Category Archives: Nathan Elvery

#PennReport: Staff speak out about ‘scandalous’ bullying

CROYDON IN CRISIS: In an online poll conducted over the weekend, the overwhelming majority of iC readers – 92.5% – said that wanted to read more from the Penn Report into ‘possible wrong-doing’ at their local council. So, because Mayor … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Nathan Elvery, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Council’s latest lame excuse: our phones don’t work properly

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Britain’s rottenest borough is now blaming faulty phone lines for needlessly prosecuting residents over Council Tax, when the householders can’t get through to Fisher’s Folly to make their payments. By STEVEN DOWNES Last month, on the first … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council appoints finance director with links to ex-CEO Elvery

Croydon councillors, including the leader of the Conservative opposition, have agreed to appoint as the council’s finance director someone who previously worked amid a “bullying culture” at another failing local authority. Richard Ennis’s appointment, to one of the most critical … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Lisa Taylor, Nathan Elvery, Richard Ennis | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mystery of £200k council exec points towards BxB’s Lacey

CROYDON IN CRISIS: While the average salary of council employees is a modest £23,000, those at the top of the organisation, even when it was heading for financial collapse, still made sure they awarded themselves cushty pay hikes. By STEVEN … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Kerswell in two-horse race for £192,000 council CEO job

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s search for new leadership has not gone very far, nor very wide. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES When the panel convenes next week to interview for the £192,474 post of council chief executive, they will see … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Katherine Kerswell, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The ins and outs of quietly getting rid of a council CEO

Did she jump or was she pushed? Our employment law correspondent, PERRY FREEMASON, delves into the murky world of human resources at Fisher’s Folly to sift through another expensive mess at the council Morale among staff inside Fisher’s Folly is … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Man in the EY: how consultants have teamed up with Elvery

Croydon old boy Nathan Elvery, the man who did much to develop the council’s reputation for dodgy procurement processes and arrogant contempt for the public, is back in the news again. Elvery, the former Croydon chief executive, has provided the … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

£300,000 – the price of failure for one former council chief exec

Nathan Elvery, the controversial Croydon Council chief executive who decided to pop down to the south coast for an easier life, was handed a juicy £265,000 pay-off by his erstwhile employers, West Sussex County Council, it has been reported this … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Council’s ex-chief Elvery gets sacked from West Sussex job

Nathan Elvery, for eight years one of Croydon’s most senior council officials, has been sacked from his latest job at West Sussex County Council, where he was chief executive. In 2014, Elvery had been promoted to the role of CEO … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , | 9 Comments

Elvery’s colleagues exit amid council’s bullying scandal

The growing scandal surrounding Nathan Elvery, Croydon Council’s former chief exec, and his brief spell in charge at West Sussex County Council was ratcheted up a couple of notches this week, with a damning independent report about that local authority’s … Continue reading

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Former council chief exec Elvery is placed on ‘gardening leave’

You can take the boy out of Croydon, but can you take Croydon out of the boy? Maybe not, in the case of Nathan Elvery, the former chief exec of the council who it was reported yesterday is taking a … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Council office entrance closed because of ‘extreme’ weather

KEN LEE, our newshound on Mint Walk, sniffs out the latest piece of nonsense from the £140m council office building, where the main entrance has been ruled out-of-bounds Further proof, not that any has been needed, that Fisher’s Folly, the … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Elvery’s devoted staff can’t account for his expenses claim

Nathan Elvery, a man who did so much to create the culture and ethos that has been prevalent at Croydon Council during his reign there as chief finance officer, deputy CEO and ultimately as top banana, appears to have taken … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Ex-CEO Elvery and the mystery of the £47,500 removal perk

Our media monitor, KEN LEE, discovers a former senior council figure courting controversy, again Croydon Council old boy Nathan Elvery is back where he once had a regular home, in the pages of Private Eye. The David Brent beard is … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Council in cover-up over departure of £787-a-day consultant

STEVEN DOWNES reports on the abrupt exit of the man behind Croydon’s ‘crap app’, following a serious breach of the Town Hall’s code of conduct Harwinder “Harry” Singh, Croydon Council’s £787-a-day “fake-it-till-you-make-it” IT consultant, is no longer working for the … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Graham Cadle, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Godfather: Croydon official hired friend on £787 per day

A two-month investigation into Croydon Council’s IT operation has uncovered major concerns over procurement and payments. STEVEN DOWNES reports Croydon Council is undertaking its second internal investigation this year into the conduct of its assistant chief executive. Graham Cadle is … Continue reading

Posted in Capita, Croydon Council, Graham Cadle, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Private Eye’s asking question that Negrini refuses to answer

It has already been a bad week for Tony Newman, Croydon’s council leader, and Jo Negrini, his appointee as the borough clerk. Their handling of the council’s crisis over children’s services after the Ofsted inspectors’ “inadequate” report has not drawn … Continue reading

Posted in Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Niall Bolger, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Council’s £140m offices are to become a glorified Job Centre

WALTER CRONXITE on how the local council has been forced to take in more lodgers in its “prestige” £140m office building Tonight’s council cabinet meeting at the Town Hall is unlikely to uncover quite how the costs of building the … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Planning, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Parks contractor accused of paying less than the Living Wage

WALTER CRONXITE reports on a gathering crisis over the maintenance of the borough’s parks Some staff working for one of Croydon’s biggest external contractors are being paid less than the London Living Wage, according to an internal council Labour group … Continue reading

Posted in Catherine Shelley, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon parks, Environment, Good Employer, Jamie Audsley, Nathan Elvery, Quadron, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council-funded group promotes Tory campaign against 20mph

A “community” group that claims to be “apolitical” and which has received thousands of pounds of grant funding from the council, has promoted the campaign making the case against the council’s policy of introducing 20mph zones across the borough. It … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Hamida Ali, Mark Watson, Nathan Elvery, South Croydon Community Association, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council finance chief Simpson’s promotion is confirmed

Richard Simpson, formerly the council’s finance director, has been promoted to the role of executive director of resources, it was confirmed today. Simpson’s move into one of the six-figure salary roles at Fisher’s Folly is part of the on-going reshuffle … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Paul Greenhalgh, Richard Simpson, Taberner House, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Staff to move out of two more floors of £140m Council HQ

BARRATT HOLMES, our development correspondent, has discovered that by taking in corporate ‘lodgers’, the purpose-built local authority offices won’t be able to provide desks for 40% of the council’s staff Fisher’s Folly, the purpose-built local authority “hub” which was built … Continue reading

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Council’s £180,000 chief executive job goes to insider Negrini

Croydon’s supposedly Labour-controlled council has, for the second time in a couple of years, managed to appoint an insider to its most senior job, as Tony Newman, the council leader, announced tonight that Jo Negrini has landed the £180,000 chief … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brexit uncertainties could mean a crisis for Croydon’s face lift

In the aftermath of yesterday’s EU Referendum, WALTER CRONXITE finds some senior figures close to the £1.4bn Whitgift Centre redevelopment feeling very nervous about its prospects “The real fear now must be that Westfield walk away. They’ve done it before, … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2016 EU referendum, Business, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Gavin Barwell, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 27 Comments

Council was paying £110,000 per year to ‘despicable’ legal firm

Parents of children with special educational needs who have been forced to fight stressful and demanding legal cases to seek proper support from Croydon Council have won a small victory by getting the Town Hall to cancel arrangements for legal … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Education, Jon Rouse, Julie Belvir, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment