Perry’s pile: the books dumped outside Broad Green Library by contractors who the Mayor admits were working for Croydon Council
More crass mismanagement at the council allowed squatters to occupy the vacated Broad Green Library. But it was council contractors who caused the most startling damage. By KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter
Jason Perry, the failed Mayor of Croydon, yesterday resorted to deception as he attempted to pass the buck for the dumping of hundreds of council-owned books outside Broad Green Library.
The council had already issued a statement from the Mayor, in which he said he was “absolutely furious about the disgraceful scenes… books dumped in the street like garbage”.
Mayor Perry called this act “outrageous”.
He said: “I have demanded immediate answers as to how this was allowed to happen.” The truth is that it was Mayor Perry who allowed this to happen, with contractors working for the council trashing the library books and dumping them in the street.
By yesterday, Perry was forced into making a little video for social media, in which he tried to spin his way out of the latest disaster of his own making.
“I’m absolutely dismayed and disgusted at the way this building has been treated by squatters in recent months,” Perry began, trying to suggest it was the squatters who had been behind the book dumping.
For while the building had indeed been occupied by squatters after the library closure late last year, in fact it was contractors working for Perry’s dysfunctional council who trashed the library’s stock of books, dumping them in massive piles outside the library when conducting a clearance last week in the latest crass example of mismanagement and bungling under the Mayor’s failed administration.
Passing the book buck: failed Mayor Jason Perry at Broad Green Library yesterday
“It’s just absolutely terrible what has happened to this building,” Perry continued, blaming others for his own council’s failings to manage, secure and maintain a valuable council property.
“And yesterday we saw even worse scenes, of books being thrown out on the pavement,” said Perry, still trying to insinuate that this was related to the squatters.
Except that it wasn’t. As piss-poor Perry knew only too well.
“The way that these books were being treated was just unacceptable,” Perry said, a sense of shock in his voice. Even he, it seemed, could not believe what he had seen.
For here came the rub: “And we will be dealing with our contractors accordingly,” he said.
Because the trashing of thousands of pounds’ worth of council-owned books was entirely the doing of contractors Perry’s council had sent in to Broad Green Library, supposedly to tidy things up.
“Books are precious,” according to Croydon’s Mayor. “They shouldn’t be treated in that way.”
It was only prompt action from residents, salvaging what they could, that reduced the loss and damage to many of the library books after they had been so carelessly tossed aside.
“This is a sad episode,” according to Croydon’s sad, impotent Mayor.
In his nasty little video nasty, Perry referred to how the building – almost a year since he had it closed as a library – is to re-open for “community” use. Much like its community use when it was a library, but one which Perry failed to find a funding solution at his cash-strapped council.
Broad Green Library cost £101,727 a year to run. Perry trousers £82,000 a year as the executive Mayor of Croydon. Earlier this year, not long after closing Broad Green and three other of the borough’s public libraries, Mayor Perry awarded himself a pay rise.
Overall, the four library closures will save Croydon Council less than £500,000 per year. In three years under Mayor Perry, Croydon’s spending on agency staff has risen from £14million to more than £54million per year.
Fly-tipping: Perry’s council had failed to act promptly on reports that the ex-library site was being used as a rubbish dump earlier this summer
It was these outrageous spends on agency staff, including paying an agency more than £720 per hour for one consultant, which may have prompted government-appointed inspectors to describe Perry’s council spending as “runaway”, and see Commissioners appointed to take over the running of the council from the failed Mayor.
Perry failed Croydon’s libraries, and his council’s poor management of its assets, such as Broad Green Library, has seen more costs incurred.
Had there been a properly considered and planned handover of Broad Green and other closed libraries, the squatting and dereliction of the building might have been avoided. By June, locals were reporting the Broad Green Library site as a location for fly-tippers, with Perry’s council slow to clear up, and failing to take any enforcement action.
The omnishambles over the dumping of the library’s stock of books has simply made an already bad situation worse. Perry has spent the past month claiming that his council is well-run, and that there is no need for the government to send in Commissioners.
Confronted with “Perry’s Pile” of discarded books, the Mayor has been forced to apologise, though he has failed to take responsibility for his failures that led to the “appalling” situation he had helped to create.
“The situation we had yesterday, of books just being tossed on to the pavement, is just not acceptable and for which I personally apologise, because I just do not feel that is the way for people to behave.”
This weekend, residents and opposition councillors have reacted with anger at the book dumping, and at Perry’s buck-passing response.
“The Mayor’s furious,” said one Katharine Street source, “at his own incompetence.”
One resident posted on social media: “So sad to see after our local library has been closed down leaving children with nowhere to enjoy books like they once could, that all the books from Broad Green Library are being dumped outside like rubbish, when they can be given to those in need or children centres, schools or hospitals.”
Another posted a response to Perry’s self-serving Facebook video: “You could have sorted the problem before it started. Now you are saying you are the good guy in putting it right.”
Labour Town Hall sources said: “The Conservative Mayor closed the Broad Green Library. He needs to take responsibility for the actions following the closure.”
And another said: “Mayor Perry described it as ‘an outrageous lack of respect for our community’, and he is right: an outrageous lack of respect for our community perpetrated by him and his utter disregard for the things that actually matter to our community, like proper library services.”
Read more: Mayor Perry lies to BBC over his closures of Croydon libraries
Read more: McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
Read more: Panicked Perry admitted to Rayner: I can’t balance the budget
Read more: Agency spend scandal: Perry blasted for ‘ridiculous shambles’
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That is absolutely disgusting the books could have been given to Croydon schools!
And that man really believes he will run Croydon again in the next election…..
That fat fucker was all over Instagram grovelling knowing Inside Croydon would cover this.
The Nazis burned books. Croydon Tories just dump them
It’s Perry’s version of the Big Society.
This has been caused by the Managers responsible who are accountable to the CEO but also the Mayor and his supporting Councillors. Do they ever consult the people properly? Do they ever give the people a voice? Do they ever do an impact assessment of such decisions before executing them? The answer is a big NO!!! A previous example of many is Access Croydon! A knee jerk decision not in the interests of the people or many staff why? They are so out of touch with the people of Croydon.
If Mayor Perry carries on the way he is with many of his Executive ( not Council) decisions in cahoots with the out of touch CEO he is handing the Mayoral election in 2026 on a plate to Rowenna Davis! She is so active with the people of Croydon with the issues that affect them! Also of course she does not have the Newman and old Labour baggage. Can’t wait for hustings!
As pleasant as Rowenna my appear she is still saddled with the incompetent behaviour of labour at National Government level. Given the behaviour of Labour over the past year no reasonable-thinking person should vote for them or their local associates. Perhaps Rowenna could change to a different political party?
No concerns about Labour at a local level, then, with Newman and his Numpties – of which some are still around – crashing the finances?
I think that Rowenna would be the best choice for Croydon, my main concern is the involvement of the NEC, would she be governed by them?
P-P Perry comes up trumps once more!
Where is Kerswell in all this ? Lying low as usual. Leaving PPP to take the wrap. He must be getting really fed up by now with her never taking any public responsibility for this total shambles of which there are many previous.
There is such a thing as delegation. Perry might not trust his Cabinet Members to do anything but agree with him, but a CEO can and should allow people that report to her to take decisions and responsibility for their actions.
Kristian Aspinall, Director of Culture & Community Safety and in overall charge of libraries, is either going to get his arse kicked or is working out to whom he will delegate the booting
Except it’s not a library any more. It’s property. An “asset”, and Huw Rhys Lewis BSc, BArch, MSc, MRIBA, MAPM, MRICS, has left the building.
Just another clusterfuck created by the £1,000 a day interim.
Meanwhile, the person who is really ultimately responsible, Kerswell, is on holiday. Again.
Perhaps our sources inside Fisher’s Folly can confirm that when actually working, Kerswell spends three days a week WFH from her Blackheath mansion?
I knew he was lying
There’s a long-standing and widespread inability affecting the Mayor, councillors, Directors and managers. That is the skill of managing procurement and contractors.
You need to be able to work out what a contractor will do or a company will provide, get a good deal from the best bidder, make them stick to the contract and sort things out if or when they go wrong.
Scandals like the Fairfield Halls refurbishment, the Valo Smart City bus shelters, the video cameras that only worked in the USA, the list goes on.
This latest blunder, throwing out books that could be given to other libraries or charities or sold or just given away, shows a failing organisation that doesn’t learn from its mistakes
“Where is Kerswell in all this ?”
– In the Bahamas lying on beach next to Barry Quirk whilst sipping a Martini
We wish to make it clear that we are unable to confirm the Bahamas location of Kerswell’s summer holiday.
Why haven’t the Government Commissioners got rid of Piss-Poor Perry and the Kerswell yet? The commissioners seem to be as ineffective as the previous (useless) Improvement Panel.
Becasue they can’t remove an elected person, though with enough evidence of malfeasance they could force him to resign. Probably easier to dilute what powers he has to the point of irrelevance and make sure he’s nowhere near the council chequebook.
Kerswell, however, is another matter, Nick.
Even if he resigned the statutory deputy would become acting Mayor and then a byelectiion would ensue (IIRC within 30 working days of the resignation).
And is spending a couple of hundred K on a byelection be the best use of resources when there is a full election next May?
Useless Perry. How much longer do we have to put up with him?
Only another 8 or 9 months, as there are council elections in May 2026, including for the Directly Elected Mayor.
Although Croydon residents were lied to, as those in charge of the council at the time claimed it would be “a bit less shit” than having a “strong leader” (the old system).
But they were probably always wrong on that, and Piss-Poor Perry has been so useless that he has brought the role of “Executive Mayor” into disrepute, that it would be better if we can give up on the “whole lot more shit” directly elected mayor.
That’s utter nonsense. It was this website that coined the hashtag #ABitLessShit.
It was sort of meant ironically, in that the changes proposed were really only cosmetic and nothing could possibly have been any worse that having a strong leader like Tony Newman.
We have said it before. We were wrong. Perry’s not #ABitLessShit, but a lot worse even than Newman ever was.
We apologise.
Till 11h May 2026 when his current term ends (election is 7th May but term ends 4 days after)
Also assumes he wins of course and the Tories don’t dump him first.
Awful to see books like this. But he did address this, and said that he’s investigating it.
Clearly was someone not following instructions properly. I hope it’s investigated.
It is idiotically stupid conduct by unthinking, unsupervised contractors.
The Mayor, and his CEO, are responsible. But neither will pay for this latest clusterfuck.
He says lots of things. It’s really easy to say things. It would be great to be paid his extra salary just to say things.
Doing them is what gives you credibility. That’s why he doesn’t have any.
And what is the book situation at the other closed libraries?
They’ve just got rid of a lot of mattresses/pillows/sleeping bags from Shirley Library so I’m guessing squatters were in there too. Very curious to know if the possible squatters were “paid” to get in there and live in there so the building is damaged beyond repair so it gets knocked down to build more flats rather than being saved. Just pure pondering in my suspicious brain.
Squatters don’t get “paid” by anyone to live in a building & damage it beyond repair FFS! Your Daily Mail brain is working overtime.
Surely before closing the library it would made sense to of distributed the books to other libraries, schools and the like within the borough . This man should be prosecuted for gross professional misconduct.
But this is Croydon, Veronica, where our council has been incapable of doing the obvious for very many years.
And Perry can’t have committed professional misconduct. His profession is as a plastic guttering salesman. With anything else, he is profoundly out of his depth.
I commented on this self denile and outrage post on FB . Asking if he was so concerned about our Libarys why he allowed 4 Libarys be closed. Mentioned the Brick by Brick libary disaster at Norwood Junction. etc.
Had a reply about development of community centres being oppened in the old libraries and a new out reach programs happing in these areas and improvements to the existing libraries . Brick by brick new libary was not fit for purpose .
I’ve replied back asking for dates on the opening of the new community centres . .What are the new out reach programs and who are the thousands they have helped . Also that plans must have been submitted by Brick by Brick to get building permission and they were passed so the libary must have been fit for purpose or they would not have let them go ahead .. I am waiting for addmin to approve my questions see if they do