EXCLUSIVE: After nearly a decade in charge of Croydon’s planning department, one of Jo Negrini’s closest colleagues is to leave Fisher’s Folly.
By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE
Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon Council’s “director of planning and sustainable regeneration” (try not to laugh), is to leave her £130,000-plus job.
Patronising: council director Heather Cheesbrough, leaving after almost 10 years overseeing planning in Croydon
Katharine Street sources say that staff were informed of this important development (no pun, etc) on the council’s intranet system yesterday. There has been no public announcement or confirmation from the council.
“She’s supposedly taking a career break,” one source said. “But it all seems somewhat sudden.”
Cheesbrough’s departure comes as the government prepares to introduce a new, anything-goes planning system (with more powers delegated to council officials, like Cheesbrough, and less power for the public), while the London Plan, with its overview of development and housing delivery across the capital, is in a state of flux.
Cheesbrough joined Croydon Council in 2016, the first, and most significant, appointment made by Jo Negrini after she had herself become chief executive and was seeking her own replacement at director level.
Cheesbrough’s somewhat high-handed approach towards the borough’s residents, and councillors, saw her swiftly become a figure of public distrust and anger second only to “Negreedy” herself.
The company that bankrupted a borough: Brick by Brick was on Cheesbrough’s watch
She was supposed to have left the council once before, in late 2020 when the whole Negrini empire was collapsing about her following the CEO’s abrupt departure and the council’s first admission that it was broke.
Somehow, Cheesbrough stayed on, somehow persuaded to stay.
Cheesbrough’s cover-up of an undeclared relationship between a senior member of her her planning staff and private developers (usually a sackable offence), her secret promotion within her department of someone who had been working for a developer, and years of highly questionable, often dubious, reports by her staff recommending and sanctioning questionable, sometimes even unlawful, overdevelopment around the borough, saw Cheesbrough come to embody residents’ frustrations with their council.
Yet, even if you take a step back from the planning department’s all-too-cosy relationship with developers, Cheesbrough’s decade in charge of development in Croydon can only be assessed as an abysmal failure.
Cheesbrough championed the unpopular planning policy, SPD2, which helped to push through block after block of flats in a relentless overdevelopment of suburban areas. Mayor Jason Perry scrapped that planning policy.
Sketchy: Westfield’s £1.4bn scheme for Croydon town centre never got off the drawing board
The £1.4billion Westfield non-development that has blighted and wrecked Croydon town centre was on Cheesbrough’s watch, although neither she nor her planners can be held responsible for the fickleness of multi-national developers wary of the collapse of the high street retail sector.
Brick by Brick was another Negrini and Cheesbrough co-production, and one which ultimately bankrupted Croydon Council while delivering precious few of the council homes Croydon needs so desperately.
The Fairfield Halls fiasco was part of the Brick by Brick disaster, and one where Cheesbrough’s colleagues somehow failed to notice a £40million overspend on the regeneration project in the midst of the collapse in the relationship between the council-owned company and its partners, a major development management firm.
Even to the last, Cheesbrough’s staff have been rubber-stamping approval for money-spinning private developments which even their own official reports state will actually cause “harm” to the area.
By 2022, the council’s planning department under Cheesbrough was assessed as being “all but broken”, according to a Planning Advisory Service report. That report found “a hollowed-out department”, which was unable to recruit “good people” because of the council’s “toxic reputation”.
If Croydon, and its planning department, has a toxic reputation, it is one which Cheesbrough has played her part in creating. This included Cheesbrough making false claims of her membership of a professional body.
Yet when an elected councillor called for her dismissal for this and other failings, Cheesbrough, without a scintilla of irony or shame, filed a 1,000-word formal complaint under the council’s Code of Ethics. Cheesbrough, as far as Cheesbrough was concerned, could do no wrong and was above all criticism, or scrutiny.
Inside Croydon understands that under Mayor Perry, there has been some desire to winkle Cheesbrough out from her office in Fisher’s Folly. “It all takes time,” one source suggested, enigmatically.
Cheesbrough’s haughty disdain for Croydon and its people is well-illustrated in this 15-minute film that was made just over a year ago:
The “Croydon vernacular” indeed.
She couldn’t even get the nickname of the Bridge to Nowhere correct.
As a Katharine Street source said of the news of Cheesbrough’s departure this morning: “Well, there’s a £130,000, or more, saving for the cash-strapped council’s budgets. Will anyone notice when she’s gone?”
Read more: How the council’s planners help developers dodge conditions
Read more: Suspicions over secrecy surrounding Slominski’s return
Read more: Council in cover-up over planning’s husband and wife act
Read more: Council delays and lack of enforcement cause residents misery
Read more: Director of planning’s bogus claim over Institute membership
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Hello Inside Croydon. Please could you clarify? When you say the head of Department is taking a “career break,” do you mean she is taking a sabbatical, which suggests she will return? Or is she leaving post permanently?
Also, would you or Steve Whiteside like to comment on what Croydon residents who are anxious about whether they will be able to object successfully to future planning applications once the Labour government puts on the statute book its Planning and Infrastructure Bill, can expect their prospects for getting a fair hearing from the Borough’s planning department? The Bill envisages that the overwhelming majority of planning applications will in future be decided by council planning officers alone, and we know that Croydon Local Planning Authority has demonstrated for many years that it is pro-developer.
Negrini didn’t appoint on her own, a job at this level requires an interview panel which included elected members. Can we find out the names of the guilty men, and women?
Honestly, Chris, if it is that important, you could look it up yourself. Have you heard of Google?
Also, how are you still harbouring the misconception that elected councillors ever do anything that is not recommended by council officials? It is their default position in everything.
At 2pm on October 1 2015, the council’s appointments committee met in Committee Room F9 of the Town Hall to agree a report (see?) recommending the appointment of a Director of Planning and Strategic Transport.
The report came from the chief executive, Negrini, and whoever was the head of HR at the time.
The salary to be offered at that time was £105,000.
https://democracy.croydon.gov.uk/Data/Appointments%20Committee/20151001/Agenda/app20151001_05_01_director_of_planning_and0c09.pdf?cmte=APP&meet=12&href=/akscroydon/images/att6038.docx
It was effectively the sole item on the meeting agenda, which, of course, was not discussed in public.
Invited to attend the meeting were Tony Newman (as chair), Alison Butler, Kathy Bee, Time [sic] Pollard, Paul Scott and, yes, you’ve guessed it, Jason Perry. So a 4-2 Labour-Tory split.
The minutes of this meeting were not raised, discussed or agreed at the next meeting of the appointments committee.
The toxic triangle that was Jo Negrini, Paul Scott/Chris Clark and Heather Cheesbrough should never be allowed to happen again. It will take a long time to clear the rot that they created.
Devolved decision making is even worse. I am sure many are aware of this iniquitous process
My experience is that despite multiple objections to a planning application and requests to be present to present evidence one finds it has been agreed by devolved responsibility by a planning officer. That planning officer is not named, not about, and there are no notes or paperwork supporting that decision.
Ms Townsend without any visit to the development, signs off that all conditions have been met and in fact many were not. Building regulations also are not met. Retrospective planning permissions has been taking place but no visible signs of any enforcement at all and still the issues raised have not been addressed to this day.
Ms Cheesebrough was made aware of issues with this application even before anything was built and was supposed to investigate (ref:email from her boss at that time)- nothing. Ms Townsend investigated herself on the complaint. More to the point all the issues raised about this have been realised yet the Council allowed the place to be teneted against its own planning conditions and in a premises that leaked water had multiple building issues and could not by any stretch be classed as a high end development.
If that was all done completely by the regulations and process, then a real hard look investigation and assessment should be made as whether those laws and regulations are fit for purpose.
Planning should be effective, efficient to meet societies needs and to protect those already resident as well – and it should be fully transparent with clear oversight and fast appeal processes in place.
If either of the two parties name wished to actually provide an answer to this sordid affair and provide public scrutiny of this – it would be very welcome.
I saw very much the same thing. Both Cheeborough and Townsend investigated complaints against themselves. The absolute definition of a corrupt system. They knew privacy issues had not been resolved (and could not be resolved by such a huge development 7 metres from my home) so they made it a ‘condition’ that Silverleaf developments could simply provide dimensions of balcony planters that were supposed to protect my privacy in order to push it through the committee. They had 3 years to ask for dimensions and they withheld the visualisations that proved the planters didn’t work. This didn’t stop Ross Gentry by misleading the committee by claiming that they did.
They seem unconcerned (or unaware) of law and regulation. Cheesbrough didn’t care that the development failed mandatory policy and both she and Nicole Townsend confirmed that they would accept a backdated letter from Silverleaf Developments as legal notice. Everything was waived – mandatory policy, minimum separation distances, you name it.
“Planning should be effective, efficient to meet societies needs and to protect those already resident as well” – absolutely. But with Cheesbrough, Townsend and Gentry we are a very long way away from that.
If Heather Cheesbrough is indeed leaving Croydon council, who are people going to blame now for piss-poor council planning policy and decisions?
The short-sleeved shirker, Mayor Jason Perry? His Cabinet Member for Planning and Regeneration, Councillor Jeet Bains. The Chair of the Planning Committee, Councillor Michael Neal? The councillors who nodded (or slept) through these bad decisions?
She’s worth it. After breaking Croydon she needs a break.
Have we not already had the break – down of, services, of public trust and the impacts of those decisions on society and Croydons Health and Welfare for a Generation at least? Should it not be us who get the Break from them?
Is Cheesy Cheesbrough leaving Croydon Council with a “golden handshake” pay-off?
As that Katharine Street source said of the news of Cheesbrough’s departure this morning: “Well, there’s a £130,000, or more, saving for the cash-strapped council’s budgets. Will anyone notice when she’s gone?” To save money, the council could not bother appointing a replacement and see if there is ANY work to allocate to anyone else?
It’s certainly in the public interest to know if the bankrupt Council is paying off another chronic under performer.
This was the Director who told CPFC not to speak to the council tenants of Wooderson Close when they first were granted planning permission for the new stand in 2018. She will not be missed at all
This leave better not be paid leave … i mean look at the fucking state of the Town Centre and Broad Green. If this is goodbye , Ross Gentry and his wife’s building company must licking their lips.
I do tend to agree Sam – but I would not blame poor old planning for that dogs dinner. Ok they granted permissions for many of the ”development”s and allowed so many.
You could blame them for not taking on board evidenced data, ignoring residents, not adhering to due diligence failing to check and then failing to enforce failures of meeting conditions and building regulations. but you have to go a bit wider and higher for those to blame for the state of Broad Green Fairfield and a couple of other areas very easily in the same boat.
Go to the root causes of that state of affairs and then ask the Council and Councillors – How come? Look at the interpretations of regulations and laws made and who made those choices. Ask to see how many decisions of the same were taken across other parts of the Borough and in other Boroughs. Then when you have all that data and evidence you will know who to blame and why – if anyone.
In the immortal words of Lord Sugar : ” As team leader you made several big losses and have also upset your colleagues in the process, so therefore with regret………..
You’re fired ! “
Have never understood that “with regret” bit…
Simples – After exhaustive screening of candidates and accepting them onto the show for the purpose of Public entertainement, they did not live up to the spectacle expected and viewing figures were reducing.
Public planning is the same.
It is purported to be planning for the future so as to ensure a continuance of a vibrant borough that provides safe environments and public realms, safe and adequate housing, shopping areas ,businesses and to ensure that public services are not overwhelmed along with enabling the building and provision of of schools, park etc.
It is there to preserve and create a structure for the future whilst protecting the present and where required preserving the past.
The proof of success is how you feel your environment is at this moment.
So perhaps it is with regret that Council ”professionals” take breaks and are never held accountable, but more to the point that there are no regulations in plkace to do this that are ever acted on. So in the words of Mildred Hayes
”How Come” Mr Perry, Mr Pickles et al
Alan Suger also said, “Four weeks ago in your first team I had people calling him ‘the anchor’ and ain’t it funny, five weeks later how time can change. You seem to have gone from ‘anchor’ to ‘wanker’.”
After the dishonesty, duplicity, obfuscation, and disregard for law that I experienced when Silverleaf Developments Ltd tried to build a block of flats on a tiny plot that included my land, I am surprised she wasn’t let go years ago. Heather Cheesbrough, Ross Gentry and Nicola Townsend all seemed to have a difficult relationship with policy, law, the Nolan Principles, accountability, and the truth.
I started my career in Central Government. It was drummed into us that everything we did was subject to public and legal scrutiny so we observed the letter of both policy and the law. To find that planners can mislead committees, ignore FOI requests, withhold documents, make statements that are untrue, ignore law and mandatory policy, was a shock. It’s much more than planning. When the likes of Heather Cheebrough, Ross Gentry, Paul Scott, and Chris Clark are prepared to dismiss residents’ rights and concerns and disregard policy and law, they are reducing public participation and eroding democratic process. Why did it take for the Council to go bankrupt for Negrini, Scott and Butler et al to flee the ‘scene of the crime’?
Inside Croydon had been realising concerns for years. Why are there still no internal controls?
If she is replaced, it should be with someone from outside of Croydon Council and I hope the first thing they do is go through that department with a fine-tooth comb. Both Kerswell and Perry are under notice of potential misconduct and misfeasance so I hope they are prepared to step down too.
Thank you, again, Inside Croydon and Steve Whiteside for holding them to account.
Fully on board and totally agree
Well this has made my year. No doubt she’ll end up at somewhere like Arup, working on public sector projects and still earning off the taxpayer, like her mate Jo Negreedy.
Over a million pounds in salary and benefits, taxpayer-funded annual jollies to the south of France, and all she leaves behind is decline and distrust. What a legacy. Good riddance.
10 years! 10 bloody years we’ve had of Heather Cheesborough and she’s leaving Croydon in a worse state than she found it. Her career and reputation have come tumbling down like a poor quality block of flats and she only has herself to blame. Her dislike of residents and her arrogance were her undoing. It’s time public servants were held legally accountable – if necessary prosecution. I hope any potential employers do their due diligence and take a good look at the pages of Inside Croydon before they even think about making an offer to her. From this video and every other time I’ve heard her speak it was clear she wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. The job was always going to be too big for her. Abysmal failure – absolutely.
It’s also been an abject failure of leadership. No governance, no controls, no scrutiny, no ethics.
No homeowner should be forced to spend thousands (as I did) to protect their home from a development that will subsume part of their land, remove their privacy and compromise their safety. Heather Cheesbrough spend thousands on legal fees on a development that her own team’s emails show they knew to be harmful and to fail policy. On top of that was the hours of employees’ time across multiple departments. All told that one development will have cost the taxpayer 6 figures – all money that was wasted. That has been replicated many times – how much has she costed the taxpayer in total by trying to push through harmful developments over those 10 years? How many got through?
I’m not against development (I grew up in social housing in Croydon) but policy and law exist for a reason. At various points the Council had to apologise for the actions of Cheesbrough, Townsend and Gentry (including withholding documents and making misleading statements). They clearly believed they were above the law, and that they were not subject to the Nolan Principles. In my view, none of them them should be holding public office. Kerswell knew, and did nothing. As CEO, her tacit endorsement of the conduct of planning officers, her failure to act, makes her equally culpable.
Newman and Ali knew and did nothing. Perry knows and does nothing.
As council leaders and Mayor respectively, their tacit endorsement of the conduct of planning officers and their failure to act makes them supremely culpable
She will soon find another overpaid job with another council on the gravy train merry-go-round that exists for washed up council executives.
Heather Cheesbrough will appear on reality TV as self-styled “Britain’s Most Hated Planner” before spending the rest of her days on X tweeting bile and bitterness Katie Hopkins style about anyone that isn’t a developer. Ross Gentry and Jan Slominski will appear on “Wife Swap” then fade into obscurity. Dozy Townsend will do…well..whatever she’s told to.
Some truly appalling approvals of patently inappropriate residential developments in last 10 years. She will not be missed
Oh thank F£!& for that. I hope Gentry and others are quaking in their dodgy boots. She should have been kicked out years ago. Kerswell and Perry are cowards.