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Category Archives: Colm Lacey
Auckland Rise residents suffer the ‘curse’ of Brick by Brick
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports on how some of the warnings about the council house-builders’ ‘affordable’ homes are becoming an costly reality in Crystal Palace Residents in supposedly “affordable” shared ownership homes built in Crystal Palace by the council-owned … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Claire Bonham, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning
Tagged Alison Butler, Auckland Rise, Brick by Brick, Claire Bonham, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Jo Negrini, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London, London Borough of Croydon, Tory
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Farewell but no thanks: troubleshooters leave BxB’s board
Step by tiny step, the winding up of failed developer Brick by Brick is coming to an end, reports BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent The deckchairs are being re-arranged on the deck of Brick by Brick, seemingly for one final time. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, David Courcoux, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged affordable housing, Andrew Percival, Brick by Brick, Companies House, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Corcoux, Duncan Whitfield, Griff Marshalsay, Griffith McCallum Marshalsay, Homes for Lambeth, Housing, Ian O'Donnell, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lambeth, London Borough of Croydon, Southwark Council, Stephen Hopkins, Tony Newman
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How myth of shared ownership has made housing crisis worse
Six years ago, one of Inside Croydon’s loyal readers reported on the sheer unaffordability of the shared ownership homes being built in the borough by Brick by Brick. Now, as ANDREW FISHER explains, a parliamentary select committee has published a … Continue reading
£68m: final cost of Brick by Brick, as agreed by Mayor Perry
£68m This is what a “solvent liquidation” looks like, according to Croydon’s elected Mayor Jason Perry. That’s the latest final estimate of the exit costs of winding down and closing Brick by Brick, the failed housing company set up by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Planning, Simon Hall, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Tony Newman, Tory
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Brick by Brick posts £7.6m loss in latest annual trading report
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yet more bad news finally emerging into the public record. By BARRATT HOLMES, our house building correspondent Even when it is no longer paying above the odds to build new homes, Brick by Brick continues to lose … Continue reading
Council failed in legal duty to publish accounts for three years
CROYDON COMMENTARY: While the narrative from the Government-appointed improvement panel, the council and the levelling up department is upbeat about an ‘increased pace’ of change at the bankrupt borough, a more realistic picture, as NICHOLAS PANES points out, is of … Continue reading
Simpson and the Sutton similarities over £100m property loan
Sutton’s investments, developments and procurement come under scrutiny after the Beech Tree Place débâcle. CARL SHILTON reports Sutton Council continues its acquisitions and regeneration projects in the borough. But in a tough economic climate, some cracks are beginning to show. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Housing, Property, Richard Simpson, Sutton Council
Tagged Beech Tree Place, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Elm Grove, Fairfield Halls, Liberal Democrats, Oru Space, Richard Simpson, Royal Marsden Cancer Hub, skate park, St Nicholas Centre, Sutton Council
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Council risks being in the red over BxB’s Red Clover Gardens
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the growing disquiet over the fate of 157 flats in Coulsdon that have been standing empty for more than a year There’s a number of reasons that Croydon Council is boracic, and one of … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, London Borough of Croydon, Mary Duggan, Mears Group Plc, Notting Hill Genesis, Red Clover Gardens, Regen Capital, Tory
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Investigation call over property deals for £220m flats scheme
Residents in Addiscombe are angry that the council has ignored hundreds of objections and granted planning permission for 36- and 33-storey towers – and demand a thorough police investigation into the tax-payers’ millions lost on successive Croydon Park Hotel property … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Botanical House, Brick by Brick, Business, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Housing, Jo Negrini, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons
Tagged Addiscombe West, Altyre Road, Amro, Botanical House, Clive Fraser, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, East Croydon station, Labour, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Squatters do a bunk as bailiffs smash Brick by Brick’s doors
Seven bailiffs, acting as “Representatives of the Owner”, wasted no time in descending on Brick by Brick’s former offices in George Street on Saturday afternoon to evict the squatters who had been occupying the building for almost two weeks. A … Continue reading
Defiant squatters are ordered to leave Brick by Brick’s offices
While security guards peered from the windows of the empty Croydon Park Hotel on Altyre Road, squatters and their supporters were erecting banners in the forecourt of Croydon County Court this morning. The group of squatters calling themselves Reclaim Croydon … Continue reading
Squatters take over Brick by Brick’s abandoned office building
Perhaps this is the start of a people’s fightback against the Croydon Establishment. A group of squatters calling themselves “Reclaim Croydon” has moved in to the abandoned offices of Brick by Brick in the town centre, to show the high … Continue reading
Perry’s council refuses to name its design review panellists
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor decided to re-boot Negrini’s Place Review Panel, but after almost a year’s delay, the identities of the ‘experts’ assembled remain closely guarded secrets. By WALTER CRONXITE “Just what are they trying to hide?” a Katharine Street … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Environment, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Place Review Panel, Planning, Whitgift Centre
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Hawkins Brown, Hugh Pearman, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Place Review Panel, Royal Institute of British Architects, Victoria and Albert Museum, Wayne Hemingway, We Made This, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Cost of failure: report says Negrini’s lined up new pay-off
Might Jo Negrini – “Negreedy” as she was less-than-fondly known by colleagues when she was chief executive at Croydon Council – be heading for a second overly generous pay-off in just three years? Next month will see the anniversary of … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman
Tagged Arup, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Private Eye, Tony Newman
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Perry to hand key Regina Road contract to Negrini’s employers
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Having said he would begin legal proceedings to recover some of the former CEO’s £437,000 ‘Golden Handshake’, the Tory Mayor is now hiring the company that has appointed the self-acclaimed regeneration expert as a director. EXCLUSIVE by … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Regina Road redevelopment, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged 15% Council Tax hike, Arup, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road, Regina Road redevelopment, Tory
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Brick by Brick’s unsold homes are costing Croydon a fortune
Despite there being a ‘housing crisis’, the council’s failed development company is struggling to sell dozens of its homes. As housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES reports, £440,000 for a two-bed shared-ownership flat is putting off buyers There’s good reason that loss-making … Continue reading
Brick by Brick’s losses pile up even after selling £89m of homes
As the failed development company staggers towards its ultimate demise, it is maintaining its unwanted record of never making a single penny in profit, as our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports Brick by Brick, the council-owned housing company, sold £89million-worth … Continue reading
Homes report warns of ‘unsustainable’ shared ownership deals
Shared ownership risks becoming “financially unsustainable” for lower-income buyers, warns a report published this week. The report, Shared ownership: the consumer perspective, reveals how more than one-third of shared owners display indicators of financial vulnerability, with lower financial resilience and … Continue reading
Brick by Brick’s George Street offices are put up for rent
A lasting reminder of one of the principal factors that crashed the council’s finances could be about to be erased from Croydon town centre. Brick by Brick’s vainglorious sales suite and offices on George Street have been vacated and put … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, George Street, Stiles Harold Williams
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Developer consults on 775-flat proposal next to Fairfield Halls
Proposals for another 775 flats, including a 38-storey tower, on a two-acre site next to the Fairfield Halls are being laid out for public consultation tomorrow. The scheme is being brought forward by asset managers Delta Properties, who acquired the … Continue reading
Ex-councillor Hall says: ‘Sorry to be direct, but this is a lie’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Only two elected councillors have so far had their roles in the council’s financial collapse questioned, and Tony Newman and Simon Hall are still not saying sorry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Tony Newman and Simon Hall, two … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Misconduct in Public Office, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
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Kerswell condemns councils’ accountability as inadequate
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yesterday’s meeting of the cash-strapped council’s disciplinary committee may have committed Croydon to tens of thousands of pounds of additional legal costs, with no guarantee of any success in the cases which might eventually be brought. And … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged #PennReport, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Gove, Misconduct in Public Office, Penn Report, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory
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Councillors agree to chase Negrini for golden handshake cash
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The same committee which met in August 2020 to agree the £437,000 payment to the departing CEO today decided to ignore the advice of senior lawyers and spend more council cash in trying to recover the pay-off. … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Patricia Hay-Justice, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, CIPFA, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, DLUHC, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Metropolitan Police, Michael Gove, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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MP calls for misconduct charges against ex-councillor Hall
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Home Office junior minister Chris Philp says that some of the council’s former leaders ‘committed such egregious breaches of public trust that they should be formally investigated by the police for the criminal offence of misconduct in … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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All you ever need to know about ‘misconduct in public office’…
… but couldn’t be bothered to ask. Here’s a potted summary taken from the Law Commission, Crown Prosecution Service and independent legal advisors on the prospects of a successful prosecution being brought against Croydon’s borough bankrupters using this arcane offence … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Council Tax, CPS, Crown Prosecution Service, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, Law Commission, London Borough of Croydon, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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