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Monthly Archives: January 2013
Failing Fairfield Halls is limping along on borrowed time
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Long gone are the days when the Fairfield Halls could attract some of the biggest acts in the world, such as the Rolling Stones or the Beatles, says DAVID CALLAM. These days, the only beetles at the arts … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Cinema, Comedy, Dance, Fairfield Halls, Music, Theatre, Warehouse Theatre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Clocktower, Croydon Council, David, Fairfield Halls, London, Royal Festival Hall, Wembley Arena
7 Comments
Leisure centre opens – and charges locals £44 per month
Olympic legacy? Not at the Waddon Leisure Centre, opened yesterday by Croydon Council inviting a Paralympic champion from… Sutton. The public facility – built at a cost of £15million, or one-tenth of the price we are paying for the Council … Continue reading
Posted in Clare Hilley, Fusion, Leisure services, Simon Hoar, Tony Harris, Waddon
Tagged Council Tax, Croydon Council, Gym, Jamie Ward, Leisure centre, London, London Borough of Croydon, Waddon
6 Comments
Trams look to land a cup giant-killing over Hendon
NON-LEAGUE NEWS: Croydon FC, Croydon’s highest placed non-league team, will try to match non-league giants Hendon at Croydon Arena tonight. The clash in the fourth round of the London Senior Cup sees the Trams, of the Combined Counties League Premier … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon FC, Football, Sport
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Zaha’s move to United and the test of true greatness
With the January transfer window about to close, Crystal Palace’s £15m “lend-lease” deal for Wilf Zaha to move to Manchester United in the summer is looking like one of the best pieces of business in the past month. IAN LAMONT, … Continue reading
Posted in Crystal Palace FC, Football, Sport, Wilfried Zaha
Tagged Alex Ferguson, Crystal Palace F.C., England, Manchester United F.C., Old Trafford, Palace, Wilfried Zaha, Zaha
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No Fitze of laughter as councillor watches TV in meeting
A senior Conservative councillor was caught out, watching the television on his tablet device in the middle of a full council meeting at Croydon Town Hall last night. Tory councillor for Fairfield ward David Fitze was observed by at least … Continue reading
Posted in David Fitze, Fairfield
Tagged Connecticut, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, EastEnders, Fairfield, London Borough of Croydon, Tory
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Thousands sign petition against privatising NHS in Croydon
A petition with signatures from more than a thousand residents seeking the protection of Croydon NHS services from the worst effects of privatisation was being presented this morning to Dr Tony Brzezicki, the joint chair of the new Croydon Commissioning … Continue reading
Posted in Health, London-wide issues, Maggie Mansell, Mayday Hospital, St Helier Hospital
Tagged Councillor, Croydon, Labour, Labour Council, London, Petition, Private sector, South Croydon
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Chinese in £300m bid for local water company
Residents’ water supply in the south of the borough may soon be provided by the Chinese. City AM reports this morning that Sutton & East Surrey Water company may be snapped up by the Beijing Water Authority. Sutton & East … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Coulsdon, Environment, Purley
Tagged Beijing, Beijing Water Authority, Croydon, Deutsche Bank, England, London, Sutton & East Surrey Water, Water supply
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Town Hall protest over council’s £10m cuts to adult social care
Campaigners against cuts in services to the disabled are expected to protest outside Croydon Town Hall from 5.30pm, ahead of tonight’s council meeting. Croydon’s Conservative-run council wants to take another £10 million from the budget for adult social care. This … Continue reading
Royal Russell Players produce a dark comedy
The Royal Russell Players will be staging One O’Clock from the House by Frank Vickery next month. They say that the play is “a light comedy, which revolves around the funeral of an elderly father”, and while that might not … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Art, Comedy, Schools, Theatre
Tagged Croydon, England, Frank Vickery, Hammerson, Performing arts, Royal Russell School
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“Boris Bus” transport firm loses 60% of licences
Olympic South, the transport company which was involved in controversy when awarded the contracts to bus Croydon’s disabled children to school, has now had the licences for 60 of its 100 vehicles withdrawn. The decision to withdraw the licences was … Continue reading
Junction’s new cafe is definitely on the right tracks
Our loyal reader might be surprised to learn that there is, indeed, more than one new coffee shop in Croydon, and on a rare staff outing from Inside Croydon Towers, we were delighted to discover Yeha Noha, on Station Road … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Restaurants, South Norwood, Transport
Tagged Croydon, England, London, Oyster, Oyster card, South Norwood, Spitalfields, Yeha Noha
1 Comment
Holocaust memorial concert: Sat Jan 26, Ruskin House
A holocaust memorial concert, an evening of remembrance and entertainment, is being held at Ruskin House in Coombe Road this Saturday. The concert will honour those communities who were persecuted in the Holocaust, under Nazi persecution in the 1930s and … Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Charity, Community associations, Dance, Education, History, Malcolm Wicks MP, Music
Tagged Cambodia, Darfur, Holocaust, Holocaust Memorial Day, Malcolm Wicks, Memorial Day, Ruskin House, Rwanda
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Weekend rambles: London Loop from Banstead (11 miles)
Walk London is hoping to stage a significant walk around a 11-mile stretch of the London Loop from Banstead station this Saturday, January 26. The organisers state that, “This is a rural walk along relatively level ground combining some beautiful … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Ramblers, Outside Croydon, Walks
Tagged Banstead, Croydon, Hammerson, London, Nonsuch Park, River Hogsmill, Surrey, Whitgift Centre
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Lidl drops planning application for Hamsey Green site
Lidl, the German supermarket chain, has dropped its planning application for what amounted to a vast steel shed to be built on a gateway site into Croydon from Surrey on the Limpsfield Road, to the south of Sanderstead. The Lidl … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Community associations, Environment, Planning, Property, Pubs, Sanderstead, Yvette Hopley
Tagged Aldi, Croydon, Facebook, German, Lidl, Sanderstead, Supermarket
1 Comment
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
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jon Rouse, Mike Fisher, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, URV
Tagged David Wechsler, Guardian, London Borough of Croydon, Rouse, Taberner House
4 Comments
Campaign asks residents to lobby Boris against the burn
Local Green issues campaigner Gordon Ross is appealing to residents to write to Boris Johnson and to Sutton Council to express their opposition to the proposed South London Waste Incinerator. In a letter circulating the borough, Ross writes, “I’m contacting … Continue reading
UKIP announces plans for 2014 Town Hall elections
UKIP, the UK Independence Party, intends to target Conservative-held wards in next year’s local council elections in Croydon and take full advantage of any confusion over the Tory-led government’s position on Europe. In 2014, UKIP will be seeking its first … Continue reading
Railway’s timetabled delays to stretch into fifth day
Rail services out of East Croydon, operated by Southern Railways, are to operate on a revised timetable for a fifth day because of the winter weather. The rail franchise announced it would run amended timetables last Thursday, before a flake … Continue reading
In to the Valley: Croydon’s wrong turn on road to future
CROYDON COMMENTARY: So a massive retail-based regeneration scheme in the centre of town will go ahead. DAVID CALLAM says it may yet prove to be yesterday’s solution for tomorrow’s problems Behold Boris Johnson, Croydon’s saviour, appearing in person at the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Ikea, Valley Park, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Gatwick Airport, Hammerson, London, Purley Way, Taberner House, Whitgift Centre
16 Comments
Get a grit, Croydon (part II): will you get to work on Monday?
Further to our post yesterday, asking for your reports on the state of your street or road in Croydon, we reproduce here the statement of service for winter road gritting from the council’s own website in respect of the clearing … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, London, London Borough of Croydon
3 Comments
Laings give up on URV schemes due to lack of interest
Croydon Council’s “innovative” £450 million urban regeneration vehicle will not be copied by any other local authority any time soon, as their partners in the scheme, John Laing, have announced that they will not be bidding for any more such … Continue reading
