The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of 87 km2 (33.6 sq mi). It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; while other urban centres include Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood, Norbury, New Addington, Selsdon and Thornton Heath. Croydon is mentioned in Domesday Book, and from a small market town has expanded into one of the most populous areas on the fringe of London. 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. Its population is 390,719, making it the most populous London borough and sixteenth largest English district.
A fast-food restaurant, also known as a quick-service restaurant (QSR) within the industry, is a specific type of restaurant that serves fast-food cuisine and has minimal table service. The food served in fast-food restaurants is typically part of a "meat-sweet diet", offered from a limited menu, cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot, finished and packaged to order, and usually available for take away, though seating may be provided. Fast-food restaurants are typically part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation that provides standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through controlled supply channels. The term "fast food" was recognized in a dictionary by Merriam–Webster in 1951.
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.
The A23 road is a major road in the United Kingdom between London and Brighton, East Sussex, England. It is managed by Transport for London for the section inside the Greater London boundary, Surrey County Council and West Sussex County Council for the section shadowed by the M23 motorway, National Highways between the M23 and Patcham, and by Brighton and Hove Council from the A27 to the centre of Brighton.
Tower Park is a leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989.
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.
Bluewater Shopping Centre is an out-of-town shopping centre in Stone, Kent, England, just outside the M25 motorway ring, 17.8 miles (28.6 km) east south east of London's centre. Opened on 16 March 1999 in a former chalk quarry after ten years of building works, the site occupies 240 acres (97 ha) and has a sales floor area of 154,000 m2 (1,600,000 ft2) over three levels, making it the fifth-largest shopping centre in the UK. Elsewhere in Europe only Istanbul's Cevahir Mall and Vienna's (Vösendorf) Shopping City Süd are bigger. The floor plan is a triangular shape with 210 stores, including 3 anchors, 50 cafés and restaurants, and a 17-screen cinema. The centre employs 7,000 people and serves over 27 million visitors a year. A main rival is the Lakeside Shopping Centre and its two retail parks in West Thurrock, Essex, just across the River Thames, 8 miles (13 km) away by road or 3.2 miles (5.1 km) as the crow flies.
Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its out-of-town shopping and leisure facilities. The retail and leisure complex takes its name from the road, and includes retail parks, supermarkets, an enclosed shopping centre known as The Mall, an ice-rink, Vue, a cinema, Hollywood Bowl, a ten-pin bowling venue, and a gym.
Westquay is a shopping centre in Southampton, England. It has an area of 95,600 m2 (1,029,000 sq ft) of retail and leisure space and contains around 130 shops, including major retailers such as John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Zara, Schuh, Waterstones, Hollister Co. and Apple.
Centrale is a shopping centre in Croydon, South London, one of the largest covered retail developments in London. It is owned and managed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield and was opened in 2004. Plans were announced in January 2013 to redevelop Centrale and combine it with the Whitgift Centre.
The White Rose Centre is a shopping centre in the Beeston area of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It spans two floors and is near the M621 motorway. It takes its name from the White Rose of York, the traditional symbol of Yorkshire. Most shops are situated on the Ground Floor. The Upper Level mezzanine and ‘The Village’ outdoor expansion houses one of two food courts as well some retail outlets, a Cineworld 11-screen cinema, a Starbucks and an al fresco dining terrace including new tenants Wagamama, Prezzo, TGI Fridays and Five Guys among others. It also houses an outdoor children’s play area. Although the centre is smaller than other out-of-town shopping centres, it contains large retailers such as Next, JD Sports, Zara, River Island and Marks and Spencer.
Princes Quay is a shopping centre in the heart of Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The centre is unusual in that it is built on stilts over Prince's Dock after which it is named. It was opened in 1991.
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.
Dudley Sports Centre was an outdoor sports centre located in Dudley, England. It was laid out at the end of the 19th century and expanded in 1928 with the construction of a football ground on the site; which became the home of Dudley Town F.C, the town’s football team. There was also a cricket pitch, athletics field and public playing field.
St Stephen's is a shopping centre in Kingston upon Hull that opened on 20 September 2007 and attracts more than 10 million visitors a year. The shopping centre is a 40-acre (160,000 m2) brownfield site development in the city centre of Hull, England. It cost £200 million to build and was a key development in the resurgence of Hull as the centre of the East Riding of Yorkshire culture and shopping. It has 12.8 acres (52,000 m2) of retail and leisure space and incorporates retail outlets, cafés, bars, fitness club, restaurants, a cinema and a multi-storey car park. Adjacent to St Stephen's is the Albemarle Music Centre, Hull Truck Theatre and a hotel.
Fort Kinnaird is a large outdoor retail park in Newcraighall, located off the A1 in the south-east of Edinburgh, Scotland. Often known simply as "the Fort" to locals, it is currently the second largest retail park in the UK with 75 units occupied.
Broughton Shopping Park, also known as Broughton Centre, is a retail park in Broughton, Flintshire, Wales. It is the busiest retail park in North Wales, recording an average annual footfall of 10 million. Branches of many popular high street stores have an outlet in the park. Retail outlets include Asda Living, Primark and SportsDirect. The retail park hosts facilities which include: free car parking for over 2,000 cars, ATMs, toilets, and baby changing areas. It is located opposite the Airbus factory on Chester Road (A5104), 4 miles west of Chester city centre, and 400 metres from the England-Wales border.
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.
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.
Mahon Point Shopping Centre, the second largest shopping centre in Munster, and the largest serving Cork in Ireland, is located in the Mahon area of the city. The centre was opened in February 2005.
