Blow me down: the clock in Purley, which councillors say was damaged by a winter storm
Work is underway to look at ways to fund the repair and restoration of the ornamental, landmark clock in Purley, which according to the local councillors, had its metal pole bent right over by storm-force winds last week.
For the past week, the clock has been lying on the ground on its Purley Cross traffic island site between the town centre and the large Tesco superstore.
Storm Goretti made landfall last Friday, bringing record-breaking gusts, and being given a rare red warning for “dangerous” winds.
In the main, the worst of Storm Goretti was felt in the West Country, Wales, Scotland and the north of England. And, it seems, Purley.
Purley’s Tories, with their chums on Purley BID, the business non-improvement district, put their best person on the job. And when they weren’t available, they instead sent out Councillor Simon Brew, who made a lovely little video of himself standing alongside the scene of devastation.
Brew has a well-deserved reputation for being gullible in the cause of the Conservative Party. It was Brew who made a video in 2021 in which he was shown on a tour of Purley Pool and claimed that it could all be fixed up and re-opened in no time at all for a tanner and three farthings. Or something like that.
Video star: Cllr Simon Brew likes a bit of self-promoting multi-media
This time, before anyone had bothered checking any of the obvious sources of evidence (the cluster of CCTV cameras focused on the busy traffic junction), Brew stepped out into the January rain to state, “We know how important this local landmark is to the community, and updates will be shared as soon as more information is available.” Which is nice.
By yesterday, Brew and the Purley councillors had managed to do what they perhaps could have done before grandstanding on social media, and gone through the council’s CCTV footage from last Friday.
“We’ve checked the CCTV at Croydon Council, and the footage shows the clock blowing over in the wind,” the councillors announced on social media.
“We’re working with the Purley BID on next steps for how we can reinstate this much-loved landmark.”
The Purley Pool, meanwhile, remains closed.
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