£275,000: Loadsamoney Perry breaks the bank for new CEO

Posted on July 8, 2026 by insidecroydon

Job’s a good ‘un: Croydon’s cash-strapped council has hiked the rate for the top job at Fisher’s Folly by more than 20%, to £275,000 per year. Plus pension. Plus exes

CROYDON IN CRISIS: As the council faces having to replace its interim CEO with an interim interim CEO, the Mayor splashes the cash to try to find someone for what he calls ‘London’s most important leadership role’

Loadsamoney: recently re-elected Mayor Jason Perry has failed to stabilise the finances at a council which is now £1.7bn in debt

Recruitment ads for the cash-strapped council’s new chief executive officer have appeared offering the successful applicant a salary of £275,000 per year, plus exes and a mammoth pension pot.

That’s £50,000 more in salary than the incumbent, Elaine Jackson, is being paid.

It will place the CEO of Croydon Council in a pay bracket with the top four or five local authority staffers in England and Wales.

Croydon Council has debts of £1.7billion, and has needed government bail-outs with emergency loans every year since 2020. Twelve months ago, the government appointed Commissioners to oversee the management of Croydon’s finances. Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

LibDems’ £1m costs and damages in Campanale challenge

Posted on July 8, 2026 by insidecroydon

INSIDE SUTTON: Time could be running out for MP Luke Taylor, as former party leader Tim Farron joins calls for an independent inquiry into the nasty and illegal campaign waged against a properly selected candidate

Happy days: David Campanale (left) with party leader Ed Davey. The LibDems have admitted they broke discrimination law over Campanale’s deselection

The simmering scandal over the Liberal Democrats’ deselection of their candidate for Sutton and Cheam because … checks notes… he is a Christian, could end up costing the party a cool £1million, and make the position of the party leader, Ed Davey and his shadow spokesman for London, Luke Taylor MP, entirely untenable.

When the LibDems’ Tewkesbury MP Cameron Thomas was arrested last month, the party leadership could not suspend him quickly enough.

Yet, in Sutton, Taylor continues to take the LibDem parliamentary whip, despite his part in an often vicious bullying campaign against a selection rival, David Campanale, that has seen his party dragged through the courts and forced to admit illegal discrimination and harassment. Continue reading →

Posted in David Campanale, Luke Taylor MP, Sutton and Cheam, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Do you recognise your council as described in the CEO job ad?

Posted on July 8, 2026 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS
In the recruitment ad, are the Commissioners seeking a competent and experienced civic administrator with more than the charisma of a dead fish for the role of council chief executive?
Or are they looking for a knight in shining armour with the ability to perform minor miracles? Read the job description here and make up your own mind (and if you know what ‘a borough with momentum’ is supposed to mean, answers on a postcard, please…)

Croydon: London’s largest borough
London’s most important leadership role
A borough with momentum

Croydon is a borough defined by its aspiration. As London’s largest borough, it is home to extraordinary communities, creativity and potential. It sits at the heart of south London’s economy, with the scale, energy and aspiration to shape its own future and its place within London.

Croydon is also a borough that has faced profound challenges. In recent years, the council has taken decisive action to confront an unprecedented financial crisis. It has made difficult decisions to stabilise its position, strengthen governance, and rebuild the foundations of the council. That work is well underway. Progress is being made through improving services, greater financial discipline, and a clearer sense of direction. Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Jenny Rowlands, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

London bus and tram fares to rise by 10p from November

Posted on July 7, 2026 by insidecroydon

An inflation-busting fare increase on Croydon’s trams and London buses “will be hard to take for passengers”, according to a transport watchdog.

Going up: after a three-year fare freeze, Tram and bus fares are set to rise in November

Single bus and tram fares will increase 10p to £1.85 on November 1, Transport for London announced at the weekend, as they extended a fares freeze across the networks by a further four months.

Tube fares were increased in March, but bus fares were kept at the same level until July 5. Tram fares have been linked to Tube fares since TfL has operated the network. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry tries to hide homelessness service with South End move

Posted on July 7, 2026 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Just hours before his council was due at the High Court to face a possible Judicial Review over its closure of Access Croydon, the Mayor announced that he was moving the housing service.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Judicial Review: Mayor Jason Perry must have a season ticket for the High Court, his council has to defend cases there so frequently

With Jason Perry and Croydon Council virtually on the steps of the Royal Courts of Justice for today’s hearing before a High Court judge over the closure of Access Croydon, at the 11th hour yesterday evening the calamity council issued a note proclaiming a change in service.

Not that the shift of a housing front desk to a building on South End is likely to materially alter the grounds of the legal test case, since Perry’s omnishambles council maintains that appointments to see council housing staff will still need to be by appointment only.

It is almost as if no one at Perry’s council has quite grasped the fundamental point of the application for a Judicial Review over the closure of public access to statutory services.

The legal case, with the backing of 30 Croydon voluntary organisations and charities, is being brought over claims that the council’s cost-cutting move to shut itself off from the people it is supposed to serve breaks the law in respect of its statutory responsibilities for homeless people. Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Croydon High takes a stand at the Royal Society exhibition

Posted on July 7, 2026 by insidecroydon

Pupils from Croydon High School who are trying to become the first in the world from an all-girls school to design, build and launch a satellite into space, have reached another stellar milestone after showcasing their research at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition.

Examing the science: a long-term school project, Mission Pegasus, is seeing pupils at Croydon High developing essential skills

Last week, the school’s Astrogazers Physics Club presented research demonstrating how sunlight can be used to monitor atmospheric pollution from space – work that forms part of Mission Pegasus, the pupils’ ambitious satellite programme.

As part of Mission Pegasus, pupils have been working with the University of Bath and Spirent Communications to investigate how changes in sunlight intensity and wavelength can be used to monitor atmospheric particles and air quality, through the Royal Society Partnership Grants Scheme.

This year, that work resulted in the Royal Society inviting Croydon High to take an stand at their summer exhibition, attended by some of the world’s most eminent scientists. Continue reading →

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Green-eyed monster prowls the stage in South Norwood

Posted on July 7, 2026 by insidecroydon

Othello opens at the Shoestring Theatre in South Norwood tomorrow night, with Kristian Michael Swaby, recognised last week at the Croydon Youth Awards, leading the cast.

Swaby won the Creative Expression prize at the awards. for his “exceptional talent, dedication and contribution to the arts”, and is now taking on one of William Shakespeare’s most demanding roles in the Croydon Youth Theatre Organisation’s production.

Wednesday July 9 is opening night for Othello, with performances at 7pm also on July 10 and 11. Continue reading →

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Ruskin House Folk and Blues Festival, Coombe Road, July 18

Posted on July 7, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

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Croydon BID fails to inform co-directors of Perry’s resignation

Posted on July 6, 2026 by insidecroydon

Business ‘improvement’ district has received hundreds of thousands of pounds of public cash while Tory Mayor was one of its directors

Having a giraffe: part-time Perry and Matthew Sims, the chief exec of Croydon BID

Jason Perry, Croydon’s £86,000 per year part-time Mayor, has quit as a director of Croydon BID.

Piss-poor Perry’s resignation from the unpaid role of director of the Croydon Business Improvement District was posted to Companies House documents on Friday.

Insiders have revealed to Inside Croydon that Perry’s erstwhile fellow directors had not been informed of the Mayor’s resignation.

In Perry’s time on the board of Croydon BID, at least £243,000-worth of public money was channelled into the private company – similar to the amount that Tony Newman’s Labour council paid in mid-sized contracts to a company owned by party big-wig David Evans.

Typically of Perry, the small businessman who holds public office but avoids public scrutiny, the Mayor did not respond to Inside Croydon’s invitation to comment of his abrupt change of status or the reasons behind it. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Boxpark, Business, Centrale, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Mott MacDonald, Policing, Stiles Harold Williams, Surrey Street, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s coming home! College esports team defends its student title

Posted on July 6, 2026 by insidecroydon

Champions at the double: winners in 2025, Croydon College Prime won the 2026 national students’ esports title last week

Croydon College’s esports team last week successfully defended its League of Legends students national title.

Croydon Prime defeated Belfast Met Esports in an exciting best-of-three grand final staged in Stoke. Continue reading →

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Oh! What A Lovely War, Coulsdon Manor Hotel, Jul 29-Aug 7

Posted on July 6, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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After eight years, Bishop prepares for his final Minster service

Posted on July 5, 2026 by insidecroydon

Farewell to Croydon: today is the last day as Vicar of Croydon for Canon Rev Dr Andrew Bishop, who has served at Croydon Minster since 2018

CROYDON CHRONICLES: History is happening every day, all around us. And today marks the latest important date in the 700-year history of the Vicar of Croydon. By DAVID MORGAN

Father Andrew Bishop was in a reflective mood when I caught up with him this week during his final few days as the Vicar of Croydon.

Today, Sunday July 5, is his last day of work in Croydon. He takes his final eucharist, intones his final prayers, preaches his final sermon and then meets with parishioners and dignitaries on Minster Green for a farewell lunch.

After that, he is off to his new vicarage in Walsingham in Norfolk.

The shelves in his Minster office are bare. His mountain of books has been packed away in crates, with the removal firm perspiring heavily under their weight.

“There are three things that I will miss when I leave,” mused Canon Rev Dr Andrew Bishop, to give him his full titles.

“First, it is the people.” Continue reading →

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Bowie’s old school ties sees his old friend back in Bromley

Posted on July 5, 2026 by insidecroydon

Right on song: David Bowie’s childhood mate, George Underwood, enjoyed Bowie-inspired music from pupils at his old school

David Bowie’s best friend told pupils at the Bromley school they had attended together about their youthful music obsessions and haircuts gone wrong.

George Underwood visited Ravens Wood School this week for an event organised by the Heritage of London Trust, where pupils performed somgs inspired by Bowie, as part of the heritage programme linked to 4 Plaistow Grove.

The event follows the Trust’s acquisition of David Bowie’s childhood home at 4 Plaistow Grove in Bromley, which is set to be fully restored and opened to the public next year. Continue reading →

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Supernatural, a Peter Green celebration, Coulsdon Club, July 23

Posted on July 5, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Comedy Fyles are worth seeing when they get to Edinburgh

Posted on July 4, 2026 by insidecroydon

Stalin performance: Emmy Fyles in one-woman show Not Like That – You’re Doing It Wrong at Stanley Arts takes a stab at the patriarchy, all with the help of a PowerPoint presentation

FRINGE REVIEW: As the Croydonites festival enters its final two days, KEN TOWL (Croydon’s answer to Tynan), pictured right, conducts a compare and contrast of two of the shows this week, and marks your card for tonight and tomorrow, and for Edinburgh next month

We are a month away from the start of the Edinburgh Fringe, the largest arts festival in the known universe. We in Croydon are 400 miles away from the nearest Edinburgh Fringe venue, so we are lucky to have the Croydonites Fringe on our doorstep.

Croydonites Fringe in many cases showcases acts that are bound for Scotland, often having a final run-through in south London before heading north. This week, I saw two of them, one called Emmy (book your Edinburgh tickets here), the other Emma (or here).

Both of them promised a PowerPoint presentation. Other slideshow software packages may be available, but I’ve never heard of one.

