Croydon

London Borough of Croydon

The London Borough of Croydon is a London borough in South London, England and is part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the largest London borough by population. It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name...

, located in Greater London

Greater London

Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, has a diverse economy with the service and retail sectors now dominating over the town's historical market status. It is today served well by its extensive rail network centering on East

East Croydon station

East Croydon station is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, 10.35 miles south of London Bridge in Travelcard Zone 5. It is the largest and busiest station in Croydon and the busiest in London outside Travelcard Zone 1 in terms of the number of passengers entering and exiting...

 and West Croydon station

West Croydon station

West Croydon station is a transport interchange for National Rail and Tramlink services, as well as London Buses. It is in the London Borough of Croydon and Travelcard Zone 5...

s, from where London Overground

London Overground

London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...

, First Capital Connect

First Capital Connect

First Capital Connect is a passenger train operating company in England that began operations on the National Rail network on 1 April 2006...

 and Southern

Southern (train operating company)

Southern is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Officially named Southern Railway Ltd., it is a subsidiary of Govia, a joint venture between transport groups Go-Ahead Group and Keolis, and has operated the South Central rail franchise since October 2000 and the Gatwick Express service...

 operate to most parts of Greater London, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

, Sussex

Sussex

Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...

, Hampshire

Hampshire

Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

 and the East of England

East of England

The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. It was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Suffolk. Essex has the highest population in the region.Its...

. With the A23, M23

M23 motorway

The M23 motorway is a motorway in England. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23. The northern end of the motorway starts at junction 7 on what is effectively a spur north from...

 and M25

M25 motorway

The M25 motorway, or London Orbital, is a orbital motorway that almost encircles Greater London, England, in the United Kingdom. The motorway was first mooted early in the 20th century. A few sections, based on the now abandoned London Ringways plan, were constructed in the early 1970s and it ...

 orbital motorway intersecting Croydon to the South East

South East England

South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...

, it is the principal gateway of the motorway network from the East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

 area of the South Coast. London Gatwick Airport

London Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...

 is located to the direct south of the town and has scheduled flights to destinations within Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, although has tough competition from the even bigger London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport

London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...

 to the west but has managed to stay the UK's second busiest airport. The town has since 2000 had a tram

Tramlink

Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...

 network which has been highly successful, carrying more than 24 million passengers a year. The network has three lines with destinations including Wimbledon

Wimbledon, London

Wimbledon is a district in the south west area of London, England, located south of Wandsworth, and east of Kingston upon Thames. It is situated within Greater London. It is home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and New Wimbledon Theatre, and contains Wimbledon Common, one of the largest areas...

, New Addington

New Addington

New Addington is an area on the edge of South London in the London Borough of Croydon. It is a large local authority estate surrounded by open countryside, woodland and golf courses. The Prime Meridian crosses the eastern edge of New Addington...

 and Beckenham

Beckenham

Beckenham is a town in the London Borough of Bromley, England. It is located 8.4 miles south east of Charing Cross and 1.75 miles west of Bromley town...

. Croydon is one of only five London boroughs not to have any form of London Underground

London Underground

The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...

 services.

These good transport links have been a major factor contributing to the growth of Croydon, and have led to the town becoming a major centre for distribution. Retail is another major service and employer in the town centre, with a retail economy which has experienced a boom resulting in several new shops. North End

North End, Croydon

North End is a pedestrianized road in Central Croydon which is the main equivalent to a high street in Croydon. The road holds both of the main shopping centres, Centrale and Whitgift Centre plus a forthcoming one called Park Place. The road offers many well-known shops such as WHSmith, Next, Zara...

 is Croydon's main shopping street, with the Whitgift and Allders

Allders

Allders is an independent department store in Croydon, established by Joshua Allder in 1862. It is the fourth-largest department store in the United Kingdom.The Croydon store was the flagship of a large chain of department stores in the UK...

 situated on it. The town centre also includes the famous Surrey Street market

Surrey Street Market

Surrey Street Market is a market that sells mainly meat & vegetables as well as a range of other items through the week in Croydon, south London. It 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...

, one of the only lasting town centre markets in the Croydon and South London areas, and over 3 indoor shopping centres. The Whitgift Centre

Whitgift Centre

The Whitgift Centre is a large shopping centre and office development in the centre of Croydon, London, opened in stages between 1968 and 1970. The centre currently comprises of retail space and was the largest covered shopping development in Greater London until the opening of Westfield London at...

 and the newest Centrale

Centrale

Centrale is a shopping centre in Croydon, South London, one of the largest covered retail developments in London. It is owned and managed by the St Martins Property Group and was opened in 2004....

 centre. Park Place

Park Place (Croydon)

Park Place was a shopping centre which had been expected to open in Croydon, England by 2011, although this date has been pushed back and building has not started. It is part of the Croydon Vision 2020 re-generation scheme...

 will re-establish Croydon as one of the UK's top shopping areas. Plans include the construction of a new shopping centre to replace St George's Walk

St George's Walk

St George's Walk is a covered shopping parade in the centre of Croydon, London that houses many independent stores. It was completed in 1964 by Ronald Ward and Partners, the designers of St George's House and Millbank Tower. It runs parallel to the Croydon Clocktower arts facility runs between the...

 and older properties on George Street

George Street tram stop

George Street tram stop is a tram stop in Croydon. It is one of the busiest stops on the line as it is where most people get off to do their shopping. It is almost directly outside the only Allders store in the United Kingdom and is on the site of the Park Place proposed development. Tramlink trams...

. The proposed redevelopment of Park Place by Minerva

Minerva (property firm)

Minerva plc is a London based British developer and property firm co-founded by the millionaire philanthropists Sir David Garrard and Andrew Rosenfeld. Garrard and Rosenfeld took the company public in 1996 and have now left the business....

 and Lend Lease

Lend Lease Corporation

Lend Lease Group is a global property and infrastructure company headquartered in Sydney, Australia...

 will create a one million square foot destination with over 130 shops, cafes and restaurants, anchored by a new department store which the council hopes will be John Lewis

John Lewis (department store)

-Recent developments:In June 2004, John Lewis announced plans to open its first store in Northern Ireland at the Sprucefield Park development, the province's largest out of town shopping centre, located outside Lisburn and from Belfast. The application was approved in June 2005 and the opening of...

. Other tennents interested include Habitat

Habitat (retailer)

Habitat Retail Ltd. is a retailer of household furnishings in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, and has franchised outlets in other countries. Founded in 1964 by Terence Conran, it was sold by the IKANO Group, owned by the Kamprad family, in December 2009 to Hilco, a restructuring...

, Borders

Borders Group

Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....

 and Gap

Gap (clothing retailer)

The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...

. Improvements will see Queen's Gardens completely remodelled, together with the construction of a fully integrated public transport hub to include a new bus interchange and tram stop

Tramlink

Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...

. The building of Park Place will create Europe’s largest covered retail area.

Croydon is one of the largest financial centres in the south east outside London and is also home to many legal and insurance firms. Croydon is a major office area in the south east of England, being the largest outside of Central London

Central London

Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

. 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, to jump from 31 to 14 in the table.
In 2007 Croydon's unemployment

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

rate was 6.3%, compared to 6.9% for the London area and 5.3% for the rest of Great Britain. A higher volume of men are unemployed in Croydon than females, with 9.3% out of work compared to 6.1% of females.