After Tory councillor accused residents’ association of ‘scaremongering’, council performs an 11th-hour U-turn over Stites Hill Road closure.
By JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent
Cancelled: the council has had a late change of plan over closure of Stites Hill Road during Coulsdon Road roadworks
Residents in Old Coulsdon, in Caterham on the Hill and the surrounding areas were claiming a victory for commonsense this morning, as Croydon Council backed down from its “plans” to close Stites Hill Road for a month while also carrying out road works alongside Coulsdon Common.
The road closures were due to be enforced from tomorrow. Residents described Croydon Council’s ill-considered plans as like bringing an “Iron Curtain” down between Coulsdon and their neighbours in Surrey.
Hospitals in the area had warned that patients would be unable to attend important consultations. Residents’ associations, led by OCRA, the Old Coulsdon RA, claimed that some residents could face diversions of between five and 10 miles if Stites Hill Road and Coulsdon Road were both closed to traffic at the same time, as had been proposed by the geniuses in Croydon’s highways department.
Jason Perry, Croydon’s Mayor who has the catchphrase of “I’m listening”, was criticised for not listening.
‘Scaremongering’: Tory councillor Margaret Bird criticised the RA for doing its job for residents
And one Tory ward councillor, Margaret Bird, even accused the residents’ association of “scaremongering” over the potential impact of the road closures.
There has been no official announcement from the propaganda bunker in Fisher’s Folly as yet.
But with less than 24 hours before the road closures were due to lockdown Old Coulsdon for at least a month, Inside Croydon has seen emails circulating from officials at the council which state that the planned road closures have now been postponed until August.
Importantly, the council appears to have listened to the residents’ recommendations by changing its plans for Stites Hill Road and introducing an HGV ban on the road, rather than close it altogether.
According to the email from an insider in Mayor Perry’s administration, the works on replacing the soakaways on Coulsdon Road will now run from August 15 to September 2.
Road block: the closure of Stites Hill Road when Coulsdon Road is closed would have created an ‘Iron Curtain’ between Croydon and Surrey, locals warned
“Stites Hill to Ninehams Road junction with Buxton Lane will be open at that time,” the note says.
“Width restricters will be in place to prevent HGV’s [sic] on Stites Hill and Ninehams.”
A council press statement from the human dynamos at Fishers Folly is not expected until tomorrow.
“It’s not quite the Relief of Mafeking,” one relieved Coulsdon resident said, “but it must have felt a lot like this.
“The council has finally listened to commonsense. The question now must be: why does it always take them so bloody long?”
Read more: Old Coulsdon roadworks will create an ‘Iron Curtain’ to Surrey
Read more: People power! Reed’s ‘sinister’ complaint is dropped by police
Read more: People power! Roden Gardens residents hail planning victory
FREE ADS: Paid-up subscribers to Inside Croydon qualify for a free ad for their business, residents’ association or community group, just one of the benefits of being part of our online community. For more information about being an iC subscriber, click here for our Patreon page
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our near 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, which is featured on Google News Showcase and followed by 16,000 on Twitter/X, email us inside.croydon@btinternet.com for our unbeatable ad rates
- If you have a news story about life in or around Croydon, or want to publicise your residents’ association or business, or if you have a local event to promote, please email us with full details at inside.croydon@btinternet.com
As featured on Google News Showcase
- Our comments section on every report provides all readers with an immediate “right of reply” on all our content. Our comments policy can be read by clicking here
Inside Croydon is a member of the Independent Community News Network
- Inside Croydon works together with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, as well as BBC London News and ITV London
ROTTEN BOROUGH AWARDS: In January 2024, Croydon was named among the country’s rottenest boroughs for a SEVENTH successive year in the annual round-up of civic cock-ups in Private Eye magazine
This article does not actually recognise the countless meeting that the local Councillors attended on behalf of the residents. They were workin the whole time to create a resolution between Croydon and Surrey who were closing Stites Hill
This commenter doesn’t mention it, but having meetings and representing the needs and views of the residents you are supposed to serve is actually what councillors volunteer to do when they seek election. And countless? Tad of exaggeration there, eh?
And what he also doesn’t mention is that these councillors get paid tens of thousands of pounds of public money every year supposedly to do just that.
He does mention that Stites Hill Road was being closed by Surrey County Council, which of course is untrue. This proposed road closure was all Croydon Council’s doing.
But perhaps most important of all, what he doesn’t mention is that his surname is “Bird”. The same as Margaret Bird, the Conservative councillor for Old Coulsdon ward.
Funny that.
We are quite sure that, when the council’s comatose press department finally gets around to issuing some kind of formal news release or posting something on the council website, they will claim all the glory for Mayor Perry and his doughty Tory troops. But that’s because it will be propaganda.
We just provide news for our readers.
I would have thought a victory would have been to get LBC Highways or whatever they call themselves today, to agree to a SALT along Coulsdon Road (single alternate line traffic) with temporary lights. Its an important road and what do TfL propose to do with the 466. Running the odd one out to Rook Lane Alderstead Heath and Chaldon isn’t exactly the best of ideas.