Recent Comments
Dave Smith on Great British Railways trains… Ralph on With 51 councillors, ‘Ba… insidecroydon on Croydon’s GIGO ‘ec… christopher myers on Croydon’s GIGO ‘ec… Jim Bush on Spoons skips the World Cup wit… Peter Underwood on Croydon’s GIGO ‘ec…
Category Archives: Improvement Board
It was a bad deal for Croydon. Why did they allow it to happen?
CROYDON COMMENTARY: With Tory Mayor Jason Perry using £½million of public money as a hush fund, RICHARD HOWARD, pictured right, the LibDem mayoral candidate, lays out all the obvious flaws with the council’s Red Clover Gardens scheme Two years ago, … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Business, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Ian Parker, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon mayoral election, Brick by Brick, Cllr Ian Parker, Conrad Hall, Conservative, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Croydon, Croydon Council, Green Party, Ian Parker, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Liberal Democrats, Lion Green Road car park, London Borough of Croydon, Major Richard Howard, Peter Underwood, Red Clover Gardens, Regen Capital, Regen Coulsdon, Richard Howard, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Tory
3 Comments
Commissioners switch email in effort to protect whistleblowers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After complaints that staff could not trust that their messages to the government-appointed Commissioners would be secure from their council bosses, a MHCLG official has set up an independent channel. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Three months after … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice
Tagged 000 pay-off, Abi Brown, £50, Commissioners, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Fisher's Folly, Ged Curran, Jackie Belton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lindsey Lewis, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Nathan Elvery
8 Comments
Auditors issue Perry with warning over ‘unsustainable’ finances
The council’s emergency borrowing since 2019 will top £1billion within three years, according to a highly critical report from auditors Grant Thornton, as they show Croydon’s Mayor the local authority equivalent of a yellow card. By our Town Hall reporter, … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, EFS, Exceptional financial support, External auditors, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Pay-off, Perry's pay-off, RIPI, Statutory warning, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
When’s a pay-off not a pay-off? When it’s 50 grand in Croydon
CROYDON IN CRISIS: At public expense (again), Mayor Perry deploys the council’s top lawyer to try to shut down reporting of his £50,000 pay-off to departing chief executive Katherine Kerswell. By STEVEN DOWNES “When’s a pay-off not a pay-off?” a … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, The Honourable Mr Justice Nicklin, Tory, Transformation plan
17 Comments
‘I’ll miss heartfelt moments we have shared in our Tea Talks’
In her final message to staff, council CEO describes a pay-off of possibly as much as £95,000 as ‘just my contractual notice period’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES In typical Croydon Council style under Katherine Kerswell’s leadership, it was the borough’s … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Golden handshake, Grant Thornton, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nazyeya Hussain, Pay-off, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
7 Comments
Mayor Perry tells councillors Kerswell ‘will be much missed’
Rushed email to the borough’s elected officials confirms pay-out to departing chief executive will be at least £50,000 – in lieu of notice. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES In a hastily drafted memo rushed out in the minutes after Inside Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Grant Thornton, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nazyeya Hussain, S114 notice, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
20 Comments
Kerswell gets ‘vote of confidence’ in email from Commissioner
Two months since the government sent in Commissioners to run Croydon’s cash-strapped and chaotic council, a round-robin message to staff today suggests that the team has already ‘gone native’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Staff working in Fisher’s Folly, cash-strapped Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Alison McGovern MP, Commissioner, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Transformation plan
7 Comments
Now Kerswell’s deputy CEO joins the rush for council exits
EXCLUSIVE: To lose one of her trusted inner circle might be unfortunate for Croydon chief exec Katherine Kerswell, but to lose two is beginning to look like an exodus. By STEVEN DOWNES Elaine Jackson, the senior council executive who Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Elaine Jackson, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
8 Comments
Go West! Cash-strapped council’s finance chief is set to quit
EXCLUSIVE: Councillors were kept in the dark about departure of council’s S151 officer, as her exit is linked to the government’s appointment of Commissioners. By STEVEN DOWNES Jane West, Croydon’s finance director since 2022, is to stand down from her … Continue reading
Posted in Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jane West, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, S151 Officer, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
3 Comments
McArdle’s reward for Croydon failure: £1,200 per day in Brum
Having delivered no appreciable improvement in Croydon after more than four years, the council’s ‘improvement’ panel left south London last week, to be replaced by Commissioners. But the panel members’ ride on the gravy train does not end there. By … Continue reading
Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle
Tagged Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tony McArdle, Tory, Transformation plan
7 Comments
It’s a lock out as High Court bailiffs move in on Praise House
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Some of failed Mayor Perry’s biggest fans had a rude awakening on Friday morning when the council sent in bailiffs and locked them out of their civic-owned building. The tenants claim they have no idea why. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Charity, Church and religions, Commissioners, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged 37 Tamworth Road, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Damian Luke, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Pastor Damian Luke, Praise House, Praise House Church, Section 114 Notice, Tamworth Road, Tory, Transformation plan
18 Comments
Tory improvement panel ‘clearly failed’, says Tory councillor
In the first break with the omerta adopted by Mayor Jason Perry and council CEO Katherine Kerswell over the so-called ‘improvement panel’, a senior Tory councillor says that the appointees of the Conservative government ‘failed’. By WALTER CONXITE, Political Editor … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Section 114 notice, Selsdon and Addington Village, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
4 Comments
£642,000: the annual cost of government’s four Commissioners
The government might have decided to send in Commissioners, but it will be Croydon’s Council Tax-payers who will be picking up the bill. Yet again. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s long-suffering residents will be expected to pay the generous daily … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
6 Comments
‘The government was left with no choice’ over Commissioners
The government “was left with no choice” but to appoint Commissioners to take over the running of Croydon’s omnishambles council, a decision which reflects “serious failings on leadership and culture” at the Town Hall. Two of Croydon’s Labour MPs, Sarah … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Chris Philp MP, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Rowenna Davis, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Ged Curran, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Natasha Irons MP, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 Notice, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tory, Transformation plan
11 Comments
Minister McMahon orders in Commissioners to run council
STEVEN DOWNES reports on another day of shame for Croydon’s Tory Mayor and his £204,000 chief executive, as government minister orders ‘a short and sharp reset, with fast action… to shift the dial on the council’s recovery’ The government today … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, James Blythe, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
23 Comments
Meet the Commissioners: council experts sent to save Croydon
Just who are the Commissioners named today by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to have been appointed with the task of steering Croydon Council off the rocks of toxic debt and crass mismanagement? Last month, local government … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Abi Brown, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Improvement Board, Jackie Belton, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Abi Brown, Bexley, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Warren, Ged Curran, Greenwich, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jackie Belton, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Merton, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
4 Comments
Kerswell tells staff: Commissioner news could come this week
Croydon’s £204,000 per year chief exec appears to have bowed to the inevitable that the government will take over the running of the debt-laden council. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor “Her empire is crumbling around her.” That’s how one Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Property, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tony Ralph, Tory, Transformation plan
22 Comments
From tantrum to grovel, Perry shifts posture for Commissioners
TOWN HALL SKETCH: When Mayor’s deputy tells a council meeting that, ‘Aside from the finances, we are performing well’, it is clear that outside help is urgently required. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor “Data!” Croydon Mayor Jason Perry had just … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Callton Young, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Stuart King
Tagged Cllr Callton Young, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Cllr Stuart King, Commissioner, Conservative, Council Tax, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Improvement and Assurance Panel, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tony Pearson, Tory, Transformation plan
26 Comments
Council told to ‘get a grasp’ over repeat homelessness failures
Ombudsman issues withering criticism of Croydon’s failing council: ‘Sadly this is not an isolated case in the borough’ Mayor Jason Perry’s council has been chastised again by the Ombudsman over its mistreatment of one of the borough’s most vulnerable residents … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Amerdeep Somal, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, homeless, Homelessness, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Local Government Ombudsman, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Ombudsman, Tory
9 Comments
Official figures show Croydon’s £90.8m in unpaid Council Tax
Croydon households owe £90.8million in unpaid Council Tax, the second-highest level in London, in what reports say is another indication of the cost-of-living crisis. It is also another sign of cash-strapped Croydon’s poor administration, with an increasing rate of non-collection. … Continue reading
Posted in 'Future Croydon', Business, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan, Tony McArdle
Tagged 2025 Council budget, Commissioner, Conservative, Council budget, Council Tax, Council Tax arrears, Council transformation, Croydon, Croydon Council, Employment Tribunal, Improvement Panel, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Section 114 Notice, Tory, Transformation plan
16 Comments
