Waddon is a quiet pocket of classic semi-detached suburban housing, mixed with some spacious green areas and an uncanny cluster of business parks and warehouses. Despite being a mere ten-minute drive from Croydon centre, Waddon, and its surrounding neighbourhoods represents the silent revolution that occurred over a wide span of history; from manors and marshland, to an industrial powerhouse, to a peaceful residential area with a healthy dose of superstores. The River Wandle bisects the area between Beddington and Wandle Park, through Richmond Green and the Wandle Ponds. Purley Way, which acts as a relief road from Croydon, is joined with adjacent Beddington Lane by Beddington Farm Road. Valley Retail and Shopping Park is positioned between the two, featuring a Vue cinema and an IKEA. A motorsports activity centre can be found just below Mitcham Common, for a more thrilling day out with the family.

After the opening of Waddon Railway station in 1963, the industry was given a boost with Croydon Gasworks being built on the marshes in the northern-most part of the area. Power stations began to spring up, especially around Purley Way which opened up another route into Croydon. In the late 1800s, the area also attracted a more highbrow, progressive crowd with the opening of Morris House on Stafford Road, which advertised itself as a home to the ‘middle-class, but democratic’. The Plough pub on Croydon Road, built in 1897, still has access to a tunnel leading to Crew Manor in Beddington Park, which was frequently visited by Queen Elizabeth I.

Sir Francis Head, 6th Lieutenant of Upper Canada (present-day Southern Ontario), lived at Dupas Hill and in the late 1800s and led a protest of 3,500 people against the enclosure of the green space to be privately enjoyed. In fact, having been open to the public since 1865, Dupas Hill had been Croydon’s first recreation ground.

After the closing of the Croydon Power Stations in 1980s, the two chimneys from the Croydon B plant were to be preserved as a local landmark, conflicting with planning by IKEA to open their store in the same location. A deal was struck to allow IKEA to paint their brand colours on the top half of the column. Dupas Hill was also the location of a baseball match, held between American and Canadian soldiers during the height of WWII.

The nearby Beddington sewage works has been known to cause unpleasant disturbances to the quality of air inhaled by local residents. One instance in 2011 saw two digesters break down, causing a bad odour to pervade the surroundings. Joanne – a local resident – explains that “though there’s been some rough history, it doesn’t tend to affect everyday life; it’s really popular among young professionals as Croydon’s got it all!”

In 2020, Thames Water volunteers celebrated National Tree Week, by turning Beddington sewage works into a wildlife haven for small birds. Thames Water aimed to plant 6,420 whips around the perimeter of the sewage works, to hopefully increase the area’s biodiversity and create a new homes to sparrows that visit Beddington. In 2021, The Campaign for Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) has also urged Mayor Khan to turn Beddington Farmlands, the site of disused 20th-century landfill and sewage works adjacent (conveniently) to the Beddington Sewage Works, into one of 10 new parks for London. At 400 acres, Beddington Farmlands is slightly bigger than Hyde Park, and together with Beddington Park and Mitcham Common, it is one of the largest contiguous green spaces in south London. CPRE are campaigning for the recognition and improved management of the Farmlands.

Some see the Barratt Homes’ New South Quarter at Wandle Park as symbolic of the direction that Waddon is heading in. The idyllic apartment complex stands for a transforming character for the neighbourhood. A number of new developments in the area have also either been proposed or approved. Earlier in 2022, Conegate submitted plans for 140 new homes. The development would sit on the north part of the former Heath Clark playing field, currently occupied by horses. The plans include a mix of terraced houses and flats built in two and five-storey buildings around a central garden, with 57 homes earmarked as affordable housing, including a mix of rented homes and Shared Ownership. In December 2021, Croydon Council approved plans for a 126-home (30% affordable housing) development by London Strategic Land, who intends to develop the unoccupied block off Duppas Hill Road.