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Inside Croydon’s loyal reader helps Khan have his day in court

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£5,500

That’s how much was raised in a single day for the Stop the Incinerator Campaign, following the urgent appeal published on Inside Croydon yesterday.

The only conclusion that can be drawn from that information is that our loyal reader is exceptionally generous and publicly spirited. Or that there may be more than one of you.

“The amazing news is that through bank transfers and online payments, I have received just over £4,000 funds since the word got out of our predicament. Thank you Inside Croydon,” Shasha Khan, who is fronting the legal challenge, wrote to us within a few hours of the appeal going online.

“The response has been overwhelming,” Khan said. Another £1,500 was pledged or donated during the rest of the day.

The campaign has been working for five years to oppose the development of a rubbish-burning industrial incinerator on Beddington Farmlands, just across the borough boundary from Croydon, in Sutton. The £1 billion, 25-year contract with Viridor is backed by the South London Waste Partnership, a cabal of Sutton, Kingston, Merton and Croydon councils – two of which are currently under Labour control.

Khan and his legal team now expect to be at the Royals Courts of Justice on The Strand tomorrow morning to bring the case to a High Court judge to assess whether the Viridor incinerator goes against the public interest on a range of matters.

And Inside Croydon does get read by all kinds of people, including Michael Shreeve, of Bevan Brittan, “The public service law firm”.

In fact, they are the firm working on behalf of Viridor, or the SLWP, or Sutton Council, or… Well, they are the lawyers who are being paid very handsomely, ultimately out of public funds, to try to frustrate and deny Khan and the campaigners their judicial review day in court to argue the case for millions of south Londoners’ right to be able to breathe unpolluted air.

Around lunchtime yesterday, Shreeve sent an email to the solicitors acting for Shasha Khan. There was just a touch of smugness about it. “I came across the below article in the local Croydon press…,” Shreeve wrote, and offered a link to our article.

“Our legal team have indicated that such is the level of preparation required they need to have a decision by 5pm on whether the intention is to go ahead with judicial review.”

Hopefully, Shreeve will be reading this article “in the local Croydon press”, too. Because Khan and his colleagues have a message for him:

See you in court.

Despite the incredible generosity shown yesterday, Khan’s legal appeal still needs thousands of pounds more towards the cause, and there is still time to make a donation.

Every tenner helps, because with thousands of people from across south London supporting the cause, that helps to strengthen the case in court, too.

Coming to Croydon


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