Purley Way
Purley Wayis a section of theA23trunk roadin theLondon Borough of Croydon,in the areas ofPurley,WaddonandBroad Green,and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with acatchment areacovering most ofSouth London.
It was designed as abypassfor 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 theUnited Kingdomto be lit withsodium lights.
Industrial history
[edit]
The opening of Purley Way attracted industry to the area and it became the main industrial area of Croydon. Industry attracted to the area includedRedwing AircraftLtd,Trojan Ltd(car manufacturers) andTizerLtd. 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 byRobert Atkinson,was built in the end of the 1940s and opened in 1950. It shut down in 1984, was demolished in 1991, and anIKEAwas opened on its site. Its immediate surroundings were developed as theValley 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'sCentraleShopping Centre.
Croydon "A" power station and the Croydon Gas Works were also on the Purley Way. Thecooling towersof the gas works were huge, and featured in films includingTerry Gilliam'sBrazil(1985).
Croydon Airport(operational 1928–1959) was also located on Purley Way.
Retail history
[edit]In the early 1980s,retail warehousesbegan to appear on the Purley Way. The first opened on the Thornton Road Industrial Estate: theQueenswayfurniture store in 1980,MFIFurniture in 1981,Payless DIYin 1983, andDo It Allin 1986. In March 1981,Sainsbury'sopened the firstHomebaseon Purley Way. In November 1991, Vision Technology Group Ltd opened the firstPC Worldon Purley Way.
Several distinctretail parksare now found along the length of the Purley Way, includingValley Park Retail and Leisure Complex,Croydon FivewaysandColonnades 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 byCroydon Counciluntil the publication of its 1997Unitary Development Plan.
IKEA Croydon
[edit]TheIKEAin Croydon is a 23,000 m2furniture store which opened in 1992, on the site ofCroydon "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 arevolving restaurantat the top.[4]
Tony BlairandGordon Brownvisited IKEA on 5 May 2005, during theGeneral Electioncampaign.[5]
Other information
[edit]Purley WayLidooperated from 1935 to 1979; the diving board remains in the middle of a garden centre[6](which is now closed). TheCroydon Water Palace,an indoor water park complex, operated nearby from 1990 to 1996. The site of the Water Palace is now occupied byColonnades Leisure Park.In the past, there has been a depository for theScience Museumin the Retail Park area, andTramlinkpasses Purley Way.
References
[edit]- ^"Purley Way and Valley Park".Croydon Online.
- ^"IKEA Group stores".IKEA Group corporate site. Archived fromthe originalon 14 July 2004.Retrieved30 July2007.
- ^"IKEA is bigger than ever (from Croydon Guardian)".Croydonguardian.co.uk. May 2006.Retrieved6 November2008.
- ^"Ikea Looks At Ideas To Transform Chimneys (from Croydon Guardian)".Croydonguardian.co.uk. 18 March 2004.Retrieved6 November2008.
- ^"Pm Makes Pitstop At Ikea (from Croydon Guardian)".Croydonguardian.co.uk. 5 May 2005.Retrieved6 November2008.
- ^"Diving stage at former Purley Way Lido, Non Civil Parish - 1412916 | Historic England".