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Category Archives: Brick by Brick
‘The Fold’: former council-owned site takes a gamble with name
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the latest laugh-out-loud move by developers working in the centre of Croydon While this website might be loathe to echo one of the catchphrases of one of the more notorious tabloid columnists, you really … Continue reading
£110,000 director job advertised to flog off Brick by Brick
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While the council CEO lays off dozens more frontline workers just in time for Christmas, she’s still recruiting for six-figure salaried commercial director. By STEVEN DOWNES Undaunted by the realisation that dabbling in the casino economics of … Continue reading
The Sound of Silence is not the song we need from Town Hall
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Since audit regulations were amended in 2015, only five other local councils have been the subject of Reports in the Public Interest, with findings from their auditors of mismanagement or wrong-doing*. Croydon joined that list last year and … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Ian Kierans, Jo Negrini, Labour, Nolan Principles, Report in the Public Interest, Tony Newman
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Council to be rocked by second Report In The Public Interest
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The £70m ‘Fairfield fiasco’ has provoked serious concerns with auditors over the potential misuse of public money, with bungling developers Brick by Brick under scrutiny. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES External auditors are to issue a Report In … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paula Murray, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, London, Oliver Lewis, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, RIPI, Tony Newman
5 Comments
Housing’s free market free-for-all only benefits landlords
There’s a simple way to solve the ‘housing crisis’, says ANDREW FISHER: build homes for the many, not investment opportunities for the few Private renters in London are typically having to spend almost 40 per cent of their income on … Continue reading
Brick by Brick ‘sweetheart’ sale could have cost another £45m
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest report from government-appointed inspectors assigned to check on the council finances reveals that a sweetheart deal to sell failed house-builders Brick by Brick to a Manchester developer could have cost the bankrupt borough another £45m. … Continue reading
Council flogs off hotel for less than £29.8m it cost to buy
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While one Labour MP dines out with a notorious property lobbyist whose employees include the council’s deputy leader, one of the firm’s clients has snapped up the Croydon Park Hotel at a bargain basement price. EXCLUSIVE By … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, College Green, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Housing, Improvement Board, London-wide issues, Planning, Property, Steve Reed MP, Stuart King
Tagged Brick by Brick, Callton Young, College Green, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon Park Hotel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Peter Bingle, Steve Reed OBE, STUART KING, Terrapin Group
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Mayor Khan orders urgent review into council homes building
Is Sadiq Khan looking to set up a super-sized Brick by Brick for housing delivery? And another London borough sacks its housing repairs contractors The Mayor of London has all but admitted that the Greater London Authority has not been … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan
Tagged Axis, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hammersmith and Fulham, Labour, London, London Assembly, Mayor, Sadiq Khan
4 Comments
Butler and Scott among those not facing the voters again
WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on the high drop-out rate among Croydon’s Labour councillors, bruised and deflated after nearly eight years in charge at the Town Hall Paul Scott and Alison Butler, the husband and wife duo who made up … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Caragh Skipper, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Housing, Jamie Audsley, Jose Joseph, Joy Prince, Louisa Woodley, Mary Croos, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Selhurst, Stephen Mann, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Waddon, Woodside
Tagged Alison Butler, Bensham Manor, Caragh Skipper, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Jack Buck, Joy Prince, Labour, Pat Clouder, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Selhurst, Stephen Mann, Thornton Heath, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Waddon, Woodside
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‘One of the best’ directors leaves council as Gateway closes
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s bankruptcy last year is beginning to take a real toll in terms of the cuts to local services, and people’s jobs. By STEVEN DOWNES Julia Pitt, one of the best-regarded directors working for Croydon Council, … Continue reading
Don’t sacrifice Coulsdon to pay off Brick by Brick’s debt
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The unravelling of inter-connected land deals following the collapse of Brick by Brick’s failed house-building business, as exclusively revealed by Inside Croydon, could have long-term damaging consequences for Coulsdon, says local resident LEWIS WHITE (right) I was unaware … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Coulsdon, Coulsdon West, Croydon Council
Tagged Brick by Brick, CALAT, Coulsdon, Lewis White
7 Comments
Ali promises to release report into ‘collusive, unhealthy culture’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Has the council leader made another meaningless promise to the borough’s residents over ‘disciplinary action’ against those responsible for the Town Hall’s financial collapse? By STEVEN DOWNES The potentially dynamite but still unpublished Penn Report into possible … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Improvement Board, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Tony Newman
2 Comments
CEO Lacey quits Brick by Brick; deputy to leave company, too
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The incompetent chief executive and self-proclaimed ‘founder’ of the council-owned building company which bankrupted the borough has announced his departure – but councillors have been kept in the dark. By STEVEN DOWNES Colm Lacey is to leave … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Planning
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon
9 Comments
Now top art critic warns: ‘Somebody is going to wind up in jail’
One of the country’s leading art critics, Norman Lebrecht, has today weighed in to the gathering storm around the £70million Fairfield Halls fiasco, warning that, “Somebody is going to wind up in jail” over what he calls the “chaotic rebuilding” … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Fairfield Halls, Music
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Nrman Lebrecht
14 Comments
Council has no answers over missing Fairfield Halls sculpture
Croydon’s crass council has been accused of another act of cultural vandalism, after “losing” a significant piece of mid-century street art from the site alongside the “award-winning” (try not to laugh) Fairfield Halls. The art installation, in a modernist, geometric … Continue reading
South Norwood’s ‘brutalist’ library in Top 10 attractions
Yet more sphincter-clenching embarrassment for the Blairites who control Croydon’s Labour Party, as the public library which their local council wants to flog off, for possible demolition and redevelopment, is to feature in September’s Open House London celebration of all … Continue reading
£700,000: Croydon counting the costs of council failures
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The Town Hall has been hit with ‘penalty fines’ of its own since its financial collapse 12 months ago. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES £697,300 And rising… That’s how much Croydon Council says it has paid so far, … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Report in the Public Interest, Robert Canning, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Price Waterhouse Coopers, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Robert Canning, Robert Jenrick, Tony McArdle, Tony Newman
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Brick by Brick failed to replace Fairfield’s 60-year-old windows
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The ‘fiasco’ of Brick by Brick’s bungled £70m refurbishment of the arts venue gets worse, with the latest admission of failures from a cabinet member. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Ollie “Shit Show” Lewis, the council cabinet member … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Mayor of London, Oliver Lewis, Timothy Godfrey, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Oliver Lewis
11 Comments
Millions of questions for BHLive over Fairfield grant aid
CROYDON IN CRISIS: It’s like nothing has ever changed at the borough’s prestigious arts centre, where tribute acts still dominate its sparse programme, while the venue operators are staying schtum about how they’re spending public money. By our arts correspondent, … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Neil Chandler, The Wreck
Tagged Arts Council England, Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, The Wreck
5 Comments
Former health director suing council for constructive dismissal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Kerswell’s cull’ of the council’s executive directors appointed or promoted by her predecessor, Jo Negrini, is not going as smoothly as might have been hoped. And it appears that most will escape any disciplinary action. By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Mystery of the ‘lost’ £600,000 expert report into Fairfield Halls
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Suspicions mount over the business of Brick by Brick and the scandal surrounding the Fairfield Halls refurbishment. But even members of the Town Hall’s scrutiny committee are being denied vital information by council directors. By STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in Asmat Hussain, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Sarah Hayward, Sean Fitzsimons
Tagged Asmat Hussain, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Labour, Robert Ward, Sarah Hayward, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Sean Fitzsimons, Tony Newman, Tory
23 Comments
Fore! Golf course and hotel latest properties in council fire sale
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Four public-owned properties, not mentioned in the council’s original disposals list, are now being sold off as the Town Hall gets itself out of the hotels business. By PEARL LEE, our south of the borough correspondent The … Continue reading
Reports on Fairfield Halls and BxB missing from audit meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tonight’s meeting of the council’s GPAC – General Purposes and Audit Committee – will mark the end of a error, as Labour councillors risk handing even more control to council executives. By STEVEN DOWNES Karen Jewitt, the … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Buss, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, General Purposes and Audit Committee, GPAC, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Rapid Review, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Tory
6 Comments
Government-appointed advisers pulled plug on BxB sale
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Improvement Panel’ ordered council to abandon its poor-value deal to sell Brick by Brick, and instead to pay Wates Construction £1.12m to oversee the loss-making builders’ work on 23 sites. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Hamida Ali, the … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Buss, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Tony McArdle
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Panel, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Phil Brookes, Tony McArdle
11 Comments
