Author Archives: insidecroydon

About insidecroydon

News, views and analysis about the people of Croydon, their lives and political times in the diverse and most-populated borough in London. Based in Croydon and edited by Steven Downes. To contact us, please email inside.croydon@btinternet.com

Crystal Palace rated ‘best place to live in London’ in new guide

Crystal Palace has been named the Best Place to Live in London, placed atop of a list of six locations in the capital chosen by The Sunday Times in their annual guide. The guide, which includes 70 locations, is released … Continue reading

Posted in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Are you local? Tories seek distance from party-goer Boris

Conservatives in Croydon, hungry for power, are beginning to see the Prime Minister as an electoral liability. By political editor WALTER CRONXITE With election day in one month’s time, Croydon Conservatives, having been first to pick their Mayoral candidate and … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Bromley Council, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Ellie Reeves MP, Jason Perry, Lambeth Council, South Croydon, Sutton Council, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

MP Philp subject of complaint to parliamentary commission

WALTER CRONXITE discovers another Tory politician breaking the rules for the advantage of his party-loving political party Chris Philp is the latest member of the Conservative Party Party Party to be placed under an official investigation. Philp, the Tory MP … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sly stealth tax rises are ‘economically idiotic’ as inflation soars

A cascade of misery is being unleashed on households as the cost of living crisis begins to bite. By ANDREW FISHER Happy New (financial) Year. Here’s to a 2022-2023 of tax rises, eye-watering energy bills and soaring inflation. Inflation is … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Business, Council Tax | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Help Waddon girl Make A Wish after her cancer treatment

A seven-year-old girl from Waddon who thought she had “stomach ache”, endured three years of gruelling cancer treatment after doctors found a 10cm tumour. Brodie Burgess is one of 56 children across Greater London who are living with a critical … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Waddon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Come along and sing with the Croydon Bach Choir, May 14

Posted in Art, Croydon Bach Choir, Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

The bottom line on the failure of ex-CEO Negrini: £613,895

Our Town Hall editor KEN LEE has been crunching some eye-watering numbers from Croydon’s bankrupt council When Jo “Negreedy” Negrini quit as the council’s chief executive in September 2020, with Croydon hurtling towards bankruptcy, she left with a total of … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jo Negrini, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Croydon’s less-than-magnificent 8: Winston’s back for more

There’s quirkiness and eccentricity among some of the candidates to become the borough’s first executive Mayor, as well as some who perhaps are not quite what they claim to be. Editor STEVEN DOWNES on the confirmed candidates list for May … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Easter Fun Day, Christ Church School, Purley, Apr 16

Posted in Activities, Purley, Schools | Tagged , | Leave a comment

A night at the comic opera: from sublime to the ridiculous

Box office closed, bar closed, bistro closed and toilets closed… KEN TOWL went along to see what the Fairfield Halls experience is like these days, and with a box seat (pictured left) he managed to last longer than the Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, Music | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Trust’s 12-month countdown to people’s takeover of park

Bromley Council wants to hand over control of the historic Crystal Palace Park to a people’s trust by April 2023. The park has been seen as a “problem” for Bromley ever since they were “gifted” the responsibility for it when … Continue reading

Posted in Bromley Council, Charity, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Martin Tempia | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Turn your stroll to the ballot box into a march for rights

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The walk to your polling station for the local elections on May 5 can be used to improve accessibility to the countryside for thousands of people, says rambler MICHAEL HOWELLS Walking in nature improves our health and happiness, … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Walks | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Charity call to restore free covid tests for care home visits

Two-thirds of Londoners oppose the scrapping of free covid tests for visitors to care homes, a survey conducted on behalf of Alzheimer’s Society has found. More than a thousand people have written to their MPs to echo calls from Alzheimer’s … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Health | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Race discrimination at work: giving people a fair hearing

In the latest in our series of legal advice columns from the South West London Law Centre, LANCE BAYNHAM, discrimination caseworker, pictured right, gives examples of race discrimination cases the team is working on and explains what to do if … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Charity, South West London Law Centres, SWLLC - Advice columns | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Tories accused of ‘pandering to prejudice’ over cycle lanes

The Conservatives’ Mayoral candidate is contradicting his own party leader over a roads improvement scheme in South Croydon Jason Perry, the Conservative candidate to become the first executive Mayor of Croydon, has launched a petition which warns against “traffic chaos” … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Boris Johnson, Cycling, Environment, Jason Perry, London-wide issues, Maria Gatland, Michael Neal, Parking, South Croydon, TfL, Transport, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Grenfell inquiry set to quiz Barwell over ignored warnings

Former Conservative housing minister is set to give evidence about his part in what has been described as ‘one of the greatest public policy failures anywhere in the modern world’ Gavin Barwell, the former Croydon MP who as housing minister … Continue reading

Posted in Gavin Barwell, Housing, London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Organisers reach out as Wireless returns to Crystal Palace

A large section of Crystal Palace Park will be fenced off from the public for around three weeks this summer, as the Wireless Festival returns at the start of July. Wireless was staged in south London for the first time … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Business, Charity, Croydon parks, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

CareDogs taking the lead on helping the elderly go walking

A south London-based dog charity based is launching a befriending service with a twist this spring after a successful pilot last year. CareDogs operates in Lambeth, Southwark, Croydon, Bromley and Lewisham. The charity aims to solve social isolation in the … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Walks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Victorian doctor’s Australian journey that ended tragically

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Memorials placed in Croydon Minster are often just the beginnings of DAVID MORGAN’s historical research Visitors to Croydon Minster often comment on the number of brass memorials on the walls. Some ask whether the people remembered on them … Continue reading

Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

The grand scandal at the centre of Fairfield’s absurd saga

Arts correspondent BELLA BARTOCK solves the mystery of the vanishing grand pianos, and discovers more scandal at the council-owned arts venue The Fairfield Halls, following its shambolic and costly refurbishment, is now an arts centre without an art gallery, with … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Croydon Philharmonic Choir, Fairfield Halls, Music, The Wreck | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Up the JunkAction: artists pitch to clean up South Norwood

What calls itself an “eco-community art project” has been started in South Norwood, setting out to “transform litter into art”, with sculptures to be exhibited on the same streets from where the rubbish that was dumped had been collected. The … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Stanley Halls | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Russell & Bromley give away £500,000-worth of kids’ shoes

For some parents and carers trying to manage on ever-tighter household budgets in Croydon, there’s been a small ray of kindness amid all the pressures of the cost of living crisis after a major shoe retailer donated more than 41,000 … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Charity | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Countdown to election gets underway with poll card dispatch

The poll cards for Croydon’s first Mayoral election on May 5 have been despatched, the council has announced. On May 5, residents will vote for an elected Mayor of Croydon for the first time. They will also vote for 70 … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

NHS now begins roll-out of covid jabs for 5-to-11-year-olds

Nearly 1million under-11s in London are being offered covid-19 vaccines from this week. Parents and carers of children aged from five to 11 are able to book a jab for their children from today, as the biggest and most successful … Continue reading

Posted in Health | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Butler and Scott broke Code of Conduct over Fairfield meeting

CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Shawcross joins condemnation of senior Labour councillors after they are let off lightly for breaking ethics rules. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Right to the bitter end, Paul Scott and Alison Butler, the couple who were at … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Bensham Manor, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, John Jones, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments