RecruitmentWorking in Croydon
Kynetix's development centre is based in East Croydon right next to the mainline station and tram stop. Two minutes after stepping off the train and you are in our offices.
We chose Croydon as the location for our development centre because of its large catchment area and fantastic transport links. People working here travel from various parts of London and the South East. Over the years many of our staff have chosen to live in Croydon and are able to walk to work.
Many people making their first visit to Croydon are surprised at how easy it is to get to and how vibrant a place it is.
Here are some facts about Croydon that you may not be aware of:
Croydon has a fantastic train service
As the gateway to the south-east, East Croydon station is reputed to be the busiest station in the UK outside the main London termini. This is due to the many train lines that converge on, and then radiate from, Croydon.
Our offices are less than 15 minutes journey time from London Victoria and London Bridge. We are also only 10 minutes from Clapham Junction. Trains run so frequently to London and Clapham that there is never any need to consult a timetable.
Trains from Croydon also go to major towns and cities in Surrey, East & West Sussex, Kent and Hampshire allowing our staff to live in the country with easy and frequent access to our offices.
Croydon is also served by First Capital Connect (formerly Thameslink) which provides services to locations in north London through to Luton and Bedford.
Croydon Tramlink is world famous
Croydon Tramlink is the UK's number one tramway carrying 22 million passengers a year over a 28km (18.5 mile) modern tramway system covering South London, UK.
The line is largely on a east-west axis and includes a central loop around Croydon. It provides very useful, environmentally friendly, modern public transport system. It connects Croydon with Wimbledon to the west and Beckenham Junction to the east.
There are plans for extensions of Tramlink to Purley, Streatham, Crystal Palace and Lewisham. It is also envisaged that Tramlink will connect with the East London Line enabling easy access to Docklands and North East London.
Tramlink has been a huge success in getting people out of their cars and has proved very popular. It is the most reliable public transport service in the UK.
The success of Tramlink has attracted interest both from cities throughout the UK and from as far afield as Japan, Israel and Finland.
Shop till you drop in Croydon
Croydon, with 2.5 million sq. ft of retail space, has become the second largest place to shop in the south east after central London offering a huge range of shops and department stores.
There are 2 main shopping malls in central Croydon - The Whitgift Centre and Centrale. There is a large pedestrianised area connecting the two centres.
Surrey Street is reputed to be London's oldest continuously running market, having been granted a Royal Charter all the way back in 1276!
The town centre is also home to Europe's largest second hand record store, Beanos, offering rare vinyl, CDs and books.
On the periphery of Croydon there are numerous large stores such as IKEA and PC World.
The Arts
There are several high-quality arts venues. Foremost amongst these is the Fairfield Halls, which consists of a large concert hall frequently used for BBC recordings, the Ashcroft Theatre and the Arnhem Gallery.
The Halls are the home of the London Mozart Players, whose Principal Guest Conductor is flautist Sir James Galway. Many famous faces have appeared at the Fairfield Halls, from the Beatles through Bucks Fizz, Robert Cray, Chuck Berry, Status Quo , Level 42, Joe Satriani, John Mayall, Jools Holland, Kenny Rogers, James Last to Coolio.
The main concert hall was also used for the conference scene in the Tom Hanks film The Da Vinci Code.
The Warehouse Theatre is a studio theatre known for promoting new writing, as well as comedy and youth theatre.
There are several local and small venues for live music, comedy and community events dotted around Croydon and its neighbourhoods. There is a thriving rock scene producing some local talent such as; Kitty Hudson, Von Kleet, Rose Weat, Black Krash, 5th Man Down, Godsized and Noisettes.
Local bands can be found playing at the Black Sheep Bar, Walkabout or The George, or recording at Scream Studios.
Croydon has been at the centre of the development of the dubstep genre, a relatively recent musical development that traces its roots from dub, garage and drum and bass. Artists such as Benga and Skream, who honed their production and DJing skills whilst working at the now defunct Big Apple Records on Surrey Street, along with Norwood's Digital Mystikz and Croydon's Plastician, form the core roster of dubstep DJs and producers.
Croydon is also home to the BRIT School for performing arts and technology, based in Selhurst which has produced stars such as Katie Melua, Amy Winehouse, Imogen Heap, Dane Bowers and members of The Feeling & The Kooks.