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New Addington
New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles (8 km) south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey.
Until the 1930s, the area now known as New Addington was farmland and woodland in the southeast of the ancient parish of Addington. The farms were called Castle Hill, Addington Lodge (later Fisher's Farm). At the time, central Croydon and London more generally had overcrowded slums causing concern to the authorities. In 1935, the First National Housing Trust purchased 569 acres (2.30 km2) of Fisher's Farm with the intention of erecting a 'Garden Village', with 4,400 houses, shops, two churches, cinema, and village green. The Chairman of the Trust was Charles Boot, hence the earliest part of New Addington is sometimes called The Boot's Estate.
By 1939, when the outbreak of World War II suspended construction, 1,023 houses and 23 shops had been built. The new estate was popular, but the provision of amenities had not kept pace with the house building. Only one of the proposed schools and few of the shops were in operation. For employment, decent shopping and entertainment, the residents had to travel off the estate. This heralded a long history of isolation for the estate, then nicknamed Little Siberia, because it is much colder than the rest of Croydon. The isolation was partly remedied 60 years later with the arrival of Tramlink route 3, mentioned below. Tramlink runs alongside Lodge Lane, the main (northern) road access. There is only one other point of access by road, where King Henry's Drive connects with minor roads to the south.
After the war, there were concerns about the amount of green space being used for building around London and much of the countryside around the developing estate was designated as Green Belt land. The County Borough of Croydon bought the unused First National Housing Trust land and a further 400 acres (1.6 km2) to add to it, for extensive further development. Many dozens of single-storey, detached, prefabricated houses (commonly known as "prefabs" of the "Arcon" type using corrugated cement asbestos panels fixed to a bolted steel frame as photographed in "A 1950s metal UK prefab at the Rural Life Centre, Tilford, Surrey.") were built in the Castle Hill area of the estate. These were inhabited until the 1960s when they were demolished and replaced with brick-built two-storey homes.[citation needed] At the same time as the smaller prefabs were built, larger two-storey semi-detached houses were also built. These houses, which had metal upper skins, still survive around the King Henry's Drive area near Tudor Academy (formerly Wolsey School). This was more development than had originally been envisaged but it brought about the structure of the estate as seen today.
Many more houses, blocks of flats, churches, factories and Central Parade with its shops, were built. The London Borough of Croydon obtained permission for a further 1,412 houses, which were completed in 1968. This area, at the Croydon end, is known as the Fieldway Estate and has developed its own identity to an extent. The total population counted by the 2011 Census was 22,280, of which 10,801 were in New Addington ward, with 11,479 in Fieldway ward.[citation needed]
The distance from Croydon and other centres, with patchy bus services being the only main transport links for many years, prevented New Addington residents from being able to access a full range of employment and educational facilities or indeed shops. A significant improvement was the arrival of Tramlink (route 3) in 2000, providing a connection with Croydon and Wimbledon in a little over 30 minutes, and from there connections to Central London. This provided the opportunity of a greater choice of schools and jobs. Several 'feeder' 'bus routes were also introduced to connect with Tramlink, along with general enhancement to bus services in the area. The area was declared[when?] one of the first Education Action Zones by the Labour government, with extra investment and opportunities for partnership for schools.[citation needed] The London Borough of Croydon increased its investment in the remaining housing stock and in the leisure and youth facilities. It also organised a neighbourhood partnership for the estate which local people lead to hold public institutions to account.[citation needed]
New Addington has however continued to suffer from various reports of violence and public upset for several years, reflecting upon anti-social behaviour and gang violence involving youths on the estate from the 1970s to the present, as well as the perceived poor standard of schools, low educational and health standards, and a reported high number of teenage mothers, particularly in Fieldway.[citation needed] In a Croydon Advertiser survey in 2013, New Addington, in comparison with other areas, was said to be the worst in Croydon to live, based on life expectancy, incapacity benefit claimants rates and income support, unemployment, crime, school exam passes, public transport accessibility and access to open space and nature.
The area was affected during the 2011 England Riots. A supermarket was destroyed by firebombs and stolen property was found in the area. An inquiry supported the provision of a local police station. A councillor praised local recovery from the riots, claiming the area was now a stronger community than before and rates of anti-social behaviour were beginning to decline.
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New Addington
New Addington is an area of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is located 5 miles (8 km) south east of Croydon and is adjacent to the Greater London boundary with Surrey.
Until the 1930s, the area now known as New Addington was farmland and woodland in the southeast of the ancient parish of Addington. The farms were called Castle Hill, Addington Lodge (later Fisher's Farm). At the time, central Croydon and London more generally had overcrowded slums causing concern to the authorities. In 1935, the First National Housing Trust purchased 569 acres (2.30 km2) of Fisher's Farm with the intention of erecting a 'Garden Village', with 4,400 houses, shops, two churches, cinema, and village green. The Chairman of the Trust was Charles Boot, hence the earliest part of New Addington is sometimes called The Boot's Estate.
By 1939, when the outbreak of World War II suspended construction, 1,023 houses and 23 shops had been built. The new estate was popular, but the provision of amenities had not kept pace with the house building. Only one of the proposed schools and few of the shops were in operation. For employment, decent shopping and entertainment, the residents had to travel off the estate. This heralded a long history of isolation for the estate, then nicknamed Little Siberia, because it is much colder than the rest of Croydon. The isolation was partly remedied 60 years later with the arrival of Tramlink route 3, mentioned below. Tramlink runs alongside Lodge Lane, the main (northern) road access. There is only one other point of access by road, where King Henry's Drive connects with minor roads to the south.
After the war, there were concerns about the amount of green space being used for building around London and much of the countryside around the developing estate was designated as Green Belt land. The County Borough of Croydon bought the unused First National Housing Trust land and a further 400 acres (1.6 km2) to add to it, for extensive further development. Many dozens of single-storey, detached, prefabricated houses (commonly known as "prefabs" of the "Arcon" type using corrugated cement asbestos panels fixed to a bolted steel frame as photographed in "A 1950s metal UK prefab at the Rural Life Centre, Tilford, Surrey.") were built in the Castle Hill area of the estate. These were inhabited until the 1960s when they were demolished and replaced with brick-built two-storey homes.[citation needed] At the same time as the smaller prefabs were built, larger two-storey semi-detached houses were also built. These houses, which had metal upper skins, still survive around the King Henry's Drive area near Tudor Academy (formerly Wolsey School). This was more development than had originally been envisaged but it brought about the structure of the estate as seen today.
Many more houses, blocks of flats, churches, factories and Central Parade with its shops, were built. The London Borough of Croydon obtained permission for a further 1,412 houses, which were completed in 1968. This area, at the Croydon end, is known as the Fieldway Estate and has developed its own identity to an extent. The total population counted by the 2011 Census was 22,280, of which 10,801 were in New Addington ward, with 11,479 in Fieldway ward.[citation needed]
The distance from Croydon and other centres, with patchy bus services being the only main transport links for many years, prevented New Addington residents from being able to access a full range of employment and educational facilities or indeed shops. A significant improvement was the arrival of Tramlink (route 3) in 2000, providing a connection with Croydon and Wimbledon in a little over 30 minutes, and from there connections to Central London. This provided the opportunity of a greater choice of schools and jobs. Several 'feeder' 'bus routes were also introduced to connect with Tramlink, along with general enhancement to bus services in the area. The area was declared[when?] one of the first Education Action Zones by the Labour government, with extra investment and opportunities for partnership for schools.[citation needed] The London Borough of Croydon increased its investment in the remaining housing stock and in the leisure and youth facilities. It also organised a neighbourhood partnership for the estate which local people lead to hold public institutions to account.[citation needed]
New Addington has however continued to suffer from various reports of violence and public upset for several years, reflecting upon anti-social behaviour and gang violence involving youths on the estate from the 1970s to the present, as well as the perceived poor standard of schools, low educational and health standards, and a reported high number of teenage mothers, particularly in Fieldway.[citation needed] In a Croydon Advertiser survey in 2013, New Addington, in comparison with other areas, was said to be the worst in Croydon to live, based on life expectancy, incapacity benefit claimants rates and income support, unemployment, crime, school exam passes, public transport accessibility and access to open space and nature.
The area was affected during the 2011 England Riots. A supermarket was destroyed by firebombs and stolen property was found in the area. An inquiry supported the provision of a local police station. A councillor praised local recovery from the riots, claiming the area was now a stronger community than before and rates of anti-social behaviour were beginning to decline.