Valley Park Retail Area
Encyclopedia
Retail park
In the United Kingdom, a retail park is a grouping of many retail warehouses and superstores with associated car parking. Its North American equivalent is a power centre. Retail parks are found on the fringes of most large towns and cities in highly accessible locations and are aimed at households...
in the Purley Way
Purley Way
Purley Way is a section of the A23 trunk road in the London Borough of Croydon, in the areas of Purley, Waddon and West Croydon, and has given its name to the out-of-town shopping area alongside it with a catchment area covering most of South London. It was designed as a bypass for Croydon and was...
retail and industrial area of the London Borough of 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...
. Valley Park was opened in 1992 on the site of the former Croydon 'B' Power Station
Croydon Power Station
The Croydon power stations refers to a pair of demolished coal-fired power stations and to a gas-fired power station in the Purley Way area of Croydon, London. The coal-fired stations operated from 1896 until 1984, and the gas-fired station opened in 1999...
which was built in the late 1940s and opened in 1950. The power plant shut down in 1984. The council ordered the local landmark towers to stay, which almost put IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
off the site, but a compromise was made that IKEA could paint the top skirt of the tower in their colours (blue and yellow).
Retail park
The retail park is divided into two areas: the bottom half is a long but large modern building which houses the entertainment and leisure area and a small parking lot. The upper half includes larger retail units with a large car park, B&QB&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
and IKEA
IKEA
IKEA is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture such as beds and desks, appliances and home accessories. The company is the world's largest furniture retailer...
; both have their own car-parks for customers as well as McDonalds and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
.
Retail area
The retail area is the main shopping park and includes big name stores such as dfsDfs (retailer)
DFS, formerly Doncaster Furnishing Stores, is a national furniture retailer in the United Kingdom which specialises in sofas and soft furnishings. It serves the lower end of the furniture market and offers credit terms on its goods.- History :...
, which has operated on the same site since 1994. A branch of Philip Green
Philip Green
Sir Philip Green is a British businessman. Green was born into a Jewish family in 1952, beginning as a businessman at the age of 15. The first and last quoted company Green took lead of was "Amber Day", from which he stepped down as CEO and Chairman in 1992...
's Arcadia Group Outfit
Arcadia Group
The Arcadia Group Limited a British company that owns the high street clothing retailers Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, Wallis and BHS, and the out of town chain Outfit, which sells lines from the other group chains...
chain is located in the park and concessions inside the store include Burton, Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins
Dorothy Perkins, whose trading name was inspired by a rambler rose of the same name, is a large British women's clothing retailer, active mostly in the United Kingdom.- History :...
, Evans
Evans (clothing retailer)
Evans is a women's clothing retailer located in the United Kingdom and Ireland. They have over 300 stores around the UK selling plus-size clothing, lingerie, wide fitting shoes, swimwear and accessories.- Timeline :...
, Miss Selfridge
Miss Selfridge
Miss Selfridge is a nationwide UK high street store which began as the young fashion section of Selfridges department store in London in 1966. Miss Selfridge got its name when Charles Clore, the owner of Selfridges at the time, saw a window display in the Bonwit Teller store in New York which...
, Topshop
Topshop
Topshop is a British clothes retailer with shops in over 20 countries and online operations in a number of its markets. Its sales come primarily from women's clothing and fashion accessories...
, Wallis
Wallis (retailer)
Wallis is a British women's clothing retailer. The brand operates from 134 stores and 126 concessions across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Wallis is a subsidiary of the Arcadia Group and one of the many companies under ownership of Philip Green, a British retailing icon.-History:The first store...
, Principles
Principles (retailer)
Principles was a UK-based fashion retailer founded in 1984.The firm was launched by the Burton Group as an attempt to capitalise on the new modern trends in fashion; the mid-1980s was the boom era for the yuppie, a new upmarket cultural movement, and power dressing was a key trend: at the time,...
, Warehouse
Warehouse (disambiguation)
A warehouse is a storage facility.Warehouse can also refer to:* Warehouse 13, an American science fiction series* Warehouse Fan Association, official Dave Matthews Band fan club...
, Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman
Ben Sherman is a British based clothing company, designing shirts, suits, shoes, accessories and other items that are, in common with many British brands, now made overseas, largely in the Far East. Their designs sometimes feature the Royal Air Force roundel which is often called the mod target...
and Quiksilver & Roxy flip-flops.
Other stores include Sports Direct
Sports Direct
Sports Direct International plc is a British retailing group. Founded in 1982 by former county squash coach Mike Ashley, the company is now the UK's largest sporting retailer through a number of retail subsidiaries and sports equipment brands. Although now a publicly traded company on the London...
, Next, Boots and B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
. B&Q's store is in a separate warehouse and has its own car park.
Leisure park
The entertainment area of Valley Park is located behind the IKEA and retail areas. One of two Vue CinemasVue (cinema)
Vue Entertainment , formerly known as SBC International Cinemas, is a cinema company in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The company was formed in May 2003 when SBC acquired 36 Warner Village cinemas. There are now 69 Vue cinemas, with 654 screens totaling 140,500 seats, including the rebranded...
is located in Valley Park (the other being located at Croydon Grants). Other facilities include Tenpin, a 25 lane bowling alley, complete with games arcade. Restaurants include a Frankie & Benny's
Frankie & Benny's
Frankie & Benny's is a chain of Italian-American restaurants in the UK with numerous outlets nationwide run by The Restaurant Group plc. Its first location was Leicester in 1995 but now the chain has over 150 locations across the UK and also abroad, and smaller branches called "Little...
, Nandos, Bella Italia
Bella Italia
Bella Italia is a chain of over 80 Italian restaurants operating in the United Kingdom. The chain is part of the Tragus Group, who also own Café Rouge and Strada....
, Subway
Subway (restaurant)
Subway is an American restaurant franchise that primarily sells submarine sandwiches and salads. It is owned and operated by Doctor's Associates, Inc. . Subway is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world with 35,519 restaurants in 98 countries and territories as of October 25th, 2011...
, and a McDonalds and Burger King
Burger King
Burger King, often abbreviated as BK, is a global chain of hamburger fast food restaurants headquartered in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The company began in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida-based restaurant chain...
restaurant and drive-thru. And Cosmo.
Transport
Ampere Way tram stopAmpere Way tram stop
Ampere Way is a tram stop in the London Borough of Croydon, serving the Purley Way commercial area. Tramlink trams serve the stop, which is located opposite IKEA Croydon....
is the Tramlink
Tramlink
Tramlink is a tramway system in south London in the United Kingdom which began operation in May 2000...
stop that serves the Valley Park retail area. It is on Tramlink route 3
Tramlink route 3
Tramlink route 3 is one of three tram routes operated as part of the Tramlink network in south London. The route is owned and operated by Transport for London ....
. Services terminate at Wimbledon station
Wimbledon station
Wimbledon station is a National Rail, London Underground, and Tramlink station located in Wimbledon in the London Borough of Merton, and is the only London station that provides an interchange between rail, Underground, and Tramlink services...
or 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...
via the Croydon Loop.
London Buses route 455 stops outside the retail park entrance, and has services to Old Lodge Lane and Wallington
Wallington, London
Wallington is a town in the London Borough of Sutton situated south south-west of Charing Cross. Prior to the merger of the Municipal Borough of Beddington and Wallington into the London Borough of Sutton, it was part of the county of Surrey.- History :...
via West Croydon
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...
. London Buses route 289 stops on the Purley Way flyover close to Valley Park and provides services to Elmers End
Elmers End
Elmers End is a place in London Borough of Bromley, England. It has a large green space which is the centre of a gyratory. Very close to the combined railway station and Tramlink terminus bearing its name is the old sewage farm. The remains of this industrial site can still be seen...
and Purley
Purley, London
Purley is a place in the London Borough of Croydon, England. It is a suburban development situated 11.7 miles south of Charing Cross.The name derives from "pirlea", which means 'Peartree lea'. Purley has a population of about 72,000....
.
Alternatively the site has good car parking facilities, with the capacity to accommodate over 600 cars.