The Croydon Exp07 was a series of events held from 2007, aimed at business and residents in the

London Borough of Croydon The London Borough of Croydon () is a London borough in south London, part of Outer London. It covers an area of . It is the southernmost borough of London. At its centre is the historic town of Croydon from which the borough takes its name; ...

, UK to demonstrate the £2bn of development projects planned for Croydon in the next 10 years. It is part of the

Croydon Vision 2020 Croydon is a large town in south London, England, 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 ...

regeneration programme. The council-backed scheme hoped to interest investors to fund part of the regeneration projects around Croydon, and help to establish Croydon as "London's Third City" Croydon has applied for city status twice but failed. If it had succeeded, the borough would have become the City of Croydon, like the

City of Westminster The City of Westminster is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and London boroughs, borough in Inner London. It is the site of the United Kingdom's Houses of Parliament and much of the British government. It occupies a large area of cent ...

. The expo took place from the 9th to 12 May in the

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

and Centrale Shopping Centre. It was also displayed in the

Croydon Clocktower Croydon Clocktower is an arts and museum complex located on Katharine Street in Croydon, London. History The venue, which forms part of the 19th-century Town Hall, was opened as an arts and museum complex by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994. A notabl ...

on 17 May.

Projects

The projects included all areas of Croydon that were expected to be redeveloped between 2007 and 2012. These included Purley, where the current

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

on the High Street was set to close. This would allow scope for a more comprehensive High Street regeneration scheme that would help to bring new

community investment A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

to the district centre. A new "Super Library", which would offer learning and training, was planned to open after the pool closure, as was a new swimming complex in

Coulsdon Coulsdon (, traditionally pronounced ) is a town in south London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon, in the ceremonial county of Greater London since 1965. Prior to this it was part of the historic county of Surrey. History The l ...

. At the time, the facility was being considered by Croydon Council as part of its contribution to the Olympics. Exp07 considered another leisure facility being opened in

Waddon Waddon () is a neighbourhood in the London Borough of Croydon, at the western end of the town of Croydon. The area borders the London Borough of Sutton. History It is not known when the manor of Croydon was granted to the See of Canterbury, b ...

, and the old New Addington Pool being redeveloped to coincide with the opening of

South Norwood Leisure Centre South Norwood Leisure Centre is a leisure centre located on Portland Road in South Norwood in Croydon, London. It contains a 25m sized swimming pool, teaching pool, 32 station gym and two studios. The centre is managed by Better (GLL). Facilities ...

as part of the "new New Addington". The New Addington regeneration was planned for the town centre on Central Parade and would include a brand new

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, along with a new larger library and leisure facility. Other new facilities to be provided will be a Joint Services Centre, community centre, changing village, exercise gym and dance studio along with treatment room and a multi-purpose room. Plans covered a new café and a car park, a health centre, kiosk, maisonettes, and 300 residential units.

Park Place

The Expo presented other notable developments such as Park Place Shopping Centre. On 6 March 2007 the Secretary of State confirmed the use of a

Compulsory Purchase Order A compulsory purchase order (CPO; , ) is a legal function in the United Kingdom and Ireland that allows certain bodies to obtain land or property without the consent of the owner. It may be enforced if a proposed development is considered one for p ...

(CPO) to acquire the remaining land for the development. This was a major milestone for the scheme and allowed Minerva and Lend Lease to gain vacant possession, in readiness for the start of demolition and main construction works. Park Place has been granted detailed planning permission by the

. When completed it will provide of accommodation, comprising mainly retail space and restaurants. A key component of the retail space is the provision of a new full-range department store.

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

has previously confirmed a requirement for for Croydon and a regional store of this size can only be accommodated on the Park Place site. Other places with interest include Gap,

Habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

and

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

. Designed by architects RTKL, the scheme will provide both the large retail units and the necessary mall environment needed to establish Croydon as a Top 10 retail destination within the UK, and the largest and most efficient centre within South London.Park Place , Minerva Plc

Croydon Gateway

The second main feature of the Expo, the

Croydon Gateway Ruskin Square (or Croydon Gateway) is a project to redevelop a parcel of land between East Croydon railway station and the existing town centre of Croydon in South London. It is part of the major Croydon Vision 2020 regeneration scheme. It ha ...

(later Ruskin Square]), proved the most expensive. The cabinet member for finance and regeneration, Councillor Tim Pollard, said in 2007 that:

References

External links

Croydon Exp07 websiteLondon Borough of CroydonArrowcroftLend Lease Developers
{{coord missing, London Media and communications in the London Borough of Croydon Croydon 2020 Redevelopment projects in London Conferences in London 2007 in London 21st century in the London Borough of Croydon

Projects

Park Place

Croydon Gateway

See also

References

External links