One of them was very funny, one of them quite disturbing. So, not a bad sample of the Scottish festival to come. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Comedy, Croydonites Festival, Ken Towl, Poetry, Stanley Halls, The Front Room, The Front Room, The Oval Tavern, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fire at Hindu temple took Brigade three hours to subdue

Posted on July 4, 2026 by insidecroydon

It took 70 firefighters drawn from four fire stations three hours to get a blaze at a converted warehouse on Elmwood Road under control yesterday.

Big blaze: half the building on Elmwood Road was on fire

There were no reports of any injuries at the fire, in building which is now being used as a Hindu temple, although residents in surrounding roads were advised to keep their windows closed because of the amount of smoke generated by the blaze.

There were road closures on Elmwood Road between London Road and Lodge Road, and on Wellington Road between Elmwood Road and St James’s Road while firefighters tackled the emergency.

Station Commander Craig Fenner, who was at the scene, said: “Firefighters worked hard to bring the incident under control.

“One of the Brigade’s 64-metre turntable ladders was used at the scene as a water tower to tackle flames from height. Drones were also deployed to provide the incident commander with a greater situational awareness of the incident. Continue reading →

Posted in Broad Green, London Fire Brigade, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Blues at the Oval, Sunday nights in July from 6pm, entry free

Posted on July 4, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Posted in Addiscombe West, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Business, Music, The Oval Tavern | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Free SWLLC benefits and housing advice sessions, Selhurst

Posted on July 4, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

NOTE the revised timings and venue details

Continue reading →

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Trauma at Lanfranc as boy waits 2 hours with knife in his head

Posted on July 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

Headteacher tells mother that the school’s failure to seek emergency treatment for her son was ‘a judgement call’

Gruesome: the boy was left waiting for two hours, as school staff failed to call for an ambulance

A mother was distraught and angry when she arrived at her son’s Croydon school one morning this week to discover the boy had been left sitting in a corridor for two hours, alone and unattended, with a wooden knife stuck in his head.

The boy had been violently attacked by another pupil, a matter that is now subject to a police investigation.

But no one at the school had called for an ambulance to send the injured child to receive urgent treatment for his head wound.

The shocking incident occurred at Archbishop Lanfranc secondary before school on Monday. The school, on Mitcham Road in Thornton Heath, is just a short distance from Mayday Hospital.

Continue reading →

Posted in Archbishop Lanfranc, Broad Green, Education, Schools, Thornton Heath, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Coughlan’s directors moved £9m out of bakery firm since 2023

Posted on July 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

National news: the closure of a Croydon bakery chain this week was covered widely, without many reporting Ranganathan’s loss of £400,000 in shares

  • Romesh Ranganathan stands to lose up to £400,000
  • Staff were only informed of business’s closure by text message
  • Since 2023, directors transferred £5.7m property assets to another company while £2.9m was also taken out of the business

For all the outpouring of public sympathy over the closure of a long-established Croydon business, as Coughlan’s shut the doors on their bakers’ shops for a final time on Tuesday night, the public records for the company tell a story of a business that, according to their own accountants as recently as last September, could have continued to operate as a going concern “for at least 12 months”.

The decision to close Coughlan’s was announced by director Sean Coughlan via social media on Tuesday night. Key is that Coughlan’s is a voluntary liquidation, a choice made by Coughlan and fellow directors, including his sister, company secretary Virginia Coughlan, and Jacqueline Taylor.

All three are also co-directors of another company, Smitham Lodge Estates Ltd. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Coughlan's | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Air ambulance called out to double stabbing on George Street

Posted on July 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

Police have increased patrols in central Croydon today, after a double stabbing off George Street during yesterday evening’s rush hour saw the town centre shut down as the Met started a manhunt.

Call out: London’s Air Ambulance was called to Croydon town centre

The London Air Ambulance was called out, after a man in his 20s and a 16-year-old boy were stabbed.

Eye-witnesses say that they saw blood along the pavement on George Street. Tram services were halted at East Croydon Station and buses put on diversion, as police taped off the roundabout at the junction with Wellesley Road as part of their crime scene.

Both males were taken to hospital after being treated at the scene, where their injuries have been assessed to be not life-threatening.

No arrests have been made, with the suspect still at large. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, London Ambulance Service | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gibson is handing over the baton after 27 harmonious years

Posted on July 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

Ahead of their conductor’s final performance tomorrow, PETER GILLMAN looks at the changing of the guard at one of Croydon’s largest musical organisations

Musical leader: David Gibson has been the Croydon Philharmonic Choir’s director since last century

The Croydon Philharmonic Choir has an historic event in prospect tomorrow.

Its summer concert at St Mark’s in Purley will mark the final appearance of its music director and conductor, David Gibson.

Gibson has been at its helm for 27 years. “I’ve done a fair stint,” he told the choir at his last rehearsal on Tuesday, when he was presented with a framed collection of the programmes for many of the 100-plus concerts he has conducted. “It’s probably time for somebody else to have a go.”

Gibson is only the fourth music director in the Croydon Philharmonic Choir’s 112-year existence. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Art, Croydon Male Voice Choir, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Fairfield Halls, Music, Purley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayor Perry’s ‘Motorists’ Charter’ to deliver more accidents, higher car insurance and even put children’s safety at risk

Posted on July 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

20s plenty: Mayor Jason Perry seems to be in a terrible rush to remove a measure that is proven for reducing collisions and for reducing car insurance premiums

Just what might be coming round the corner in council business now that Jason Perry is back in the Town Hall? Probably a BMW being driven at close to 40mph, reports PAUL LUSHION, our environment correspondent

Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, has used his re-election for a second term as an excuse to declare war against cyclists, pedestrians and even young children walking to school.

The man whose big mouth has already cost the cash-strapped council around £10million over his money-spinning Low Traffic Neighbourhoods has now pledged to make Croydon’s roads more dangerous for all road users, including motorists. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Cycling, Environment, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan, Schools, TfL, Transport, ULEZ, ULEZ expansion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Burnham’s challenge is to rebalance Britain yet cherish London

Posted on July 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

What would a ‘No10 in the North’ under a Prime Minister Burnham mean for London? Is it possible to devolve power, and spread wealth, across the country without undermining the economic engine of the nation? ANDREW FISHER sifts through some of the first indications of what Burnham might bring to the job – can he be Our Friend In The North?

As one door opens…: Andy Burnham wants to divide his time as PM between the regions

The North-South divide is one of the most enduring stories of English life.

The folklore of Dick Whittington, a servant boy fleeing the north to come to London to seek his fortune where the streets are paved with gold is perhaps the oldest such tale, but there are many modern versions.

Phrases such as “it’s grim up north” tell of the sense that the capital’s hinterlands are neglected hellscapes, while London and the south-east are a land of milk and honey.

Data dispels such myths. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s analysis of government data shows 26% of people in London living in poverty, compared to 23% in the north-west of England and 21% in the north-east (19% in south-east England live in poverty). London currently has the highest rate of unemployment of all the country’s regions and nations at 6.6%, compared to 5.1% averaged across England. Continue reading →

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Poetry emotion: We’re doing it for the craic and for the Cronx

Posted on July 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

The 2026 Croydonites Fringe began last night. Here, JOHNNY DOBBYN, pictured right, goes behind the scenes to explain the work that goes on to bring the festival’s shows to the stage

Fancy being a theatrical, musical or literary performer – and then finding yourself doubling up as a theatrical, musical or literary promoter? That’s what accidentally happened to me and my poetry colleague, The Civilised Savage, thanks to Inside Croydon.

I hate musicals, especially those of the “Hey! Let’s put on a show!” kind that seemed to feature Judy Garland or Mickey Rooney, or Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, in the 1930s and 1940s. The whole “Let’s put on a show!” schtick has always struck me as faintly preposterous.

Until now. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Croydonites Festival, Inside Croydon, Johnny Dobbyn, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment