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

Important public announcement: the climate emergency is real

COPSE – the Croydon Outdoor Pursuits and Social Events – is staging a global premiere of a film this Tuesday – possibly the most important documentary produced in our lifetimes. And a limited number of tickets are free for all to … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Croydon Outdoor Pursuits and Social Events, Education, Environment | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Housing and benefits advice sessions, free, South Norwood

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Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Age UK Croydon, Charity, Croydon CAB, South West London Law Centres | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Modern-Day Art’ Exhibition at Croydon Art Space, to Apr 30

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Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Croydon Art Space | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

CEO accused of spending public cash for Perry’s benefit

A banner in council colours has appeared outside the Purley Pool this week lauding Jason Perry’s role in the (non-)development of the site in what rival politicians have described as a clear breach of election law. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Local media, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Polaska, Property, Purley, Purley Pool, Richard Howard, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Councillors wave through 676 flats with just 20% affordable

Housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES on the latest tall towers coming to the skyline of central Croydon Deep in the middle of a housing crisis, Croydon Council has broken its own rules by granting planning permission to a £200million housing scheme … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Croydon Council, Delta Properties, Delta Properties Ltd, Fairfield, Housing, Planning, Property, Tapestry Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Time running out to register to vote in Croydon local elections

Residents reminded that they will need to show photo ID when attending their polling station for the local elections next month Many Croydon residents will have already received their polling cards, with detailed information of where they can cast their … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tooting Common Bio Blitz, Woodfield Pavilion, Sun Apr 26

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Perry dodges scrutiny as council delays refunds of LTN fines

CROYDON IN CRISIS: What do you mean, you can’t easily find how to claim a refund of the unlawful low traffic neighbourhood fine you were forced to pay? Do you expect the council to make the repayments system simple and … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Leila Ben-Hassel, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Venetia Reid-Baptiste | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Frith Street stabbing: jury gives guilty verdict on ‘devious killer’

Simon Ghebremedhin has been found guilty of the murder of Marjama Osman, who he stabbed in her home on Frith Road in May last year. Ghebremedhin, 33, of Streatham High Road, was found guilty by a jury at Inner London … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Surrey Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Backpay victory for healthcare assistants at St Helier Hospital

Healthcare assistants working at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton and two other hospitals in the area have secured a pay victory and have voted to accept an offer from their employers, with some to receive as much as £7,000 compensation … Continue reading

Posted in Health, St Helier Hospital | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Town centre multiplex cinema to close in latest blow for Perry

KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter, on how Croydon’s failed Mayor has been blindsided, again, by another major loss to the High Street The latest hammerblow to Jason Perry’s bogus election claims that he has Croydon “back on track” and that … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Cinema, Grants, Tokia Square, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Reed’s £2,400-a-seat cosy curry night with building lobbyists

BARRATT HOLMES reports on the Croydon Labour councillors who enjoyed a networking night out with the housing minister  Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Streatham (and Croydon North if he can ever be bothered), who has previously exhibited an appetite … Continue reading

Posted in Chrishni Reshekaron, Christopher Herman, Housing, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart King, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Derren Brown has the tricks to bring the magic back to Croydon

Posted in "Hammersfield", Inside Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Our news podcast looks at bins, cold cases, LTNs and Reform

The new episode of The Croydon Insider, our regular round-table, news panel discussion podcast thingy, looks at recent events in Croydon, including the Reform party’s rally at the Fairfield Halls, where they revealed their candidate for Croydon Mayor – and … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Flook, Community associations, Croydon Insider, Fairfield Halls, Fly tipping, Inside Croydon, Litter Free Norbury, Nadia Azizuddin, Neil Bennett, Refuse collection, Tony Hooker, Under The Flyover, Veolia | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Crowley joins Beddington Independents for election campaign

INSIDE SUTTON: The former leader of the Conservative group at the Civic Centre has deferred his retirement to help see off challenges from LibDems and Reform, as ROSE HILL reports Tim Crowley, for seven years the leader of the Conservative … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, Bobby Dean, Carshalton and Wallington, Nick Mattey, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tim Crowley, Tim Foster | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rising costs push Frant Road rugby club ‘to brink’ of closure

Streatham and Croydon RFC, one of the oldest rugby clubs in the world, has launched an “emergency appeal” for funds to keep the organisation going. The club has its own ground on Frant Road in Thornton Heath, but is a … Continue reading

Posted in Rugby Union, Sadeya Kabeya, Streatham and Croydon North, Streatham-Croydon RFC, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Streatham Choral: Haydn’s The Creation, Cadogan Hall, Apr 11

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It’s no Flook: dozen Reform members resign over candidate

ELECTION EXCLUSIVE: Reform in Croydon is in meltdown, with members resigning over top-down decisions from Farage HQ. WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, reports on the Fairfield Halls exercise in onanism, where the real fireworks were going off backstage  Grifter-in-chief Nigel Farage … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Flook, Dan Milner-Tebbutt, Jose Joseph, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington, New Addington North, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Shirley North, Shirley South, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Dance and taxes – Croydonites 2026 is open for applications

Are you a theatre maker or performer with an idea that you’ve been itching to present? Now is your chance. The Croydonites Fringe is returning from July 1 to 5 in venues across Croydon and South Norwood, and they are … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Comedy, Croydonites Festival, Dance, Poetry, Stanley Halls, The Front Room, Theatre, Turf Projects | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

READER OFFER: Save £££s on tickets for the Ideal Home Show

The Ideal Home Show returns to Olympia London from April 10-19, bringing its most interactive and experience‑led edition yet to the capital. And Inside Croydon’s paying subscribers can attend with special discount tickets, saving almost one-third of the entry fee! … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Inside Croydon | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The four supplier risk signals that only AI can catch in time

SPONSORED CONTENT Supplier relationships are central to how modern organisations operate. A single third-party failure, whether financial, regulatory or operational, can trigger consequences that ripple through an entire business. However, many procurement and finance teams still rely on annual reviews … Continue reading

Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Inside Croydon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

From flames to fame, Waddon’s Knox family made their mark

CROYDON CHRONICLES: From the night of the Great Fire of Croydon, DAVID MORGAN tells the story of a family of vicars and bishops, of writers and editors, and Enigma codebreakers The fire which destroyed Croydon Parish Church in 1867 had … Continue reading

Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Fourth man convicted for ‘brutal’ killing of Michael Afonso

More than two years after Michael Afonso was murdered in a brutal gang attack in Thornton Heath just before Christmas 2023, a fourth man has been convicted. Ali Abdul Basit’s manslaughter and robbery conviction was largely down to forensic evidence, … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Farm Fest annual fund-raiser, Deen City Farm, Merton, Jun 27

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Posted in Activities, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Charity, Environment, Wildlife | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Mayor’s record in office has worse delivery than Royal Mail

With Tory Jason Perry’s election pledges dropping on residents’ doormats this week and Labour candidate Rowenna Davis publishing her manifesto, the claims and promises of the two front-runners for Croydon Mayor are examined here by ANDREW FISHER While incumbent Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Fly tipping, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments