After closing libraries, now Philistine Perry takes axe to CALAT

Posted on September 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

Council briefing document says Mayor wants to outsource borough’s widely admired adult education service as his latest cost-cutting wheeze.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

CALAT, the council-run Croydon Adult Learning and Training organisation, has effectively been evicted from its home in the council-owned Clocktower, amid growing fears that its education services are the next for the chop by the borough’s Mayor, Jason “Philistine” Perry.

The Town Hall Labour opposition has called for an urgent meeting with council bosses, saying that CALAT’s 500-or-so staff, their jobs at risk, are “angry” at the way the situation has been mismanaged. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Brigitte Graham, Business, CALAT, Croydon Council, Education, Greenwich Leisure, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Giant PubCo seeking new management for Slug & Lettuce site

Posted on September 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

The steady hollowing out of what was once Croydon’s thriving town centre will take another step on September 12 when the Slug and Lettuce on Park Street brings down the shutters after 13 years.

Up for offer: Stonegate Group is inviting applications to take on the town centre pub

The current tenants running the venue, which pitched itself somewhere between a cocktail bar and post-work drinks pub, described the closure as “gutting news”. The venue has not had a refurb for nearly a decade, and like much of its neighbourhood, the Slug was beginning to look a little sad and neglected.

Being located immediately opposite what has been a demolition site since 2019 – the Nestlé Tower and St George’s Walk, where building work ground to a halt six years ago – and the seemingly permanent hoardings across the road will have nothing to provide an attractive prospect for potential customers.

Combine that with the general pressures on the pub trade, and the bar’s management, tenants of the vast Stonegate Group pub business, last month took the decision to close,  noting that, “the site is no longer commercially viable”. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Fairfield, Nestle Tower, Property, Pubs, St George's Walk | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Volunteers wanted to help clean-up the Minster churchyard

Posted on September 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

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20th anniversary Apple Day, Addiscombe Railway Park, Sep 12

Posted on September 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
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Posted in Activities, Addiscombe East, Addiscombe West, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Community associations, Croydon parks, Friends of Addiscombe Railway Park, Gardening | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The 28-day scramble: inside a typical auction purchase

Posted on September 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

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Buying property at auction offers speed and certainty, but the clock starts ticking the moment the hammer falls. Winning a lot requires paying an immediate 10% deposit, with the remaining 90% balance due strictly within 28 days.

Let’s examine how experienced buyers manage each step of this tight timeline to secure their acquisitions without costly penalties.

Catalogue release and legal pack preparation

Catalogues drop roughly three to four weeks before auction day. Serious investors download legal packs immediately to inspect title deeds, lease details and local authority searches. This early window is the only time buyers have to verify planning permissions or spot unusual covenants attached to the title. Continue reading →

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Coulsdon temple’s 16 pilgrims all missing after floods in Tibet

Posted on September 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

Emergency search: the devastating floods in Nepal and Tibet have claimed hundreds of lives, with thousands still missing – including a pilgrimage group fro Coulsdon

All 16 members of a Coulsdon Hindu temple pilgrimage are feared to be among the thousands who are missing, one week after floods in the mountains of the Tibet and Nepal border region devastated whole communities and buried entire villages under tons of mud.

The group from the Coulsdon Mandir included pilgrims aged between 18 and 65.

It was only yesterday that rescue workers first managed to reach some of the more remote Himalayan villages in Nepal, as efforts to locate victims have been hampered by continuing bad weather, while many roads have been washed away by the flood surge. Continue reading →

Posted in Church and religions, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Mandir | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

He should be so lucky, lucky, lucky: Reed’s £4,500 of freebies

Posted on September 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

INSIDE CROYDON INVESTIGATES:
Our first article about the borough’s MPs’ declarations has already prompted complaints to the parliamentary commissioner for standards about Chris Philp.
Now we scour the official declarations of another former Cabinet minister with interesting financial backers, the Labour MP for Streatham and Croydon North

When it comes to second jobs, apart from a few small payments earned through completing surveys for opinion polling companies, Steve Reed, the Labour MP for Croydon North since 2012, has declared no other employment outside Westminster.

Hacked off: how might MP Steve Reed react to his recently changed circumstances

All of those efforts, over many years, to undermine Jeremy Corbyn as Labour Party leader and to shape “Project Starmer” must have kept Reed very busy.

His loyalty to PM Starmer took pride of place on his “CV”, which he published when resigning from the Cabinet before he could be sacked by Andy Burnham.

Today’s announcement that Starmer is to resign as an MP, to spend more time with his family and (lucrative) foreign affairs, might not be the final page in the Labour Together saga.

But Reed’s loss of front bench status since his stooge was ousted from No10 has certainly put a near-£70,000 per year dent in his parliamentary income. His loss of influence might also reduce the number of invitations he receives to big football matches and concerts offered by private interest groups. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Inside Croydon Investigates, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sign-up week at colleges for courses that can change your life

Posted on September 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

There’s still time to sign up for one of the post-GCSE courses starting this autumn term at Croydon College and Coulsdon Sixth Form College.

Open enrolment: there are sign-up sessions all week in Croydon and Coulsdon

Open Enrolment sessions give Croydon’s young people the chance to visit the colleges, at the town centre campus or in Coulsdon, explore their options and secure a place.

“Whether results were different from expected, plans have changed or students simply have not yet decided what they want to do, there is no need to panic,” said a spokesperson for the colleges. “Teams are available at both colleges to talk through the options and help students find a course that suits their results, interests and ambitions.”

No appointment or application is required for Open Enrolment: potential applicants can simply come along to one of the sessions at Croydon College or Coulsdon Sixth Form College. Continue reading →

Posted in Coulsdon, Coulsdon Sixth Form College, Croydon College, Education | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Quiz Night: Save The Kenley fundraiser, Smokin’ Grill, Sep 18

Posted on September 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
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Tasty way to enjoy a cool temper on Purley’s Old Lodge Lane

Posted on August 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

Treat time: the chocolate bar-making class at Cocoa Jones delivered to our own tastes

Roving reporter KEN TOWL visited Croydon’s own chocolatiers and got a flavour of the hand-made chocolate business

“Your next assignment,” said the Editor, “is to visit Cocoa Jones in Purley and make a bar of chocolate. That’s what they do there.”

The clue, as usual, is in the name: “cocoa”, the plant from which the popular drink and confection are derived, and “jones” the 60s jazz slang word for addiction. Continue reading →

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Selsdon Community Fair, Old Farleigh Road, Sun Sep 6

Posted on August 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

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London Radical Book Fair, Stanley Halls, free entry, Sun Sep 6

Posted on August 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

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‘Chinese’ magician who died on stage, shot by his own gun

Posted on August 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

CROYDON CHRONICLES: Theatres in the town attracted some of the world’s biggest Vaudeville stars in the early 20th Century, including the mysterious Chung Ling Soo. DAVID MORGAN discovered more from the archives

Many great entertainers have trodden the boards in Croydon, especially when the music halls were at the height of their popularity.

Magicians and illusionists have always held an intrigue with the public and back in October 1911, the manager of the Croydon Empire, Eustace Jay, was proud to announce that one of the very best in the business was to appear in his theatre.

Chung Ling Soo was to bring the mysteries of the Orient to Croydon.

Master of mystery: a Chung Ling Soo show poster, typical of his time touring England

Soo never spoke during his act. Dressed in Chinese robes and with heavy stage make-up, he looked every inch the Chinese character his biography claimed him to be: the son of a Scottish missionary and a Cantonese woman.

The Croydon audiences would be wowed by his act.

An octagonal cabinet with glass sides was hauled into the air and spun rapidly around. As the cabinet slowed down, Soo’s assistant, Suee Seen, materialised inside it.

Then, a cauldron was suspended from a tripod and Soo filled it with water. Continue reading →

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Misanthrope, Odyssey and Obsession at David Lean Cinema

Posted on August 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

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Friends of Grangewood Park Picnic in the Park, Sun Sep 20

Posted on August 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

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Cleverly quits Tory shadow cabinet to run for London Mayor

Posted on August 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on the south Londoner who wants to take on Labour at City Hall

James Cleverly has resigned from Kemi Badenoch’s shadow cabinet in order to seek selection as the Conservative Party’s candidate for London Mayor in 2028.

Labour’s Sadiq Khan, now Lord Khan of Tooting, has been Mayor of London since 2016. It is not yet know whether Mayor Khan will seek an unprecedented fourth term in two years.

Born to run: James Cleverly has resigned from the shadow cabinet

Since the Greater London Authority was founded in 2000, the Tories have only held the capital’s mayoralty for eight years, through Boris Johnson between 2008 and 2016.

Polling conducted this month placed the Tories in third place in London, with Labour on a commanding (by recent standards) 33%, with Reform Ltd on 20%, the Conservatives on 18%, the Greens on 14% and LibDems 10%. Continue reading →

Posted in 2028 London elections, James Cleverly, Laila Cunningham, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

BID’s latest town centre stunt brought to you by… Filthy Luker!

Posted on August 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

Not entirely unexpected: this weekend’s public art trail, ‘Unexpected Croydon’, which resembles the previous public art trail of large inflatables

Our culture correspondent, GRAYDON PERRY (no relation), considers the ‘anarchy’ behind the latest art-washing efforts by the money men at the Business ‘Improvement’ District

Please ensure that you are seated before reading this article. Inside Croydon does not want responsibility for anyone falling over out of sheer, unmitigated excitement at what we are about to reveal.

Not that anyone should be surprised at all, of course.

But Croydon BID, the business “improvement” district which has made no substantive improvements to the town centre since it was established almost 20 years ago, a period of noticeable decline in the town centre, has been splashing the cash again on a pretty feeble attempt to drum up some interest in the area.

Thing is, they’ve tried it before and it didn’t work then. So now Croydon BID is spending their members’ cash to do it all over again. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Art, Business, Centrale, Croydon BID, Mayor Jason Perry, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Pampisford Road Allotments annual Open Day, Sun Sep 6

Posted on August 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

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Old Coulsdon Camera Club Welcome Evening, Tue Sep 8

Posted on August 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

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Perry’s ‘comedy’ video claims are leaving the joke on Croydon

Posted on August 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

The borough’s Conservative Mayor, rendered impotent by the presence of government Commissioners, has spent much of the summer conducting some personal political campaigning, all paid for by tax-payers, that is often deliberately misleading, that sometimes gaslights residents and, very often, is simply untrue.
ANDREW FISHER provides a fact check

“We’ve been busy,” Jason Perry, Croydon’s executive Mayor, tells his followers on social media in an upbeat and well-produced video to mark what he’s called his first 100 days, but which in fact follows his previous four years of not very much.

Comedy routine: Jason Perry’s video shows he won’t have a future as a stand-up – the joke’s not funny any more

It’s delivered with the patter of an old-school comic.

Trouble is, in Jason Perry’s Music Hall, the joke is on Croydon’s residents.

There’s an eclectic rundown of “achievements”, breathlessly taking in playgrounds, outdoor gyms, parks, fly-tipping, potholes, live facial recognition, investment and regeneration.

It all sounds an impressive programme in just 100 days since his re-election in May. But is it all that it’s cracked up to be? Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Andrew Fisher, BH Group, Business, Commissioners, Council Tax, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Fly tipping, Live Facial Recognition cameras, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Policing, Refuse collection, Sadiq Khan, Selsdon Park Hotel, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Fanatics shock Palace fans with end to Selhurst activities

Posted on August 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

No fans of Uefa: organised protests in the stands became a colourful feature of Palace games, thanks to Holmesdale Fanatics’ activism

Controversial pundit Stan Collymore adds his support, as long-standing fans and youngsters are being forced out of ‘the people’s game’ by corporatist interests of the Premier League and football bodies FIFA and UEFA

Crystal Palace play their first home game of the Premier League season against Manchester City tonight. The atmosphere at Selhurst Park will be different.

The Holmesdale Fanatics, the Selhurst “ultras” who have done so much to shape the atmosphere for home games over the past 20 years, the loud and proud south Londoners who made Wembley “shake” at the 2025 FA Cup final and did it again with noise and tifos at Leipzig in May, have quit.

