This includes Bridge House and The Exchange, plans for loft style urban living to the centre of town.

Croydon has strong religious links, from a royal charter for Surrey Street Market dating back to 1276, to Croydon Palace which was the summer residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury for over 500 years. With visitors such as Henry III and Queen Elizabeth I. The Bishop of Croydon is a position as a suffragan Bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Southwark. The current bishop is Rt Rev Nicholas (Nick) Baines. A list of the Bishops of the Episcopal Area of Croydon include:

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
1937 to 1942	William Louis Anderson	(1892-1972)
1942 to 1947	Maurice Harland	(1896-1986)
1947 to 1956	Cuthbert Killick Norman Bardsley	(1907-1991)
1956 to 1977	John Taylor Hughes	(1908-2001)
1977 to 1985	Stuart Snell	(d. 1988)
1985 to 2002	Wilfred Wood	(b. 1936)
2003 to present	Nicholas Baines	(b. 1957)

Sport and Leisure

Further information: [[:Croydon parks and open spaces]]

The borough has been criticized in the past for not having enough leisure facilities, maintaining the position of Croydon as a three star borough. At the moment only three leisure centres are open for public use and two of these are expected to be closed down in the near future, with plans for only one of them to be re-built. Thornton Heath's aging sports centre was recently knocked down, and replaced by a newer more modern leisure centre. South Norwood Leisure Centre was closed down in early 2006 so that it could be knocked completely down and re-designed from scratch like Thornton Heath, which would cost around £10 million.

South Norwood Country Park

In May 2006 the Conservative Party became in charge of Croydon and decided that doing this would cost too much money, so they came up with another idea of just re-furbishing the centre, although this decision didn't come without its controversy.

Purley Pool, is to close as well soon, but a new "super-pool" is planned in Coulsdon. The aging New Addington Leisure Centre is also set to close but is to be re-built. A new leisure centre is also going to be built on the A23, southern end of Purley Way in Waddon.

Sport Croydon, currently is the commercial arm for leisure in the borough and the logo is seen somewhere in each of the centres. Fusion currently provides leisure services for the council which previously used Parkwood Leisure which itself provides services for nearby Lewisham.

Football teams around the area include Crystal Palace F.C. who play at Selhurst Park in the Coca-Cola Championship. Coulsdon United F.C. (formerly Coulsdon Town F.C. before the merge with Salfords F.C.) are a team that currently play in the Combined Counties League Division One. Croydon Athletic F.C., whose local nickname is The Rams, is a football club based in Thornton Heath's Keith Tuckey Stadium and play in the Isthmian League Division One South, with Croydon F.C. who play at Croydon Sports Arena and Holmesdale, who were founded in South Norwood but currently playing on Oakley Road in Bromley, currently in the Kent League. Non-football teams that play in Croydon are Streatham-Croydon RFC, a rugby club in Thornton Heath who play at Frant Road in the Surrey 2 League, as well as South London Storm Rugby League Club who play at Storm Park who play in the Rugby League Conference. The London Olympians are a American Football team that play in Division 1 South in the British American Football League.

The London Borough of Croydon also has over 120 parks and open spaces within its boundaries, ranging from the 200 acre (80ha) Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve to many recreation grounds and sports fields scattered throughout the Borough.

Culture

Croydon aims to become one of the hearts of Culture in London and the South East of England. This has been proved with the dedication the council has shown to projects such as the proposed Croydon Arena. Although, despite the aim, it has also cut funding to the Warehouse Theatre.

Centrale, Tamworth Road

In 2005, Croydon Council drew up a Public Art Strategy, with a vision that is accessible and enhances people's enjoyment of their surroundings. The public art strategy should deliver a new event called Croydon's Summer Festival, a creative industries hub in Old Town, ensure public art is included in developments such as College Green and Croydon Gateway and investigate the possibility of gallery space in the Cultural Quarter.

Other cultural activities, including shopping and exhibitions, are Surrey Street Market which is mainly a meat and vegetables market near the main shopping environment of Croydon. The market has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276. Airport House is a newly refurbished conference and exhibition centre inside part of Croydon Airport. The Whitgift Centre, the current main shopping centre in the borough is also one of the largest in-town shopping centres in the whole of Europe. Centrale, a new shopping centre that houses many more familiar names, as well as Croydon's House of Fraser. North End, the main shopping street, which holds both centres. Park Place, a shopping centre that is planned to be built in Central Croydon by Minerva plc. Purley Way, a large out-of-town retail and entertainment area that caters for South London and areas South of London, it includes IKEA Croydon, Vue and City Limits. Croydon Arena, a proposed arena which will feature more commercial exhibitions and sport events next to East Croydon station.

Media

File:Sitelogo.gif

Croydon Guardian

There are three local newspapers which operate within the borough, each with considerable history in the area. The Croydon Advertiser began life in 1869, and is the third-highest selling paid-for weekly newspaper in London. The Advertiser is also Croydon's major paid-for weekly paper and is on sale every Friday in five geographical editions: Croydon; Sutton & Epsom; Coulsdon & Purley; New Addington; and Caterham. The paper converted from a broadsheet to a compact (tabloid) format on 31 March 2006. The Croydon Guardian is another local weekly paper, which is paid for at newsagents but free at Croydon Council libraries and via deliveries. The newspaper is published every Wednesday. The paper is owned by regional newspaper publisher Newsquest Media Group and is inside the South London arm. The other paper in Croydon is the Croydon Post (also known as The Post Croydon).

The borough is served by the London regional versions of BBC and ITV coverage, from either the Crystal Palace or Croydon transmitters.

File:Kiss-100-logo.jpg

Kiss 100

Capital Radio began broadcasting on October 1973 from Euston Tower, North London. The station, now owned by Gcap Media, broadcasts as Capital 95.8 from Leicester Square in Central London. The group also has a sister station on the medium wave frequency, known as Classic Gold Digital 1521. Local BBC radio is provided by BBC London 94.9. Large radio stations picked up by transmitters around Croydon are Kiss 100 London from Emap, Choice FM London from GCap Media, Heart 106.2 from Global Radio UK, Magic 105.4 FM from Emap, Virgin Radio from SMG and 102.2 Smooth Radio from Guardian Media Group.

See also

• Template:Wikitravel
• List of people associated with the London Borough of Croydon
• Lunar House
• UK postcodes — a note of why and how postcodes CR0 and CR9 differ from the others.
• Greater London

External links

• Croydon Council
• Croydon Guardian
• Croydon Online Community Website
• Croydon Conservatives
• Croydon Labour Party

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