Building work on the council’s prestigious development of hundreds of new homes on the site of its former headquarters office block, Taberner House, will not now start until autumn this year at the earliest, nearly two years later than originally scheduled.
The first scheme for the Taberner site: building of the revised project, including the 32-storey tower, won’t start this summer
The starting date for the build has since slipped from late 2014, as the Labour-run council binned the previous scheme and then took the project out of the hands of original developers, CCURV, its “regeneration partnership” with John Laing.
The council instead set-up its own development company. “By doing it ourselves through the development company we can achieve a triple win, which is more affordable housing, Queen’s Gardens preserved and a much better financial outcome for the council.” Simon Hall, the cabinet member for finance, said 18 months ago.
After delays in the demolition of the 1960s tower block, caused by sensitivities over its town centre location, close to the Flyover, Town Hall and Queen’s Gardens, and the need for careful removal of asbestos, building work was then expected to begin early in 2016.
But a source at the council revealed this morning that the site will now be utilised over this summer as a wildflower meadow and a “haven for bees”, complete with a hive. It is the latest instance of the council having to tread water over the site, which last autumn was used as a pop-up saffron farm.
“No amount of honey will sweeten the lives of the Croydon homeless families who are enduring temporary accommodation, or have been farmed out to homes outside the borough, away from their families, work and children’s schools,” one angry council figure told Inside Croydon today.
“There’s a housing crisis in this city and in our borough, and yet our council is not getting on with the job of building on this important site, and they’re keeping silent over the reasons why.”
Jo Negrini: building something, just not houses
The latest delay to what is supposed to be a key scheme by the council to provide social housing will be an embarrassment for Jo Negrini, the council’s six-figure-salaried executive director for planning and development, who is spending this week in the south of France, flaunting Croydon’s wares to the millionaire speculators in Cannes for the MIPIM conference, or “booze and hookerfest”.
Croydon Council is spending tens of thousands of pounds of ratepayers’ cash to send Negrini and a small team from her “Place” department to parrot the usual script about Croydon’s prospects at the annual developers’ piss-up. Trouble is, the delivery is not matching the unremittingly up-beat narrative.
Croydon’s empty stand at MIPIM this morning
While at MIPIM, Negrini will doubtless be asked about the fervent opposition to the council’s £30 million flats and concert hall scheme at the Fairfield Halls, or she might be asked to explain why her old friends at Westfield won’t now be starting work on their long-promised £1 billion Croydon supermall with Hammerson until next year at the earliest.
Such delays and slow (or no) progress might explain the apparent lack of interest in the expensively arranged Develop Croydon stand on the opening morning at MIPIM earlier today.
Maybe others have started to see through the empty rhetoric, too.
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Judging by the current administration’s ability to deliver absolutely nothing but empty promises, I will not hold my breath that there will be any sign of construction on the Taberner House site by the Autumn (this year or next).
Still, at least the disgraceful hoardings will continue to provide a prominent place for the yoof of Croydon to carry on with their graffiti and tagging to exacerbate the rundown state of the town centre to the thousands of vehicles passing by each day.
What are Croydon Council doing at this jaunt to MIPIM in the south of France? It is not rocket science what needs to be done in Croydon and going to Cannes to rub shoulders with developers that are totally out of their league is just a waste of my money.
I guess there is nothing I can do about it as I, along with many others, are just a source of easy money for our poor performing council leaders.
As it is my money being spent I have asked to see the full set of minutes, activities and outcomes from this jaunt. I won’t hold my breath though.
Reblogged this on sed30's Blog.
The fact that anyone buying to rent one of these properties is forced to “subscribe” to this loony Council’s Licensing Scheme will deter anyone from acquiring property in Croydon.
If you buy a house, you own it. No Council should control what you do with it. It’s all covered in The Housing Act of 2004 anyway. The social greed of this Council against the Private Landlord will be proved here when these properties stand empty for years . “Queen Bee” Negrini, (who’s desk and phone have obviously been reallocated to Fairfield Halls, where they are the last people to know what’s going on), is a disgrace, and should be removed immediately. She’s totally out of her depth.