Category Archives: Susmita Sen

Croydon’s rewards for failure laid bare in Town Hall Rich List

Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive who issued three Section 114 notices of effective bankruptcy during her time in charge at the council, was taking home salary and pensions totalling £223,838 in the year before she left Fisher’s Folly. Yet Kerswell … Continue reading

Posted in Annette McPartland, Bromley Council, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Helen Bailey, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Outside Croydon, Richard Simpson, Southwark Council, Susmita Sen, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Council rushes through £200,000 finance job ahead of elections

Government-appointed Commissioners are pushing through the appointment of a new finance director at the Town Hall – regardless of who might become Croydon’s new Mayor. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council, which has debts of £1.4billion, is about to hire … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Annette McPartland, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Elaine Jackson, Jane West, Jenny Rowlands, Katherine Kerswell, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Tory council loses £20m over Coulsdon collapsed property deal

It is almost three years since this website warned that a ‘complicated, opaque lease-back arrangement’ conducted with a property firm with no real track record, for the disposal of blocks of flats at Red Clover Gardens, all looked just a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Mears, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Regina Road redevelopment council update, Tue Oct 14

Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, Planning, Property, Regina Road redevelopment, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

After 4 years, Croydon’s housing taken out of special measures

The ‘slum-like’ conditions of ‘dangerous squalor’ in council flats on Regina Road caused a national scandal in 2021. Only now, and £30m of spending later, is the housing regulator satisfied that council housing in the borough meets proper standards. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Complacent council managers miss important housing event

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The head of an independent panel appointed to check on progress with housing following the Regina Road scandal suggests senior managers in Fisher’s Folly are not doing enough to get the borough out of special measures. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paralympian Bayley gives his best shots at Legacy Youth Zone

Strictly Come Dancing performer and professional ping-pongist Will Bayley paid a surprise visit to Croydon’s Legacy Youth Zone in Whitehorse Road this week. It was Bayley’s first public appearance since he won a table tennis silver medal at the Paris … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Charity, Education, Selhurst, Wates | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

All Hale the chief: £125,000 job ad raises laughs at Town Hall

EXCLUSIVE: Council is recruiting for director-level official to oversee the redevelopment of notorious Regina Road council flats. By our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES Cash-strapped Croydon Council is recruiting again for another six-figure-salaried director, although whoever wrote the job ad for … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Lynne Hale, Planning, Property, Regina Road redevelopment, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon Housing meeting for the Waddon Estate, Aug 29

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Susmita Sen, Waddon | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon youngster who found route from court to construction

One of the country’s leading development and building companies is working with Croydon College, local charities and not-for-profits to offer apprenticeships and work experience opportunities that are life-changing The life of Louis Bienaime is an example of how to start … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Charity, Community associations, Croydon College, East Croydon, Education, Wates | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

More than 200 families split up by council’s housing department

CROYDON IN CRISIS: As it struggles to find suitable accommodation for the borough’s homeless families, official figures show that the council has split up one family placed in temporary accommodation for 12 years. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Official council figures, … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Stuart King, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Regina Road demolition set to begin, thanks to £54m GLA grant

The next stage of the demolition and replacement of the notorious council blocks on Regina Road will be discussed at a Town Hall meeting on Monday night – with Croydon’s Tory Mayor about to deliver around 200 council homes which … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Regina Road redevelopment, Sadiq Khan, South Norwood, Susmita Sen, Wates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Perry’s ‘sale’ of Coulsdon flats will cost Croydon £60million!

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s Tory Mayor is accused of ‘doing a Tony Newman’ over a multi-million-pound property deal, one which will cost future generations tens of millions. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Meet the new boss. Same as the old … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Housing, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Mears, Property, Rick Howard, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

London Mayor steps in with £53.8m grant for Regina Road

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, has agreed to provide £53.8million to Croydon Council towards the costs of demolishing the Regina Road estate in South Norwood and building homes to replace the notorious 1960s tower blocks. Croydon’s Mayor, Jason Perry, … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Property, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Sadiq Khan, South Norwood, South Norwood Community Kitchen, Susmita Sen, Wates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council claims it is ‘learning’ over repeated housing errors

Following the Housing Ombudsman’s finding in four cases of severe maladministration by Croydon Council, the authority issued this “learning statement”: We acknowledge that there were significant failures in the way we handled these cases and would like to offer our … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, K&T Heating, Katherine Kerswell, Mears, Susmita Sen, Wates | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fresh shame for council in 4 ‘severe maladministration’ cases

Ombudsman orders Croydon CEO Katherine Kerswell to make apology to resident, as housing complaints allowed to drag on in some cases for five years. By STEVEN DOWNES All suggestions that Croydon Council’s failing housing department is being drastically improved under … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, K&T Heating, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Mears, Susmita Sen, Wates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Tenants in challenge to Mayor Perry over ‘uninhabitable’ flats

A group of residents placed in what they describe as “uninhabitable” temporary accommodation by Croydon Council have issued their own Christmas message – and a challenge to Tory Mayor Jason Perry. “Change needs to happen now,” says the Croydon Temporary … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury, South West London Law Centres, Susmita Sen, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

No tears shed by council or tenants as Axis makes its exit

Without any fanfare, and conspicuously no statement of great achievements by Croydon’s Mayor, the borough’s £21m per year repairs contractor that was mired at the centre of the Regina Road scandal has been quietly replaced It was perhaps a surprise … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Housing, K&T Heating, Mears, Wates | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Council’s striking homelessness staff take their fight to Gove

Senior officials have been accused of deliberately sending in false data on homelessness, potentially costing Croydon as much as £3m per year. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE Council staff working in Croydon’s housing and homelessness department have today … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Regina Road residents to be balloted over estate demolition

The 100-or-so households living in council tower blocks and surrounding properties on Regina Road are to be balloted in the next month over whether the damp and mould-blighted buildings should be demolished. The decision to go-ahead with the estate ballot … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

‘Restructuring’ has housing workers facing £3,000 pay cut

Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest shocking cost-cutting measures being imposed on council staff Croydon Council could be heading for a series of strikes later this year, after senior managers at Fisher’s Folly moved to cut some … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Council tenants face 7% rent hike to meet repair costs

Some council tenants in Croydon will face a rent increase of almost £50 per month from April, if a planned 7per cent rent hike is approved by the borough’s Conservative Mayor later this month. The rent increases come as the … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Housing board’s report warns of ‘years of hard work’ ahead

Nearly two years since the Regina Road council homes scandal broke, an independent panel appointed to oversee the Town Hall’s housing efforts has noted the beginnings of improvement Getting Croydon’s housing service to an acceptable standard “will take several years … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council opts to demolish blocks at centre of squalor scandal

The South Norwood flats which were so badly maintained that they caused a national scandal ‘are no longer fit for purpose’ according to a report from the cash-strapped council. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council wants to demolish the three tower … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments