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Category Archives: Alison Knight
One year on from housing shame: ‘not enough has been done’
A report from the improvement committee appointed in the aftermath of the council homes scandal has found that Croydon’s tenants continue to be treated with ‘shocking rudeness and inhumanity’, while many in Regina Road blocks ‘are still living in very … Continue reading
Crisis-hit council hires fourth housing director in a year
Croydon Council has announced the appointment of Susmita Sen to the role of corporate director of housing. Recruitment ads for the post at the cash-strapped local authority offered a salary of up to £150,547. Sen is the fourth top exec … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Housing Revenue Account, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Regina Road, Social Housing Regulator, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
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Nine months on and council tenants are still being ignored
CROYDON IN CRISIS: If 2020 was Croydon Council’s year of Negreedy and bankruptcy, 2021 has been the year of leaks, mould and a local authority exposed as incompetent and uncaring about those living in its properties. And there are worrying … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, London-wide issues, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Daniel Hewitt, Fransoy Hewitt, Hamida Ali, ITV News, Labour, News At Ten, Regina Road, Sarah O'Connell, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman
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Council recruitment drive offers £1.1m in wages across 8 jobs
CROYDON IN CRISIS: One year since the council declared itself bankrupt, CEO Katherine Kerswell is offering a slew of six-figure salaried executive positions for recruits to be ‘part of a new chapter’ and to ‘go on a journey’. By Town … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Children's Services, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice
Tagged Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Debbie Jones, Elaine Jackson, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Ennis, South Norwood
8 Comments
£800 per day council director Knight quits housing top job
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Troubleshooter’ hired to fix scandalous conditions in flats in South Norwood has left cash-strapped local authority after less than six months. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Alison Knight, the £800 per day director who was hired in May … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Community associations, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged Alison Knight, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
5 Comments
Regina Road residents shiver as they face £2,000 heating bills
CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘My kids suffer so badly with their breathing. I am scared for this winter.’ The words of one mother as she and other residents in the damp and mouldy flats in South Norwood face sky-high heating bills, … Continue reading
Regina Road residents angry as Knight ducks another meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The blundering £800 per day bureaucrat in charge of fixing the council’s ‘appalling’ housing has cancelled a scheduled meeting with residents. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES and MICHAEL NELSON Residents of the tower blocks on Regina Road are … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Community associations, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged Alison Knight, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
7 Comments
Two housing officials quit as council is condemned again
The departure of two senior officials working in the council’s housing department, including the head of repairs, is not linked to the latest shocking coverage of the appalling conditions in flats in a Croydon-owned block in Regina Road, according to … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Croydon Council, Housing, South Norwood
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Regina Road, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE
3 Comments
£800 per day housing chief fails to show for Regina Road meet
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After waiting six months, residents of what was described as some of the worst housing in the country finally got to meet senior officials. But the council’s head of housing had gone off on holiday. EXCLUSIVE by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Patricia Hay-Justice, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged Alison Knight, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Patricia Hay-Justice, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Stephen Tate
4 Comments
Council forced to pay (Sandwell) blogger’s £50,000 legal costs
By STEVEN DOWNES “Dr” Alison Knight, the council’s £800 per day interim director of housing, who was recruited in a rush by CEO Katherine Kerswell to deal with the Regina Road council flats scandal, might want to have a quiet … Continue reading
Months after Regina Road scandal, council conducts a survey
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council is accused of ‘bureaucratic bullshit’, as promises to meet distressed residents have still not been honoured. By STEVEN DOWNES Only now, four months after the scandal of its sub-standard housing in South Norwood was exposed on … Continue reading
Jenrick rejects Croydon’s landlord licence scheme application
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The government has binned an application to extend the borough’s landlord licensing scheme, saying that the council failed to provide any housing strategy. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Robert Jenrick, the Secretary of State for Housing, has rejected … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Business, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Landlord licensing, Paul Scott, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Landlord licensing scheme, London Borough of Croydon, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Paul Scott, Robert Jenrick, Tony Newman
11 Comments
After 3-month delay, council calls in surveyors for Regina Road
Almost three months after the appalling conditions of flats in South Norwood were exposed, and the council has stuffed letters through the residents’ front doors to say that they are only now about to start doing something about it. Though … Continue reading
‘Deeply shocking’ report shows council’s ‘serious failure’
The pressure increased on Hamida Ali, the leader of Croydon Council, as the Town Hall’s pay-masters, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, issued a statement today in response to the notice issued by the Social Housing Regulator which … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Sarah Hayward, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon South, Labour, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Sarah Jones MP, Social Housing Regulator, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory
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Government regulator steps in over ‘appalling’ council flats
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The squalid conditions of homes in South Norwood has seen the council found to be in breach of 15-year-old regulations introduced to prevent people having to endure slum conditions. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The council has been … Continue reading
‘None of the tenants in Croydon trust anybody in the council’
By STEVEN DOWNES The council took the unusual step last night of inviting one of the people it is supposed to serve, a resident, a council tenant, to speak at its Town Hall cabinet meeting. What Fransoy Hewitt said, her … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Patricia Hay-Justice, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood
Tagged Clive Fraser, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fransoy Hewitt, Hamida Ali, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Patricia Hay-Justice, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
15 Comments
Renters Union calls on its members to join Regina Road demo
The London Renters Union has called on all its members and supporters from across the capital to join a protest outside Croydon Town Hall this evening to show solidarity for the long-ignored council tenants at Regina Road. The flooded, mouldy … Continue reading
£104,000: astronomical pay deal for housing troubleshooter
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE says that the controversy surrounding the squalid conditions in council homes in South Norwood seems likely to be stoked further tonight over disputed claims that the council leader, Hamida Ali, has met with residents in … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Community associations, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood, South Norwood Tourist Board, Steve Reed MP
Tagged Alison Knight, Croydon North, Hamida Ali, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Sarah Hayward, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE
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Knight appointed to come to the rescue of council tenants
Croydon Council has appointed a doctor to try to heal the deep wounds caused to its reputation over the scandal of damp and mouldy flats in South Norwood. Dr Alison Knight – her doctorate was in education – was revealed … Continue reading
