Category Archives: Connected Croydon

‘Challenging’ deal caused bus shelter delay, councillor says

Street-side advertising specialist JCDecaux refused to accept payments to keep its bus shelters in place in Croydon until replacements could be ready, according to a senior member of the council. Muhammad Ali is the council cabinet member for “sustainable” Croydon. … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Muhammad Ali, Neil Williams, Opama Khan | Tagged , , , | 12 Comments

Councillor tells officials: ‘Apologise for this incompetence’

A Labour councillor has accused Croydon officials of ‘playing us all for fools’ and says that the council ‘should be apologising to residents for this incompetence’ over the borough’s vanishing bus shelters At least one Croydon councillor is, as Oscar-winner … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Neil Williams, Opama Khan, Robert Canning, TfL, Transport, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chief digital officer quits council after splashing the cash

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the latest high-profile departure from the council That loud splashing sound heard outside Fisher’s Folly yesterday? Could it be the noise you hear when another rat dives off the council’s … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Neil Williams | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council’s commitment to cycling is only a virtual reality

After spending at least £300,000 in three years on staging the under-sponsored Croydon CycleFarce road races around the town centre, the council’s “commitment” to encouraging cycling in the borough remains only a virtual reality. As Tony Newman, Jo Negrini and … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Cycling, Cycling, TfL, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Not much to show for £5.4m spent on East Croydon’s bus stops

Transport correspondent JEREMY CLACKSON reports from East Croydon bus station after its re-opening yesterday, more than a month later than scheduled So is that it? Is that what the council and Transport for London took almost six months and, they … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, Stuart King, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Croydon and ‘delivery’, Part 94: East Croydon bus station

“Thank you,” states the signage seen by tens of thousands of Croydon commuters every day, “for your patience during these essential construction works.” Note that: the works are essential. Though perhaps not essential enough to get them finished in a … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Alison Butler, Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Cycling, East Croydon, Environment, TfL, Tramlink, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Croydon wins a ‘connected’ award, for £24m unfinished bridge

East Croydon Station’s “Bridge to Nowhere”, the £24million pedestrian bridge which has never been completed to provide the intended access to Cherry Orchard Road and Addiscombe, has just been cited as a reason for Croydon winning an award for urban … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Cycling, East Croydon, Environment, Menta Tower, Property, TfL, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Watson’s shambolic meeting leaves Surrey Street in the dark

£10,000 That’s how much Mark Watson, the councillor in charge of the gentrification project around Surrey Street, reckons it has cost to install the first piece of “street art” on the footbridge that crosses the old street market. And this … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Business, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Environment, Fairfield, Jo Negrini, Mark Watson, Planning, Rise Gallery, Street lighting, Surrey Street, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

South Norwood suffers a ‘white-out’ in council publicity

For what is supposed to be among the most diverse and colourful boroughs in the country, parts of Croydon appear to be very… pale if the expensively commissioned architects’ drawings of some council schemes are anything to go by. Take … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Environment, Hamida Ali, Paul Scott, People for Portland Road, South Norwood | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

More Wellesley Road works coming down the tram tracks

Anyone enduring the traffic jams along Wellesley Road since the weekend, you’ll be delighted to know there could be more on the way. Croydon Council quietly dropped its “Connected Croydon” tag for its street improvement works, because eventually even the … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Planning, TfL, Tramlink, Transport, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Writing’s on the walls in Thornton Heath over £2.7m murals

The picture left shows an example of the kind of public artwork that two of the borough’s most senior councillors suggest, “will bring huge benefits to both residents and businesses in Thornton Heath”, and “continue to boost growth in the … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Bensham Manor, Connected Croydon, Mark Watson, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£50m DisConnected Croydon and the real cost for business

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The council’s chief executive Jo Negrini has gushed in her shameless self-publicity how £50million spent on the “gateways” to the borough have transformed the areas, and that is now the received “wisdom” from the borough’s political leadership. But … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Jo Negrini, Mark Watson, Restaurants | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council to stage meetings on Thornton Heath public realm

The council has arranged for two public meetings in Thornton Heath where residents and local traders will get information regarding “all public realm, building frontage and business support available will be shared”. The meetings will both be staged at the … Continue reading

Posted in Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Planning, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Architecture review panel could cost council £100,000 a year

Fears that Croydon’s Place Review Panel could amount to little more than an expensive exercise to flatter council CEO Jo Negrini, with Council Tax-payers picking up the tab, are mounting – with some Katharine Street insiders predicting that the architects’ … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Angela Brady, Brick by Brick, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Place Review Panel, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Lycra-obsessed Tories forget their support for parks and ride

Croydon is the most unsafe borough in south London for cycling, according to a senior councillor. Not that anyone was at the Town Hall meeting to register the point, as STEVEN DOWNES reports If a tree falls in a forest … Continue reading

Posted in Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Cycling, Environment, Fairfield, Heathfield, Helen Pollard, Lloyd Park, Sean Fitzsimons, Stuart King, Tim Pollard, Transport, Wandle Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

TfL to re-open West Croydon Bus Station, six months late

West Croydon Bus Station re-opens this weekend after two years’ worth of demolition and reconfiguration for the roads in and around the railway station and tram stop, to be able to cope better with the 150 buses that are scheduled … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Commuting, Connected Croydon, Environment, London-wide issues, TfL, Tramlink, Transport, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

TfL’s £7.6m grant for 20mph zones and road ‘improvements’

Croydon’s councillors will have an opportunity next Monday to demonstrate that they have grasped Einstein’s definition of insanity, and that they won’t be doing the same thing and expecting different results over the spending of millions of pounds on often … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Cycling, Environment, Fairfield, Parking, Purley Way, South Norwood, Stuart King, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Croydon disconnected by Easter tram and road closures

Croydon residents, workers and businesses will be disconnected by road, tram and train over Easter, as they face a third successive Bank Holiday weekend of transport disruption, delays and inconvenience. Engineering works will see the main railway line into Victoria … Continue reading

Posted in Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, London-wide issues, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Disconnected Croydon to add lick of paint to Thornton Heath

Shop fronts and walls in Thornton Heath are to get a lick of paint as the latest part of the multi-mllion-pound Disconnected Croydon exercise in superficiality run by our council. Together with the You&Me firm of architects, the council is … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Planning, Stiles Harold Williams, Thornton Heath, Thornton Heath Community Action Team, Thornton Heath Neighbourhood Association | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Thornton Heath high street public meeting, Nov 21

Posted in Community associations, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Environment, Planning, Thornton Heath, Thornton Heath Community Action Team, Thornton Heath Neighbourhood Association | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Cyclists appeal after council abandons trial road closure

Disconnected Croydon, the borough that runs consultations without trying too hard to tell its residents, is soon to develop a reputation for abandoning trials midway through, before they have run their course. The bollards in the centre of the road … Continue reading

Posted in Boris Bikes, Boris Johnson, Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Cycling, Environment, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Norbury, Planning, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to gridlock Croydon in 100 million easy moves

CROYDON COMMENTARY: London’s Tory Mayor Boris Johnson, with Labour-run Croydon Council and through Transport for London, has earmarked more than £100 million for road schemes and to re-configure the tram system in the town centre, all for the sake of … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Addiscombe West, Boris Johnson, Business, Centrale, Commuting, Connected Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Cycling, Duppas Hill Park, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Mayor of London, Parking, Planning, Property, Tramlink, Transport, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Croydon cycle race crash that could have ended in tragedy

Tuesday night’s cycle race in central Croydon narrowly avoided tragedy, according to one of Britain’s most respected Paralympic champions. Sarah Storey, the winner of 11 Paralympic gold medals across two sports at four separate Games, was sent crashing as a … Continue reading

Posted in 2012 Olympics, Business, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Cycling, Fairfield, Sport, Surrey Street, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

High street’s failings are becoming something to bank on

And so while the local council bungs a few thousand quid (of our money) at a futile and probably fruitless one-day jamboree – though the bar takings for some members of the South Croydon Business Association might benefit – the … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Community associations, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Environment, Fairfield, Planning, Property, Pubs, Restaurants, South Croydon, South Croydon Community Association, Stiles Harold Williams, Tony Newman, Waddon, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

UnConnected Croydon where cycle lanes become dead ends

CROYDON COMMENTARY: AUSTEN COOPER, of Croydon Cyclists, responds to our exclusive report last week that a single night’s bike racing in the town centre is receiving £148,000 of public cash The £50 million spent by Connected Croydon on ripping up … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Connected Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Cycling, Environment, London-wide issues, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment