St George's Walk is a covered shopping parade in the centre of Croydon

Croydon

Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 that houses many independent stores. It was completed in 1964 by Ronald Ward and Partners, the designers of St George's House and Millbank Tower

Millbank Tower

Millbank Tower is a high skyscraper in the City of Westminster at Millbank, on the banks of the River Thames in London, in the United Kingdom. The Tower was constructed in 1963 for Vickers and was originally known as Vickers Tower. It was designed by Ronald Ward and Partners and built by John...

. It runs parallel to the Croydon Clocktower

Croydon Clocktower

Croydon Clocktower on Katharine Street in Croydon is an arts centre in London, England. It contains the Museum of Croydon, the Riesco Gallery with a collection of Chinese pottery and ceramics, the David Lean Cinema, the Braithwaite Hall used for concerts and conferences, and a café and bar...

 arts facility runs between the Croydon Grant's entertainment venue and Wellesley Road. Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...

's UK headquarters, St George's House, forms part of the complex at the Wellesley Road end.

This shopping area is substantially less busy than its competitors in Croydon, Centrale

Centrale

Centrale is a shopping centre in Croydon, South London, one of the largest covered retail developments in London. It is owned and managed by the St Martins Property Group and was opened in 2004....

, the Whitgift Centre

Whitgift Centre

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

 and Surrey Street Market

Surrey Street Market

Surrey Street Market is a market that sells mainly meat & vegetables as well as a range of other items through the week in Croydon, south London. It has a Royal Charter dating back to 1276 linking it to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The market is regularly used as a location for TV, film and...

. This is partly because the parade doesn't house any well-known chains other than a branch of discount clothing retailer Madhouse.

There was a plan to tear down St George's Walk by 2011 and replace it with the new Park Place

Park Place (Croydon)

Park Place was a shopping centre which had been expected to open in Croydon, England by 2011, although this date has been pushed back and building has not started. It is part of the Croydon Vision 2020 re-generation scheme...

 shopping centre which would span from North End

North End, Croydon

North End is a pedestrianized road in Central Croydon which is the main equivalent to a high street in Croydon. The road holds both of the main shopping centres, Centrale and Whitgift Centre plus a forthcoming one called Park Place. The road offers many well-known shops such as WHSmith, Next, Zara...

 to Queen's Gardens

Queen's Gardens (Croydon)

The Queen's Gardens are a small area of urban gardens in the centre of Croydon, South London. It is part of the Croydon Vision 2020 re-generation plan with Park Place. They are bordered by Croydon Town Hall, Taberner house, Park Lane and Katharine Street....

. There had been little local opposition, but the owners of the shops facing eviction weren't offered places in the new shopping centre proposed by Minerva plc. Croydon Council terminated the scheme in May 2009 due to planning permission having lapsed on the venture and concerns over funding, and a new redevelopment scheme to attract retailer John Lewis to the town was being investigated.

External links

• LondonTown - Information
• Croydon Council to terminate Minerva Park Place agreement