Shopping in Orpington Town Centre
| Published: 24th April 2008 01:01 |
There is a great deal of choice of chain and independent shops in the High Street and Walnuts Shopping Centre. There are also regular markets in front of Orpington College, under the glass dome of the Walnuts outdoor market and most recently in front of WH Smith on Mondays (many traders coming from the stalls that used to be located at the Village Halls prior to them being shut.)
Back in 2005 permission was granted for a large Tesco to be bult at the War Memorial end of the High Street. Works began at the beginning of 2007 but due to delays in its construction (some of which due to works undertaken by Thames Water) the completion is now 
scheduled for Easter time 2009. The Tesco replaced a multi storey car park and so Orpington Town Centre has been under a strain to cope with the demand for parking. There have been various schemes such as the mobile phone parking system but there have been limitations with each. The problems of parking have also been blamed for the loss of some of the town's more established businesses in recent times. It is hoped that these and other issues will be tackled by the Masterplan and its consultation which is running until 17th July 2008. Other factors have included the retail parks on Cray Avenue in St Mary Cray and in particular the Nugent Estate. It is clear from walking around the centre of Orpington, however, there is much to separate it from the retail parks in terms of breadth of choice as well as the service offered by the independent retailers.
To help combat some of the issues that Orpington faces, at the beginning of 2008 the Orpington Business Forum was established. It holds its events once a month, typically in different eating establishments in the High Street and meets to discuss the issues that matter most to shops and shoppers in Orpington; car parking, street cleanliness and appearance and vacant properties. As well as this the Forum is a great place to meet some of the other shopkeepers that make up Orpington. If you would like to get involved then contact us here or call Chandra Sharma (forum chair) on 01689 896646.
Orpington is the Borough's second town and, whilst it has suffered in recent years, it is moving in the right direction. It is blessed with excellent transport links for residents (of which there are over 70,000 in the Orpington area) who might work outside of Orpington with direct trains to London (London Bridge in just 15 minutes) and easy road access to the M25, M20, M2 and M26. Holidaymakers and business travellers can also make use of the great connections to all the major airports.
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