The Fanatics issued a statement on social media last night in which they said that the Holmesdale Fanatics had “helped write a chapter in the club’s history that many did not believe was possible”.

But they added: “Now is the time for us to recognise we have taken the HF as far as it can go in the current climate. We are therefore choosing to stop all organised activity as the HF inside the stadium.”

The Fanatics were formed out of groups that campaigned for the club’s survival in 2005, and have grown to represent supporters’ views, including opposition to the increasingly corporatist nature of the Premier League and its takeover of “the people’s game”. Continue reading →

Posted in Crystal Palace FC, Football, Holmesdale Fanatics, Jay Crame, Selhurst, Sport, Steve Parish | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘There needs to be drastic shift at Palace towards younger fans’

Posted on August 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

Here is the Holmesdale Fanatics’ statement in full:

Group Update: 27 August 2026

“For more than 20 years, the HF has stood on the Holmesdale and travelled across the country and beyond supporting this great football club.

“Born from a desire to create a strong unit that could support Palace, resist the passivity that had captured the stands and fight the Draconian restrictions that had been imposed on football supporters, the group was founded in 2005 by a group of Palace fans who had grown disillusioned with the state of the game.

“Two decades later, and after the club’s most successful period in its history – marked by an FA Cup, our first European trophy and a record run in the top flight – attempts to sanitise the game are stronger than ever.

“In an ever more atomised society, football is one of the last remaining spaces where people can come together and unite over something bigger than themselves. But genuine, lifelong fans are no longer prioritised by their football clubs and young lads were never wanted by the authorities in the first place. Continue reading →

Posted in Crystal Palace FC, Football, Holmesdale Fanatics, Jay Crame, Selhurst, Sport, Steve Parish | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

London Radical Book Fair, Stanley Halls, free entry, Sun Sep 6

Posted on August 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
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Standards Commissioner asked to investigate Philp’s shares

Posted on August 27, 2026 by insidecroydon

INSIDE CROYDON INVESTIGATES: The Conservative MP for Croydon South is the subject of at least two complaints to Parliament’s Standards Commissioner, following a report published by Inside Croydon earlier this month, over what appear to be long-delayed declarations of financial interests

Conservative MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, has been reported to the Standards Commissioner at Westminster by at least two of his Croydon South constituents.

Shadow home secretary, shadowy finances: Chris Philp has been an MP since 2015

The locals were concerned by a detailed report published by Inside Croydon earlier this month which showed that their MP has owned 7,267 ordinary shares in Galenic Laboratories Ltd, a company run by his wife, Elizabeth Philp.

Chris Philp held the shares since the company was established, in 2019, including the period in 2022 when he was Chief Secretary to the Treasury. But public records show that Philp registered the shares only relatively recently.

MPs are required to update their register of interests within 28 days.

In one of the complaints submitted to Daniel Greenberg, the Standards Commissioner, and which has been seen by Inside Croydon, a Croydon South constituent writes: “I believe my MP, Chris Philp (Croydon South) has breached Rule 5 of the Code of Conduct by failing to register an interest at the appropriate time. Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Inside Croydon Investigates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Ted Craig, director of Warehouse Theatre for 25 years, has died

Posted on August 27, 2026 by insidecroydon

Ted Craig – 1940-2026

Ted Craig, for more than 25 years the director of the Warehouse Theatre at East Croydon, has died after a brief illness. He was 86.

Australian-born Craig arrived in Croydon with an impressive CV in cinema, television and in theatre, both in the West End and in New York. Craig was the first artistic director of the resident drama company at the Sydney Opera House.

But in Croydon, Craig will be remembered as a colourful champion of new writing and acting talent at the Warehouse Theatre, a converted oak-beamed Victorian-built cement warehouse close to the railway lines at East Croydon, which swiftly developed a national reputation for innovative and outstanding plays – and a cheeky revival for former radio star Dick Barton.

After opening in 1977, Croydon’s Warehouse Theatre was also home to a Caribbean nightclub and later cabaret including comedy stars such as Lenny Henry, French and Saunders, Rik Mayall, Ben Elton and Julian Clary. The theatre only ever had a maximum of 100 seats. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Cinema, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Theatre, Warehouse Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments