Our review of the year’s Croydon news continues with a ecelctic mix of the infuriating and the absurd, as the unelected and unaccountable £204,000 per year public servant at the head of the council looked increasingly all at sea
JUNE
CEO Kerswell ordered block on staff accessing Inside Croydon
Look. We don’t think for one moment this was one of the most important news stories of the year, or even of June 2025. We’re not that far up our own backsides for that.
But it did make us laugh. Because as a response to the crisis at the council, this went beyond pathetic.
It also showed how far out of her depth Katherine Kerswell had become after three Section 114 notices (a record for local government in England). She needed to blame someone else for her failures. So she took aim at the messenger…
We heard later from well-connected sources within Fisher’s Folly that our AI-generated cartoon of Kerswell as the captain of the sinking ship, used with another exclusive article in which we published details of council business the council would rather you did not know about, really boiled her piss.
As we arrive at the end of 2025, Inside Croydon is still here. But Katherine Kerswell has gone… although she did leg it with a golden handshake worth £50,000 which Croydon Mayor Jason Perry is still trying to claim was not a pay-off.
McMahon acts after serious concerns on ‘aspects of leadership’
‘Concerns over leadership’: Jim McMahon MP, the local government minister
This definitely was the most important news story of the month, and probably the year, as the government called time on the failed administration of Tory Mayor Jason Perry and his failed CEO Kerswell.
Commissioners would be confirmed and sent in from July, effectively taking power out of the hands of the elected Mayor and his side-kick, Kerswell. After a record £132million bail-out from government earlier in the years, Kerswell’s genius plan to get the council’s finances straight was… to borrow even more money.
Before the end of the year, Kerswell, her finance director Jane West and at least eight other director-level execs at the council, most on salaries of £110,000 per year or more, will have left Fisher’s Folly.
Council cuts off Whitgift Centre by closing subway permanently
‘People have been killed crossing here’: the council sign on Wellesley Road, close to where the council has closed the subway
Another example of the incompetence at the heart of the council’s mishandling of Westfield and the Whitgift Shopping Centre, as they continue to make doing business as difficult as possible for those few remaining traders based there, and impossible for potential customers to venture into the near-deserted mall.
Suffice to say that Mayor Jason Perry thought he did such a good job in blocking off a pedestrian subway, that he later got the council to pay for a memorial slab in his name to be made and inserted into the pavement nearby.
There will be more on this later in the year…
Also in June…
Just like the captain of the Titanic, but who hadn’t realised she’d hit the iceberg:
Business as usual for Kerswell – but remember to bring a pen!
Council contractors can’t even follow a satnav:
Thornton Heath wrecked: council destroys wild flower meadow
Another Inside Croydon exclusive:
Croydon network to get 24 trams in deal worth at least £50m
PICK OF THE PODCASTS: Another audio exclusive, as Under The Flyover interviewed Fiona Fletcher-Smith, the CEO of housing association L&Q who had recently been appointed to the voluntary position as chair of the Whitgift Foundation’s Court of Governors.
Our podcasts are premium content for subscribers to Inside Croydon, so you will need to pay to listen on our Spotify page or sign up as a patron on Patreon to hear the discussion about the housing crisis, and how it will take another bail-out for Croydon before developers Uunibail-Rodamco-Westfield to begin the town centre redevelopment scheme which they first announced in 2012
- If you missed our review of January 2025’s news, take a look at this: That was the year that was: Inside Croydon’s pick of 2025
- For February’s top news stories, have a look at this: Purley Pool, porkie pies and a busted budget
- For the highlights, and council lowlights, from March, click here: Council’s closed doors, Selhurst security, Bridge to Nowhere
- Check out what was making the news Inside Croydon in April by clicking here
- While in May 2025, we were mostly watching football:After 120 years, the Eagles live the dream at Wembley cup final
PAID ADS: To advertise your services or products to our 10,000 weekday visitors to the site, as featured on Google News Showcase, 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
