Category Archives: Ruskin Square
Planning conflicts of interest? In Croydon? Don’t be silly
The Daily Torygraph, that bastion of left-wing revolutionaries, yesterday ran a fascinating report on how some councillors had been abusing their position within local authority planning committees to line their own pockets. Or purses. Shock! Horror! This, of course, would … Continue reading
Fairfield in discussions over cinema use of new studio threatre
Supporters of two of the borough’s neglected arts venues, the David Lean Cinema and the Warehouse Theatre, are expected to be very concerned that management at Fairfield Halls have been holding meetings with cinema operators over the possible use of … Continue reading
Jon Rouse: an alchemist who turned property into debts
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Former councillor ANDREW PELLING reviews the career of the borough CEO, who last week announced his resignation after almost six years in the job, and suggests that his promised financial wizardry was all a bit Mickey Mouse Since … Continue reading
Thorn in taxman’s side is named in accountancy power list
Mention of the council’s woebegone attempts to get the Croydon Gateway site developed with at least a little style and some substance prompted recollection of another local campaigner, Ken Frost, who this month has been named in Accountancy Age‘s Financial … Continue reading
Gateway’s uninspired opening with a couple of blocks of flats
According to ANDREW PELLING, the first phase of development proposed for the long-vacant Ruskin Square site, in a town crying out for family housing, consists of a couple of ugly blocks of flats that even the architects admit are not … Continue reading
Bridge to Nowhere opens and offers a Stairway to Heaven
It is seven days now since the £22 million bridge at the north end of the platforms at East Croydon station was opened, at least partially. The video from engineers BAM Nuttall is a terrific view of the impressive work … Continue reading
Is Boris the man to make prefabs sprout in London?
CROYDON COMMENTARY: DAVID CALLAM muses over the mess our council has made of one of its most important community responsibilities Housing in Croydon is in crisis. A combination of lazy politicians and greedy developers has brought us to a parlous … Continue reading
The bridge has landed: East Croydon station has a new look
Commuters arriving at East Croydon Station had something of a surprise this morning, with the new pedestrian bridge at the northern end of the platforms having been moved into position over the weekend.
Mind the gap: Addiscombe gets its missing “link”
Nil carborundum illegitimi* In dealing with the often obdurate and regularly crass management of our local council, sometimes people have to take satisfaction over the little victories, the minor successes. These are usually achieved against the corporate brick wall of … Continue reading
Installation that puts the guf into Ruskin Square
As you’ve stood on the platforms at East Croydon lately, have you wondered what the eclectic collection of random fixtures on the vacant site that was supposed to be “the gateway” to Croydon might be? There’s some explanation in this … Continue reading
Boris’s cunning plan: too high, too many, too central
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Mayor of London’s “cunning plan” for Croydon is flawed in important respects, says ANDREW PELLING – too much housing crammed into the centre of the borough, in too many high-rise blocks, and by ignoring other parts of … Continue reading
Secret donor pledges to double Warehouse appeal fund
The fight to save the Warehouse Theatre goes on, with a secret benefactor generously pledging to match all donations to the campaign to save the venue. As revealed by Inside Croydon, the local council withdrew the theatre’s grant in April, … Continue reading
