Prime property position: the Leslie Arms has been placed for auction for a third time since June
For sale: one long-neglected, heritage-listed Victorian boozer, likely to require millions of pounds to put right. For the third time in four months, the Leslie Arms is up for auction. And Labour councillors have appealed to pub chains to show it a little tender loving care. By STEVEN DOWNES
Troubled business: Anwar Ansari has lost at least five properties to the receivers
Croydon Labour councillors Sean Fitzsimons, Patricia Hay-Justice and Nick Beall have written an open letter to Tim Martin, boss of pub chain Wetherspoons, to stump up at least £1.3million to buy the Leslie Arms in their Addiscombe West ward.
The long-closed pub and four flats on the upper floor of the Grade II-listed building are up for auction again this week, at a plush event being held at Claridge’s in Mayfair.
The building, or parts of it, has been offered for sale at auction on at least two previous occasions this year, as the property empire of Dr Anwar Ansari hit financial problems, with parts tipping into receivership. On one occasion, the building was withdrawn for sale just hours before the auction; on the next occasion, when the flats alone were offered for sale, they failed to meet the reserve price. Continue reading
CROYDON CHRONICLES: Croydon’s Music Halls attracted some of the world’s most famous acts in the early 20th Century, including the man reckoned to be the greatest escapologist of all time, as DAVID MORGAN explains
Croydon Council has served notice on a contract for managing a children’s home in Sanderstead less than six months after it was opened, citing “concerns”, with children put “into situations that subsequently resulted in placement breakdowns and/or hospital admissions”.
Jason Perry, Croydon’s failed Mayor, is looking to spend more public money. But not on providing better services for the borough’s long-suffering residents. This time Perry, the cash-strapped council’s £86,000 per year Mayor, is recruiting someone to “manage” his own office.
Norbury locals’ dream of a broader dining scene came true when the guys from Fort Smokehouse rode into town. Three businessmen brothers are sharing their passion for Texan BBQ with Norbury diners.
After issuing just a single fine for fly-tipping over the most recent 12-month period in England’s most fly-tipped borough, Croydon’s failed Mayor, Jason Perry, and his cabinet puppet, Alasdair Stewart, are now blaming residents for the tatty state of our streets by claiming that… they have been reporting “too many” fly-tips.
In its second year, the Arcadia Festival is funded by the National Lottery as part of a three-year partnership called Climatekind.
Gallery 56 calls itself “a contemporary art space located in the heart of Crystal Palace”. Its launch event will be held from 6.30pm to 9.30pm on Thursday, September 24. The event is free, all are welcome and complimentary refreshments will be provided.
