Croydon Shopping

It was the construction of the Whitgift Centre in 1969 that enabled Croydon to develop as an important centre for shopping. Today, with over 2.5 million sq. ft of retail space, Croydon is one of the main shopping centres south of London. North End is Croydon's main shopping street with the Whitgift Centre and Allders situated here.

The Whitgift Centre, with two retail stories and 7,000 car parking spaces, is the south-east's leading shopping destination with over 150 stores including Marks & Spencer, Allders, Boots and British Home Stores. It has remained one of the country's most successful and well established retail centres ever since its official opening in 1970. The shopping centre's refurbishment in recent years has given an extra boost to this shoppers' paradise with even more stores and restaurants. The Whitgift, situated in the heart of the bustling town centre is served by excellent public transport and within easy reach of Central London. It is only twelve minutes by train from London Victoria and 40 minutes from Brighton. East Croydon and West Croydon Stations are only minutes away and nearly one hundred buses stop outside the Centre's Wellesley Road entrance every hour. Visitors to the Whitgift can also travel by 'Tramlink' the UK's latest high tech tram network, the very first in London.

The Centrale Shopping Centre is 820,000 square foot of retail space, serving 4.67 million customers from North Surrey, West Kent, East Sussex and the whole of South London providing them with some of the UK's most high profile fashion and lifestyle retailers. These include a new 160,000 square foot House of Fraser department store, a 21,000 square foot Zara store, a 215,000 square foot Debenhams store and a 50,000 square foot Next store. Among the 70 stores and 300 plus brands are H&M, Mango, The Pier, La Senza, Sony Galleria, TK Maxx, Virgin Megastore, Elle, Sunglass Hut, Timberland, Orange Store, Whittards, Carphone Warehouse, JD Sports, French Connection, Jane Norman, and Miss Selfridge. The car park offers 950 parking spaces and boasts the lowest parking tariff for shoppers in Croydon. The area is well lit, covered by CCTV and regularly patrolled by Centrale security officers. There are frequent tram and bus services to Centrale's own stop outside the centre and two mainline train stations located within a 10 minute walk.

The famous Surrey Street market, one of the only lasting town centre markets in the Croydon and south London areas, is located opposite Croydon Railway Station. Open every Sunday and Monday from 8am to 3pm, the market consists of over 800 stalls selling anything from furniture, sundries and tools to bric-a-brac, crafts and haberdashery. There are also fresh food stalls selling greengrocery, poultry, bakery and seafood, along with an auction on Mondays.

Park Place, a proposed redevelopment by Minerva and Lend Lease, will re-establish Croydon as one of the UK's top shopping areas by creating a one million square foot destination of over 130 shops, cafes and restaurants as well as the support of a new department store. An Apple Store, Gap, Habitat and Borders Group are just a few that have expressed an interest in buying units. The development will adjoin and integrate with the existing Whitgift Centre at its northern end, extending south to Katherine Street. The overall site will take in part of Park Street and cross the western end of George Street by way of a bridge and tunnel. Arrangements have been made for the existing Grade II listed frontages in George Street and the North End facade of Allders to be retained. 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. The building of Park Place will create Europe's largest covered retail area.