A23 Streatham Hill final phase of works due to start next week

The major works on the A23 Streatham Hill, north of Croydon, which began 12 months ago, are due to enter their final phase from September 1.

New lanes: the A23 works enter their final phase next week, more than a year since they began

The works have been undertaken by Transport for London in conjunction with Southern Gas Networks, who have been conducting major gas mains repairs on Brixton Hill, just to the north of the junction with the South Circular.

There were 72 collisions on this stretch of A23 in the three years to October 2024, with 75 people injured. “Safety improvements are a key priority,” TfL has said. Continue reading

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Banned in Whitgift Centre, werewolf’s on the prowl in Croydon

GABRIEL MacARTHUR was on set for a music video shoot with a difference – it didn’t have Taylor Swift in it 

Local attraction: Friday’s music video shoot caused some excitement on the high street

There’s been a werewolf on the prowl on the high street and, in true Croydon fashion, most passers-by seemed more interested in taking a photograph with the beast than running from it.

The werewolf sightings were mostly on North End and on George Street on Friday, as the beast had come to town for the recording of a music video for local alt/funk band Slack Magic.

The Slack Magic werewolf was caught prowling in The Oval Tavern, at Riff RafFs on George Street and at the Never Say Die! tattoo studio. Continue reading

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Walk and Talk Riddlesdown, weekly every Sunday from 9am

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Family counts cost of burglary during Croydon’s Walnut Fair

Walnut Fair: staged where the Fairfield Halls stands today, this annual autumn festival was an important tradition in Victorian Croydon. As well as an opportunity for burglars…

CROYDON CHRONICLES: Archive newspaper reports of a burglary on Church Street in 1861 provide a useful insight into the possessions of a Victorian household, as DAVID MORGAN explains

Burglaries are not new crimes. A trawl through the local newspaper archives comes up with any number of incidents.

One such crime occurred in October 1861. Not only was the crime reported by the newspapers in some detail, it also revealed a great deal about what an ordinary household owned at that time.

Families living in Croydon in Victorian times looked forward to their treats, like all generations. One of the highlights of the year was the Walnut Fair. Although smaller in size than the fairs years ago, Croydon’s Walnut Fair was a tradition extending back for many years, and an occasion when the family could all go out together and have fun. Continue reading

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Woodland wonderland that’s hidden behind Selsdon’s suburbia

Growing woodland: encroachment on some fields has seen the woodland extending in Littleheath over the past two decades

THAT’S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR: For his latest visit to a group of hard-working conservationists and volunteers, KEN TOWL retraces his steps from one of his LOOP walks to discover ‘Selsdon’s secret wood’

Volunteer guide: Chris Hyde from the Friends of Littleheath Woods

You know that look you get when you tell people you are from Croydon?

The faux sympathy, the “Oh, I’m so sorry”, the assumption that you will collude with the characterisation of Croydon as just a little bit more awful than any other London borough?

I couldn’t help but think just how inappropriate and simplistic it is as I strolled through the magnificent beech trees of Littleheath Woods. I could not help but notice the almost pristine, litter-free nature of the place. I could have been a thousand miles from civilisation. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Littleheath Woods, History, Ken Towl, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, South Croydon, Walks | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Climate Grief Café, Croydon Clocktower Café, Sat Sep 26

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Captain Chippies Summer Barbeque, Oval Tavern, Mon Aug 31

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September 1 return for services to Lewes following derailment

Lift off: special cranes were needed to recover the derailed carriages outside Lewes, with the first one being moved on Thursday

It will be Tuesday September 1 before services between Haywards Heath and Lewes will resume, following the passenger train derailment on August 13.

Network Rail and train operators Southern have been continuing the work to recover the derailed carriages and restore and repair the track and embankment at the scene of the derailment. Continue reading

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Investigation after man died in the cells at Windmill Road

Under investigation: the Windmill Road custody centre in Selhurst

A man died in police custody in Croydon in the early hours of Friday morning.

The Metropolitan Police has not yet named the man, who was 52 years old. The Met says that an investigation is under way.

The death occurred in the cells of the Windmill Road custody centre. It was at this centre where Police Sergeant Matt Ratana was shot dead by a prisoner in custody in 2020. Continue reading

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South Croydon Model Railway Show, St Paul’s Church, Sep 12

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Carshalton Jazz Summer Festival, CryerArts Centre, Sat Aug 29

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Schools hire public relations firms to play GCSE numbers game

Education correspondent GENE BRODIE gives a Grade 3 to the public relations firms working for some of the borough’s secondary schools, whose news releases failed to include the hard facts on GCSE results day

Numbers game: Croydon College and Coulsdon Sixth Form College had more than 2,000 sitting GCSEs. But there’s no numbers for those getting top grades

GCSE results day this year came with a blizzard of press releases, many of which were distributed by public relations firms on behalf of academies, all making a raft of claims of success and achievement.

Yet many of them failed to provide what might be regarded as a realistic overview, or comparable statistics, of a school’s results. It’s almost as if they have something to hide.

“They tend to be unhelpful because they are essentially marketing, so they are selective,” according to a veteran secondary school teacher, who preferred that we didn’t name them.

“It’s what they don’t say that is interesting,” they said. Continue reading

Posted in Caireen Mitchell, Coulsdon Sixth Form College, Croydon College, Croydon High, Education, Meridian High, Oasis Academy Shirley Park, Schools, Trinity School | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The anxiety and the ecstasy: one fan’s journal from Leipzig

With the Premier League season about to get underway, SETH GILLMAN, pictured below, looks back on Palace’s night of nights in May when the Eagles soared to their first European trophy at the Conference League final

Wednesday May 27 – Matchday

I rest in the hotel until lunchtime, then make my way into town, first for refreshment and sustenance, then on to the Red Bull Stadium for the game. I find myself on the sun-drenched balcony of a bar in the city centre. It’s packed with the travelling Palace faithful, whose red and blue attire gleams in the bright sunlight.

With food and drink flowing freely, I speak to Tracey and Jo, who were travelling alone until they met and bonded on the journey to Leipzig. Both started watching Palace as children but later had to stop for family and logistical reasons, then began again in the last few years.

Jo had been dubious about the cost of coming, but asked herself when this opportunity might arrive again. “I haven’t regretted it one little bit,” she says. Tracey nods in agreement. “It took 50 years of me supporting to win the FA Cup,” she says. “Just being in this final feels like a win.” Continue reading

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Pampisford Road Allotments annual Open Day, Sun Sep 6

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Kit Packham’s One Jump Ahead, The Oval Tavern, Sun Aug 23

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Perry’s ‘caught on camera’ fly-tipper is following council’s rules

EXCLUSIVE: Mayor’s ‘zero tolerance’ approach to fly-tipping is to feature on local television news tonight, as council videos ‘exposes’ a local trader doing what they have been instructed to do by… the council! 

X-rated video: the council’s ‘faked’ news, claiming that a Brigstock Road shopkeeper is a fly-tipper

Jason Perry, the incompetent Mayor of Croydon, has launched an anti-fly-tipping campaign using a video that shows someone… disposing of rubbish exactly as they have been instructed to do by Croydon Council.

Rubbish contractors Veolia and the council introduced “banded” night-time rubbish collections almost 10 years ago.

Under this TBWC system – Time-Banded Waste Collection, for those not fluent in councilspeak – shop-owners and those living in flats above shops along the borough’s high streets, have been encouraged to put black bin bags and recycling out for collection overnight.

That scheme is reckoned by some to be one of the prime contributors to the awful state of many of Croydon’s streets. It has made an already bad street scene situation worse. However carefully placed the bin bags might be, they often leak waste fluids over the pavements, they are always an eyesore and they often attract further fly-tips, too.

Earlier this year, Mayor Perry and his council was exposed as running “the fly-tipping capital of England”, with on average more than 1,000 fly-tips reported in the borough every week in the most recent year for which official figures are published by DEFRA, the government’s environment department. Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Haily Cluff, Litter Free Norbury, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury, Refuse collection, Tony Hooker, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Chocolate, cakes and a choir: ‘Reedham Village Lates’ returns

Reedham Village Lates returns to Old Lodge Lane this week with a gathering of lovers of art, culture and good conversation hosted at Steven Robertson Art tomorrow evening.

Village people: businesses in Reedham are staging a special evening on Aug 21

Reedham businesses Tenpin Records and Cocoa Jones Chocolate join forces with the art gallery to open late this Friday, August 21, for locals to view the art, shuffle through vinyl and sample craft chocolates.

Cocoa Jones will be providing demonstrations of different aspects of the chocolate-making process, Steven Robertson will be speaking on why “Art is a Necessity not a Luxury” and Tenpin Records will be spinning vinyl and host a performance by the SING a-Cappella Choir.

SING is a choir, based in Coulsdon and Purley which sings without instrumenta accompaniment. They perform all genres of music from classic pop to contemporary Americana and this Friday they will be singing a chocolate-themed repertoire. Continue reading

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Misanthrope, Odyssey and Obsession at David Lean Cinema

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Buskers Barbecue Festival, The Oval Tavern, Sat Aug 22

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WIN!!! Five sets of family tickets for Harry Potter movie up for grabs at Vue Croydon in our latest exclusive competition

Inside Croydon subscribers can win a set of four tickets for a Harry Potter screening of their choice at Vue Croydon on Purley Way, as the cinema celebrates the 25th anniversary of the schoolboy wizard’s big screen debut.
See below for entry details

The magical adventures of schoolboy wizard Harry Potter and his friends are returning to the big screen at Vue to mark the 25th anniversary of their cinema debut back in 2001.

Between Friday August 28 – the start of the late summer Bank Holiday weekend – and October 16, all eight Harry Potter films will be shown at Vue Purley Way.

This anniversary season will give Potterheads and film fans the perfect opportunity to revisit Hogwarts and the wizarding world’s other memorable locations the way they were meant to be experienced, on the big screen. Continue reading

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Study shows that ULEZ helps improve children’s lung health

Latest scientific report on the adverse effects of vehicle emissions on the health of young children is timely in Croydon, writes our environment correspondent, PAUL LUSHION 

ULEZ – the Ultra-Low Emissions Zone – improves the health of children.

That’s according to a study published by The Lancet Public Health, which showed that children’s lungs grew bigger and stronger after polluting vehicles were restricted from entering London by ULEZ.

Clean air: in findings that should surprise no one, improved air quality leads to improved health in children

The expansion of ULEZ into Croydon and the rest outer London was vehemently opposed by Croydon’s failed Mayor, Jason Perry, together with local Tory MP Chris Philp and thousands of their gammon supporters.

The new study has been published as Mayor Perry is gearing up for his “Motorists’ Forum”, where he is likely to promise removing pollution-reducing 20mph zones and even reviewing School Streets in Croydon.

Perry has already said that black cabs – around one-third of which are still running on noxious diesel – can drive through the borough’s School Streets. Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Environment, Health, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, TfL, Transport, ULEZ, ULEZ expansion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

All you need to know about clearing out a house before selling

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If you’ve ever opened a cupboard and thought “I’ll deal with that later”, you’re not alone.

Most of us spend years stuffing things into spare rooms, garages and lofts without giving it a second thought. But when it comes time to sell, all of that catches up with you fast.

A cluttered house doesn’t just look bad in photos. It can actually put buyers off before they’ve even stepped through the door. Continue reading

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Petty Perry blocks residents’ groups from RA rubbish meeting

EXCLUSIVE: Croydon’s answer to Kim Jong Un, North Korea’s Supreme Leader, is making a public appearance tonight where only residents’ associations who meet his approval are allowed to attend. By KEN LEE, our Town Hall correspondent

Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, begins a new public engagement initiative tonight, with a “Residents’ Association Forum” meeting in the Braithwaite Hall, next to the Town Hall.

Totalitarian: Jason Perry picks and chooses which RAs are allowed to attend his ‘forum’

But petty Perry is picking and choosing who gets to ask him questions about the cash-strapped council, where he has hiked Council Tax by 33% since 2023.

Inside Croydon can reveal that the Tory Mayor has blocked representatives of at least two residents’ groups, who have been told that they cannot attend a meeting for residents’ groups.

The formal invite went out a fortnight ago, under the heading “OFFICIAL”.

“Dear Resident Association,

“We would like to extend an invitation for the first of the new Mayoral and Resident Association meetings, taking place on Tuesday August 18, 6pm-7.30pm. The meeting will be hosted in the Braithwaite Hall, which is located in Croydon Town Hall on Katharine Street.

“This meeting, which is intended to take place on a quarterly basis moving forward, will be an opportunity for discussion with Executive Mayor Perry on a range of matters relating to the borough.”

Tonight’s agenda demonstrates that this is not a “listening” exercise by Mayor Perry, but another council-funded bit of political promotion. Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Community associations, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Haily Cluff, Litter Free Norbury, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury, Ola Kolade, Refuse collection, Robert Ward, Tony Hooker, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Lansiquot looking to Los Angeles after relay win ‘for the ages’

Former Coloma pupil helps track stars Amy Hunt and Dina Asher-Smith make sporting history on final weekend of European championships in Birmingham, as Croydon Harrier doubles his gold haul

Relay for the ages: Imani-Lara Lansiquot yells in triumph as she anchored the GB 4x100m team to a 1sec margin victory

Sprinters Imani-Lara Lansiquot and Romell Glave both won relay golds in the final weekend of action at the European athletics championships.

Lansiquot anchored the British women’s 4x100metres team to a stunning victory on Saturday night, the third international relay gold medal of her track career for the former Coloma School pupil and Trinity sports scholar.

Britain’s women’s quartet, which included Bromley and Blackheath’s Dina Asher-Smith, Amy Hunt and Success Eduan, clocked 42.05sec, finishing more than a second clear of silver medal-winners Switzerland in an event that is often decided by mere hundredths. Continue reading

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Old Coulsdon Camera Club Welcome Evening, Tue Sep 8

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