Purley Way

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The Croydon Colonnades on Purley Way Croydon Colonades.JPG
The Croydon Colonnades on Purley Way

Purley Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in the London Borough of Croydon, in the areas of Purley, Waddon and Broad Green, and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchment area covering most of South London.

Contents

It was designed as a bypass for Croydon, and opened in April 1925. It was formed from improvements to pre existing local roads: from north to south, Waddon Marsh Lane, Waddon Court Road and Coldharbour Lane. (Thornton Road, the northern section of the bypass, was not renamed.) [1] In 1932, Purley Way became the first road in the United Kingdom to be lit with sodium lights.

Industrial history

The IKEA on Purley Way was built on the site of a power station, and retains its chimneys Ikea croydon.jpg
The IKEA on Purley Way was built on the site of a power station, and retains its chimneys

The opening of Purley Way attracted industry to the area and it became the main industrial area of Croydon. Industry attracted to the area included Redwing Aircraft Ltd, Trojan Ltd (car manufacturers) and Tizer Ltd. There were also several metal companies including Standard Steel Co, Croydon Foundry Ltd, Metal Propellers Ltd and Southern Foundries Ltd.

Croydon "B" Power Station, with architecture designed by Robert Atkinson, was built in the end of the 1940s and opened in 1950. It shut down in 1984, was demolished in 1991, and an IKEA was opened on its site. Its immediate surroundings were developed as the Valley Park Retail and Leisure Complex. The large chimneys of the power station were retained as a local landmark, which can be seen from Central Croydon's Centrale Shopping Centre.

Croydon "A" power station and the Croydon Gas Works were also on the Purley Way. The cooling towers of the gas works were huge, and featured in films including Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985).

Croydon Airport (operational 1928–1959) was also located on Purley Way.

Retail history

In the early 1980s, retail warehouses began to appear on the Purley Way. The first opened on the Thornton Road Industrial Estate: the Queensway furniture store in 1980, MFI Furniture in 1981, Payless DIY in 1983, and Do It All in 1986. In March 1981, Sainsbury's opened the first Homebase on Purley Way. In November 1991, Vision Technology Group Ltd opened the first PC World on Purley Way.

Several distinct retail parks are now found along the length of the Purley Way, including Valley Park Retail and Leisure Complex, Croydon Fiveways and Colonnades Leisure Park. The development of the area for retail purposes was not the result of local planning guidance, but occurred as part of a national trend towards out of town shopping. The retail parks were not formally recognised by Croydon Council until the publication of its 1997 Unitary Development Plan.

IKEA Croydon

The IKEA in Croydon is a 23,000 m2 furniture store which opened in 1992, on the site of Croydon "B" Power Station. [2] The old power station chimneys, with the addition of illuminated bands in the store's blue and yellow colours, were retained as a prominent advertisement. The store was revamped during 2006, to make it the largest IKEA in Britain: it was re launched in May 2006, at a ceremony attended by Mayor Maggie Mansell, and the ambassador of Sweden, Stefan Karlsson.[ citation needed ]

IKEA is now the fifth biggest single employer in Croydon. [3] The landmark chimneys have been a continuing point of contention with local residents. In September 2003, IKEA briefly considered demolishing them, stating that they cost over £70,000 a year to maintain, but decided against it. Ideas that have been aired for their use have included incorporating a museum of the site's history, and constructing a revolving restaurant at the top. [4]

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown visited IKEA on 5 May 2005, during the General Election campaign. [5]

Other information

Purley Way Lido operated from 1935 to 1979; the diving board remains in the middle of a garden centre [6] (which is now closed). The Croydon Water Palace, an indoor water park complex, operated nearby from 1990 to 1996. The site of the Water Palace is now occupied by Colonnades Leisure Park. In the past, there has been a depository for the Science Museum in the Retail Park area, and Tramlink passes Purley Way.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purley, London</span> Human settlement in England

Purley is an area of the London Borough of Croydon in London, England, 11.7 miles (18.8 km) south of Charing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey and then, with neighbouring Coulsdon, as an urban district that became an electoral ward of the London Borough of Croydon, becoming part of the ceremonial county of London, in 1965. In 2018 the Purley ward was divided into two: Purley and Woodcote, and Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon</span> Town in South London, England

Croydon is a large town in South London, England, 9.3 miles (15.0 km) south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London, it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensive shopping district. The entire town had a population of 192,064 as of 2011, whilst the wider borough had a population of 384,837.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Centrale (Croydon)</span> Shopping centre in Greater London, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ampere Way tram stop</span> Tramlink tram stop in London, England

Ampere Way is a tram stop in the London Borough of Croydon, serving the Purley Way commercial area. Tramlink trams serve the stop, which is located opposite IKEA Croydon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waddon Marsh tram stop</span> Tramlink tram stop in London, England

Waddon Marsh tram stop is a stop on the Tramlink service serving the area between Waddon and Croydon in the London Borough of Croydon. It is close to the commercial areas of the Purley Way. The stop is overshadowed by the giant gasometer of Croydon Gas Works. There was previously a railway station about 100 metres north of this site called Waddon Marsh, though all that remains of the previous station is an access path still lined with streetlamps painted NSE red.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon Water Palace</span> Former indoor water park in London, England

The Croydon Water Palace was an indoor water park complex that opened in 1990 on Purley Way in Waddon in the London Borough of Croydon, opposite Croydon Airport. It featured four water slides, a large jacuzzi area, a lazy river and a wave pool using an artificial wave-making machine. There was also an on-site café. It was part of the Purley Way retail development drive that occurred in the early 1990s, which also saw the creation of the Valley Park Retail Area.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waddon Marsh railway station</span> Former railway station in England

Waddon Marsh railway station was in Waddon in the London Borough of Croydon on the West Croydon to Wimbledon Line. It was between West Croydon and Beddington Lane Halt stations. There was pedestrian access by footpath only from Miller Road a side street near Purley Way.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Colonnades, Croydon</span> Leisure park in Croydon, London, England

The Colonnades Leisure Park or Croydon Colonnades is an out-of-town leisure park located in the Purley Way retail and industrial district of the London Borough of Croydon, South London. It opened in the late 1990s on the former site of the Croydon Water Palace, an indoor water park complex that operated from 1990 to 1996. It lies alongside the Purley Way Playing Fields, and opposite the former Croydon Airport site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valley Retail and Leisure Park</span> Shopping mall

Valley Retail and Leisure Park is a retail park in the Purley Way retail and industrial area in Croydon, England. It is located near the Broad Green and Waddon areas of the London Borough of Croydon. Valley Park was opened in 1992 on the site of the former Croydon power stations, the first of which was built in the late nineteenth century. Croydon B power station was closed in 1984 and the majority of the site cleared in 1991. However the local council ordered the station's landmark chimneys be retained, which almost put IKEA off the site, but a compromise was made that IKEA could paint the top skirt of the tower in their colours.

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The London Borough of Croydon has a wide variety of buildings mainly from post-war through to modern. Much of the modern architecture in the borough is centred on the commercial centre of the town, with much of the Victorian designs spread out on both the northern and southern corridors of the borough. Many former warehouses and factories have been converted for other uses changing the external appearance of Croydon erratically.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croydon power stations</span>

The Croydon power stations refers to a pair of demolished coal-fired power stations and to a gas-fired power station in the Purley Way area of Croydon, London.

References

  1. "Purley Way and Valley Park". Croydon Online.
  2. "IKEA Group stores". IKEA Group corporate site. Archived from the original on 14 July 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2007.
  3. "IKEA is bigger than ever (from Croydon Guardian)". Croydonguardian.co.uk. May 2006. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  4. "Ikea Looks At Ideas To Transform Chimneys (from Croydon Guardian)". Croydonguardian.co.uk. 18 March 2004. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  5. "Pm Makes Pitstop At Ikea (from Croydon Guardian)". Croydonguardian.co.uk. 5 May 2005. Retrieved 6 November 2008.
  6. "Diving stage at former Purley Way Lido, Non Civil Parish - 1412916 | Historic England".

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