Fisher’s Folly: the council is shutting the public out of the public access area of what is sometimes known as ‘Bernard Weatherill House’, from Monday, March 10
CROYDON IN CRISIS: At short notice, the council has announced that there will be no public access to the its offices without an appointment, in the latest cut in services under Mayor Jason Perry.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
The council’s latest money-saving scam is to close off Fisher’s Folly – the local authority’s office building – from the people that the council is supposed to serve – Croydon Council Tax-payers.
Access no more: Fisher’s Folly was designed to have a large area for the public to meet officials. Kerswell and Perry are having it closed down
Katherine Kerswell, 63, the council’s £204,000 per year chief executive, issued a missive to staff this morning, announcing that from Monday, Access Croydon, the ground-floor level area where the public have been able to seek assistance with a range of council services, will become No Access Croydon.
Actual face-to-face access to council staff will no longer be possible without a prior appointment.
Councillors, the people elected to represent the public in the management of the council, were only informed of this latest cut-back last night.
The move is likely to have a massive impact on people who have been rendered homeless, including families with small children, and who are in urgent need of emergency accommodation. Unless they manage to foresee their unfortunate plight and get internet access to arrange a Kerswell-ordained appointment, there is a very real possibility that they will be shut out of the council’s offices, unable to access the urgent assistance that they so desperately need.
“The changes to Access Croydon are part of the council’s action to protect local services for residents,” Kerswell wrote, using councilspeak code for “cuts”.
“The appointment system will enable the council to triage and prioritise demand appropriately.” “Triage”! She thinks she is in an episode of Holby City!
Appopintments only: CEO Katherine Kerswell would prefer not to encounter the public who pay her £204,000 salary
The changes take place from Monday, March 10. Reading between the lines of Kerswell’s note, this move has all the appearance of being a rush job, with plenty of opportunity for a Croydon Council bodge job, too.
“Colleagues in our facilities management team,” Kerswell wrote, with the Pomposity Meter turned up to 11, “are looking at how we can set up the new area (which will be accessed via the doors near corporate reception) to make this change as smooth as possible.”
This, remember, was distributed just one working day before the change is supposed to be implemented.
As well as councillors, most council staff have been kept in the dark by managers about the No Access Croydon move.
“All we’ve been told is in the email,” one increasingly frustrated staff member told iC.
“I assume it will lead to staff reductions at some point. It is all about delivering the new target operating model: a self-service, virtual council, where you get to talk to a half-baked AI.”
In her round-robin to staff, Kerswell wrote that from Monday, “Access Croydon will close to walk-ins and our appointment service will move to the Fell Road side of BWH (previously used as Children’s Services reception).” BWH is councilspeak for Bernard Weatherill House, a name hardly anyone actually ever uses.
Fisher’s Folly on Fell Road was completed in 2013, built under the disastrous joint venture with John Laing that was commissioned by a previous Conservative administration under Mike Fisher, and in which Jason Perry was the cabinet member for regeneration.
Fisher’s Folly cost Croydon Council tax-payers £140million, around three times the typical cost of similar office buildings at the time, and a significant contributor to the “toxic debt” loaded on to the council over the past 15 years or more.
It was designed to replace 1960s office block Taberner House, with what council officials at the time referred to as a PSDH – not a nasty rash, but a Public Services Delivery Hub, a place to deliver services to the public.
£140m folly: the 2014 Labour administration abandoned any investigation into the excessive cost of building Fisher’s Folly
Under Kerswell and Perry, that public-facing function of the building has been rendered obsolete.
“As part of the change… all our appointments must be booked in advance,” Kerswell advised staff in her email today.
As some kind of mitigation, she said that this appointments-only system is “in line with local authorities across London”. On the council’s website, this is phrased slightly differently, saying that it “is in line with many London councils”.
Inside Croydon asked Croydon Council to name these “many London councils” that operate appointments-only systems and deny access to council offices to the people who pay for them.
The council’s propaganda department had not responded to our request by the time of publication.
In her notice to staff, Kerswell wrote: “Lots of our services are already appointment only, but for some teams – for example in our housing directorate – this will be a change in how we support people and deal with demand at the front door.
“A number of same-day slots will be on offer to help residents who need urgent housing support. These will also be allocated in advance. This means that customers arriving at BWH will be checked in at an agreed time, rather than having to face what has sometimes been a long wait in a very busy space.”
And Kerswell goes on: “Our Future Croydon transformation plan explains that we want to make better use of our digital channels and improve customer experience, all while making sure we offer the right level of service provision.” Which is another way of saying that, after a decade of “digital first”, Kerswell and Perry’s council wants to go further, making it evermore remote from the people they are supposed to serve.
There’s a touch of gaslighting the public, too: “Residents have told us that for many issues, they want to self-serve and do things online…”.
Really? Who?
And when were these wishes ever intended to be used as an excuse for reducing the public’s access to their council? Is it like the Carers’ Centre “consultation”, where the council findings completely misrepresented what they were told by carers?
No sign: the front page of the council website this morning offered no clue about the change coming to Access Croydon
“Knowing exactly who is coming into our buildings and when also means that we can plan ahead, prioritise, and keep staff and residents as safe as possible,” Kerswell wrote.
“To support these changes, our corporate reception will be closed to visitors from 4pm, Monday – Friday. Please note, the reception remains open for staff and tenant access and support.
“A cross-council working group has been set up to make sure we can prepare and agree any changes to processes in time for Monday 10 March.” They better get their skates on!
“The team has been meeting every day this week to work through an implementation plan and will continue to meet next week to review the change to the service.
“During the transition period we will have extra officers on hand to point people in the right direction.
“We are talking to partners, arranging external signage and issuing more communications to make sure people know what’s happening and why.”
Kerswell’s email to staff was sent at 10am today, March 7. No press release was issued. And for the public who dare to visit the council’s website, there’s no signage on the site’s front page to direct them to this significant change.
Only if they delve deep into the council website’s news area – that is, know where to look for this unheralded and significant change in service – might they be lucky to stumble over a page headlined “Quicker, safer and more efficient service at Access Croydon”. Which is a vast misrepresentation of what is actually happening.
In Kerswell’s note, she says, “As we head towards ‘go-live’, we have published an intranet page which will house the latest updates and messaging. Please do visit the page and let us know if you have any questions. Questions will be answered and added to the page as needed. It also includes an overview of opening times, as well as reminders on how we can all do our bit during the transition.”
Perry, who as cabinet member 15 years ago helped to commission the building – and loans deal – for Fisher’s Folly, is now the piss-poor Mayor of Croydon.
Today he said: “The current walk-in service means that, at this time of extreme demand, too often residents are waiting too long to get the help that they need.” It may not have been an option, at the cash-strapped council, to hire more staff to reduce these waiting times.
Perry, too, appears to have spent too much time watching A&E dramas on the telly in his comfortable £1.2million mansion near Lloyd Park. “With an appointments system we can triage to make sure we are prioritising appropriately. And knowing exactly who is coming into council buildings, and when, helps to run things as efficiently as possible whilst keeping everyone safe.”
From April, Council Tax will have gone up by 27% since Jason Perry became Mayor. The council’s debts remain at £1.4billion. Croydon, under Perry, has recently sought, and been granted, special financial support from the government for the next financial year of £136million – a record amount.
Pay more. Get less.
Read more: They voted to raise your Council Tax, then to increase their pay
Read more: Government grants Perry’s record £136m council bail-out plea
Read more: Council Tax hits £2,500 per year as debts continue to mount
Read more: Top Tory admits Fairfield Halls could be sold for the right deal
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The last time I went into Bernard Weatherill House, in late 2023, it took me a while to work out how to gain access. I noticed there was a queue outside the building’s Mint Walk entrance, where people were queuing up in the cold to talk to a metal post between the two revolving doors. The person at the front would then explain to the voice inside who they were and what they wanted. This was without regard for their dignity or their data protection rights; thanks to the overhang of the building, the acoustics rival the Fairfield Halls, and so everyone else can hear the business being discussed.
That bit in the Bible about “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” needs an addition – “or for a poor man to enter Fisher’s Folly”
The Council only serves itself. And developers. Under Kerswell it has become even more inward looking. As for digital, the Council website is a mess of a repository of out-of-date documents despite the millions we are paying for digital services and staff.
Will Kerswell give up her two deputies? Seem excessive don’t you think?
From Jason Perry’s Mayoral Election Manifesto 2022:
“You should be able to speak to a real person and I will make that option actually work. I will reopen the doors of the Council Offices to allow residents to speak directly to real person.“
If the Council were reliable in dealing with non physical enquiries such as by post and electronic mail you could take their digital claims seriously, but they are poor and it must be a rough time for anyone who try to contact them directly already. The drivel provided by Kurzewell-Reid and Perry is another of their petty cost saving measures that degrade the already low level public services. Such measures as this and the appalling way Carers Services have been treated save trivial amounts that go nowhere near making the Council solvent. This current administration is inadequate and reducing the pay provided to Senior Officers such as Kurzewell-Reid would make greater strides in cutting the Council deficit. Time and time again their inadequate pettiness demonstrate this is not a serious administration.
Why do people keep voting that mayor perry in surely they can see he is no good that’s why the council is in debt it’s paying him and people at the top instead of making cuts to the people cut their wages down as they don’t do anything to deserve thm all they do like keir starmour is take from the poor and five to the rich . They could all afford to have their wages slashed , ,their soon stop that but back to mayor perry he really dose need to be voted off being a mayor he run up debt and we got to pay for it not out of his pocket bet his council tax doesn’t go up
There are a number of areas where a local authority is required by law to keep their offices open.
One example I have experienced is in relation to the tree preservation orders under the Town and Country Planning Act (Tree Preservation)(England) Regulations 2012 [UK Statutory Instruments 2012 no.605], This law states explicitly “a copy of the order shall be made available for inspection, free of charge, at all reasonable hours, at the offices of the authority by whom the order was made; and where an order is made on behalf of an authority, it shall be made available for inspection also at the offices of the authority on whose behalf it was made.”
So, by law Croydon must keep a register of preserved trees and make it available to any member of the public asking to see it.
I am sure there are similar legal requirements for other areas of the Council’s responsibilities.
In 2019 I visited the council offices on a working weekday just after lunch and asked to see the register of tree preservation orders which Croydon Council is required to keep. I was denied access to the council offices and despite having with me a copy of the act and statutory instrument supporting my right. The council officials refused even to come down and meet me, and would only converse with me over the house phone. I made a formal complaint about this to the chief executive but was ignored.
I took up my case with my MP, but ‘Rural’ Reed is not much interested in country matters. He only referred me back to the council. Council officers then claimed that they could not allow me into Bernard Weatherill House because of the lockdown restrictions. As my visit had been in 2019, I believe that council planning officers were perhaps trying to seek credit for their foresight in predicting the pandemic.
I was told that I had to make an appointment and as no other course of action seemed likely to succeed, this is what I did. When I turned up at the council offices on the day of my appointment I was again denied access.
I was forced to stand in a queue while it was snowing while I listened to young mothers in front of me shouting into a stainless steel post about their medical problems, housing and health conditions and other details of hardship.
In the event I did not gain access and I again complained in writing to the chief executive. I have received no reply.
I formed the opinion that no register of preserved trees exists, so it is a waste of time asking to see it.
I have complained again to the Chief Executive and to my MP, but received no replies.
Thus it would appear that Croydon has been not complying with the Law for many years. But what does one expect from a council which has no interest in its residents?
It’s all about money Don. They have the information, but don’t want you to see it without coughing up.
The council webshite says, in a 2014 document, “How can I view a TPO? You can request a copy of a tree preservation order by writing to development control and enclosing a cheque (Croydon Council) for £32.68. You can also arrange to view a TPO by making an appointment through development management. ”
As you’ve experienced, appointments made by you are ignored by them. And who writes cheques these days?
Our neighbouring councils, Bromley and Sutton, have TPO maps online that are free to view. A Croydon council employee could create one for us in a matter of minutes to save time, trouble and trees.
Don’t let them put you off. Use your legal rights under the Freedom of Information Act to demand a list detailing every tree protection order in the borough. The What Do They Know website will help you do that quickly and easily
We had to get a copy of the TPO’d trees in our garden as we’re trying to sell. Our solicitor asked us for £15.34 and when I asked why our prospective buyer wasn’t asked to pay, was told it was our responsibility IN LAW to provide it!! Where does the £32.68 ome from? Hope you haven’t been fleeced.
Where are you off to?
Looking at Duppas Hill area, but worried about antisocial behaviour.
Ahhh. To be closer to Inside Croydon Towers
How many council workers are working their socks off at home?
Triage means:
1. A query we would like to answer. Move to top of the list.
2. A query we would like to answer, but not quite sure what the answer is. Move to be on hold until we figure out an answer.
3. A query we do not like and cannot answer. Move to bottom of the list and whistle dixie until you give up and go away.
‘I don’t believe it!’ – Victor Meldrew.
It is time for another U-turn, to be able to visit a Town Hall and speak to someone inside with hospitality, respect and dignity.
This is awful news.
Why am I paying increasing council tax for a huge flashy expensive council office called Access Croydon, which I am now not allowed to access? Run by a Mayor who promised in his election manifesto he would keep open?
Croydon got rid of their triage team in an effort to make cuts. The council has rapidly gone downhill ever since. Katherine kerswell only cares about the bottom line HERSELF. The staff are now overworked and morale is low. A risk assessment should have been conducted years ago but they failed to do so. Things are only going to get worse from here.