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Category Archives: Shifa Mustafa
Exec director resigned week before suspension was announced
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Minutes from another council’s meeting shows that Guy Van Dichele was offered a job in Southampton eight days before he was ‘suspended’ from his post as executive director ‘health, well-being and adults’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Documents … Continue reading
Two executive directors in shock resignations from council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff were told this afternoon that two of the ‘executive leadership team’ who were suspended from duty last week have quit their jobs. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Guy Van Dichele, Croydon’s executive director “health, well-being and adults”, … Continue reading
‘Unintended consequences’: government scraps pay-off cap
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Political editor WALTER CRONXITE finds that the era of half-million-pound rewards for failure might not be over at the council just yet Those council exec directors on six-figure salaries who are sweating on the outcome of a … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Shifa Mustafa, Unison
7 Comments
Rebel councillor kicked off traffic committee on eve of meeting
Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest twist in the saga of the borough’s Low Traffic Neighbourhood schemes Pat Ryan, the veteran councillor for Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward, has been removed as a member of the … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Cycling, London-wide issues, Pat Ryan, Shifa Mustafa, South Norwood, Steve Iles, TfL, Transport
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Low Traffic Neighbourhood, LTN, Pat Ryan, South Norwood
6 Comments
The Kerswell cull: ‘This is a really difficult situation’ says CEO
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest bulletin to council staff intended, perhaps, to keep up morale In the vintage (and not very “woke”) BBC sitcom Are You Being Served, the doddering old proprietor of … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paula Murray, S114, Sean Murphy, Section 114
7 Comments
The Kerswell cull begins: five senior council execs go ‘off-grid’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Monday night’s constitutional changes at the Town Hall were quickly followed by ‘unprecedented’ action from the interim CEO. By STEVEN DOWNES Almost the whole of the senior leadership team at the council “went off-grid” today. Inside Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
5 Comments
McArdle will recognise failure when he arrives in Croydon
‘Even at the end, it didn’t recognise the reality of the circumstances it had created for itself: insolvency… the distrust of partner agencies; the despair of the local voluntary sector; the sense among staff that their professionalism, dedication and effort … Continue reading
Conflicts of interest, incomplete contracts, unlawful payments – how the Fairfield Halls refurbishment cost Croydon £50m-plus
EXCLUSIVE: Council was warned in 2017 of problems with the management of works at the borough’s flagship arts centre. By STEVEN DOWNES A report by the council’s internal auditors has raised very serious concerns over the mismanagement of the multi-million-pound … Continue reading
Council applies emergency brake on New Year parking hike
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Transport correspondent JEREMY CLACKSON reports on how Fisher’s Folly officials have been forced into a sudden U-turn over their money-spinning ’emissions-based’ parking charges New car parking charges, due to come into force at council-run car parks and … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Joy Prince, Muhammad Ali, New Addington, Parking, Pubs, Purley, Restaurants, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Selsdon & Ballards, Shifa Mustafa, Shirley, Thornton Heath, Transport
Tagged Conservative, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Emmissions-based parking charges, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Joy Prince, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Muhammad Ali, New Addington, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Shifa Mustafa, South Norwood, Thornton Heath
8 Comments
Reshuffle puts execs in high-stakes game of musical chairs
EXCLUSIVE: Leaked council documents suggest that the interim chief executive has already made her mind up as to who she wants in her top team. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,474 per year interim CEO, looks set to demote … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, S114, Section 114, Shifa Mustafa
10 Comments
The Audit Report: Newman’s £100m gamble with your money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s growing public demand for some degree of accountability over the council’s financial collapse, and there’s mounting evidence that the former leader of the council and his mates broke rules to push through his pet policies. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Kerswell’s management savings plan: no change at the top
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Staff, unions and residents expected to react angrily to the council’s £193,000 interim CEO’s plan to make only minor changes to the staff on the biggest salaries at Fisher’s Folly. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell’s plan … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa
5 Comments
Directors Murray and Cheesbrough start exodus from council
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The director of planning and the borough’s culture chief are to leave Fisher’s Folly – the first top-level departures since the council issued its Section 114 notice. By STEVEN DOWNES Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon’s director of planning, and … Continue reading
Posted in Art, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paula Murray, Planning, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Paula Murray, Planning
16 Comments
30% parking fees hike will apply even to electric-powered cars
As George Orwell never wrote, all vehicles are equal, but some are more equal than others. Using environmental policies as an excuse, the council is expected to implement a parking charge hike of one-third from January. JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent, … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Broad Green, Business, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Environment, New Addington, Parking, Purley, Restaurants, Shifa Mustafa, South Croydon, South Norwood, Stuart King, Transport
Tagged Addiscombe West, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa, South Croydon, South Norwood, STUART KING
16 Comments
CEO Kerswell: council staff ‘are angry, upset and want answers’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: They say confession is good for the soul, though apologies issued yesterday by several council executives read more like pleas to keep their jobs. By WALTER CRONXITE There were several council staff members who half-expected Katherine Kerswell, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Chris Wood, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Shifa Mustafa
15 Comments
New leader Ali blames covid for crime report that is a year late
CROYDON IN CRISIS: On crime figures, ‘some are going up, some are going down’, according to the newly elected leader of the council, who has failed in a legal duty to deliver a community safety plan. KEN LEE reports Whichever … Continue reading
Last council-appointed director resigns from Brick by Brick
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council-owned house-builder releases some financial figures that show they have missed their latest annual revenue targets by £113m and have delivered 377 fewer homes than they predicted. By STEVEN DOWNES There is not a single representative of … Continue reading
No conflict of interest over BxB review, claims chief exec
KEN LEE reports on a hurried closing of ranks at Fisher’s Folly over the loss-making council-owned house-builders Asking the council executive director who has been in charge of Brick by Brick’s piss-poor performance for the past four years to draw … Continue reading
‘Empty promises’ for review as Mustafa sets terms of reference
Housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES on claims that the report on the council’s loss-making house-builders ‘has been nobbled from the start’ A pledge by the council leader this week that Brick by Brick would be subject to an independent review has … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Mustafa admits council had finance problems at start of year
Croydon’s stand-in CEO Shifa Mustafa has told the unions that, “the council’s finances were challenging at the start of the year”, a significant admission by a senior figure that the Town Hall’s cash crisis was not caused solely by covid-19 … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa, Unison
1 Comment
Croydon in crisis: Whitehall imposes new chief exec on council
EXCLUSIVE: Borough to get its third CEO in two weeks, as government parachutes in a ‘safe pair of hands’ on Newman’s Croydon clique. By STEVEN DOWNES A hastily arranged meeting of Croydon Council’s appointments committee will convene this morning to … Continue reading
Council breaks the law by withholding its latest accounts
EXCLUSIVE: Town Hall finance chiefs tell Whitehall they will run out of cash by the end of September, and meanwhile the council fails to fulfil its legal accounting obligations. By STEVEN DOWNES The council has failed to make its latest … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa
4 Comments
‘Desperate’ meetings with Henderson fuel CEO speculation
STEVEN DOWNES on a twist in the council’s search for new leadership Well-placed sources in Fisher’s Folly describe council leader Tony Newman as “beyond desperate” to get Robert Henderson to stay in Croydon – possibly going as far as to … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Robert Henderson, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Robert Henderson, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Newman bypassed cabinet and colleagues on CEO decisions
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the latest decision by decree from the council leader, and with a profile of the interim CEO who had a chequered career before joining Croydon Before she was announced yesterday as the interim replacement … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
12 Comments
‘I can’t guarantee we won’t issue a Section 114 notice’
After weeks of repeated denials from Town Hall chiefs that the council is broke, last night there was a refreshing outbreak of frankness by an official. KEN LEE reports One of the council’s most senior officials last night admitted: “I … Continue reading
