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Category Archives: Paula Murray
Bailiffs instructed after council breaks High Court injunction
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The discredited council under Newman and Negrini won their bid for ‘Borough of Culture’ status by using material that senior staff knew to be stolen intellectual property. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, the chief exec of … Continue reading
Posted in Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Paula Murray
Tagged Adam Chamberlain, AdavoMedia, Borough of Culture, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Paula Murray, Tony Newman
4 Comments
Mayor has weeks to save Fairfield Halls and Borough of Culture
It is symptomatic of BHLive’s lack of real connection with the borough in which they are supposed to manage its largest arts venue that they chose the day of the Croydon local election results to make the announcement of the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Neil Chandler, Paula Murray, Sadiq Khan, The Wreck, Theatre, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Bournemouth, Chris Symons, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Mayor, Fairfield Halls, Jason Perry, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
10 Comments
Council ignored £5m offer to revive Fairfield’s reputation
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Moves to take the management of the troubled arts centre out of the hands of Bournemouth-based BHLive are being resisted by Labour politicians. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Senior officials and the Labour cabinet member in charge of … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Music, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, Paula Murray, Shifa Mustafa, Theatre
Tagged BHLive, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, Paula Murray, Phoenix Pianos, Shifa Mustafa, Val Shawcross
2 Comments
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
‘The damage to the Fairfield Halls reputation is severe’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While the cash-strapped council remains preoccupied with its finances, the once prestigious arts centre on the other side of Park Lane risks sliding towards cultural oblivion. By our arts correspondent, BELLA BARTOCK There are growing concerns that … Continue reading
Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, GLL - Better, Mayor of London, Neil Chandler, Oliver Lewis, Paula Murray, Sadiq Khan, The Wreck, Theatre, Tony Newman
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Borough of Culture, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, Oliver Lewis, Paula Murray, Sadiq Khan, The Wreck, Tony Newman
13 Comments
CEO Kerswell gets ready to reorganise council’s senior officials
CROYDON IN CRISIS: A meeting last night showed that no one had bothered removing former leader Tony Newman from an important committee, while councillors lacked the power to sack the chief executive or other senior officials. WALTER CRONXITE reports That … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Hamida Ali, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paula Murray, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
4 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
18 Comments
Libraries Week, but not in Coulsdon, Purley, South Norwood…
“It’s Libraries Week!” declared a council-run Twitter account yesterday. The exciting range of services on offer included using something they called “eaudiobooks”, perhaps to listen to while in the bath? But it is not libraries week if you would usually … Continue reading
Council backs down over plans to license 15,000-people rave
Croydon Council has dropped its application for a licence to stage a rave, potentially with as many as 15,000 people, on Purley Way playing fields. The council had submitted the licence application to the local licensing body – Croydon Council … Continue reading
Posted in Addington, Addington Residents' Association, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Crime, Croham Hurst, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Dance, Music, Paula Murray, Purley Way, Waddon
Tagged Addington Park, Addington Village, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paula Murray, Waddon
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Newman fails to deny that Fairfield Halls bill has reached £60m
The refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls could end up costing Croydon’s Council Tax-payers £60million – or even more. And there are fears within the town’s arts circles that BH Live, the events and management firm brought in by venue owners … Continue reading
Posted in Ashcroft Theatre, BH Live, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman
Tagged Ashcroft Theatre, BHLive, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
7 Comments
Council assisted £80,000 sponsorship for bankrupted art dealer
Having traded for years on his association with street artist Banksy, a gallery owner landed tens of thousands of pounds in public money for an arts festival promoting his business – even as he was being declared bankrupt by the … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Business, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Paula Murray, Rise Gallery, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Kevin Zuchowski-Morrison, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Matthew Sims, Mayor, Oliver Lewis, Paula Murray, Rise Festival, Rise Gallery, Whitgift Centre
6 Comments
After £41m+ spend: art centre has no gallery space for art
An arts society formed in the borough 150 years ago faces an uncertain future as it has emerged that after spending more than £41m on refurbishing the Fairfield Halls, in a display of incompetence stunning even by Croydon’s usual standards, … Continue reading
Posted in Arnhem Gallery, Art, BH Live, Chris Clark, Community associations, Croydon Art Society, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray
Tagged Chris Clark, Croydon Art Society, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Tony Newman
6 Comments
Jobs for the gals! Newman hands £100,000 job to Blairite pal
It’s not what you know, but who you know when it comes to some top-level jobs at Croydon Council, as KEN LEE reports Tensions between Croydon Council’s senior paid officials and the Town Hall’s Labour leadership threaten to break out … Continue reading
Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Jo Negrini, Julian Ellerby, Knife crime, Paula Murray, Sarah Hayward, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Sarah Hayward, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, youth knife crime
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Beenie Man accuses Newman of stealing music festival idea
Jamaican reggae star Beenie Man has accused Tony Newman and Croydon Council of stealing the concept of The Ends Festival, and of cultural appropriation. The three-day Ends Festival was staged in Lloyd Park last weekend, having sold-out more than 40,000 … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Croydon Council, Music, Paula Murray, The Ends Festival, Tony Newman
Tagged Beenie Man, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Lloyd Park, London Borough of Croydon, Shezal, The Ends Festival, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Fairfield Halls makes a Savvy move over community theatre
BELLA BARTOCK, our arts correspondent, on an announcement today which suggests a greater community involvement in theatre productions once the Fairfield Halls re-opens Sutton’s loss appears to be Croydon’s gain, after it was announced this morning that the Savvy Theatre … Continue reading
Work to refurbish Fairfield Halls already behind schedule
Just five months into the £30 million refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls, and Croydon Council is already admitting that it will take longer than the promised two-year closure to complete the works. With the main refurbishment contractor not due to … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Paula Murray, Property, Theatre, Timothy Godfrey, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Timothy Godfrey, Tony Newman
9 Comments
Fairfield Halls CEO was paid in full prior to administration
The financial collapse of the charitable body which managed the Fairfield Halls did not prevent its chief executive, Simon Thomsett, receiving his salary payments in full right up to last Friday. Thomsett, who had worked at Fairfield Halls for six … Continue reading
Council’s shock non-announcement: Murray handed culture job
The sheer predictability of Croydon Council over its internal stitch-ups on senior jobs is so crass that sometimes even they appear embarrassed by it. Paula Murray has been confirmed as Croydon’s culture director in a permanent capacity. Hitherto the deputy … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Ambition Festival, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Boxpark, Business, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Music, Paul Scott, Paula Murray, Stanley Halls, Theatre, Timothy Godfrey
Tagged Croydon Council, East Croydon station, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, Paula Murray, Timothy Godfrey
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Murray being lined up for full-time £80,000 director job
Cash-strapped Croydon Council is ploughing on with plans to recruit a full-time “culture czar” on a salary of around £80,000 a year, despite having had a recruitment freeze on more mundane council jobs for the past six months. Oddly, no … Continue reading
Part-time culture director to get £39,000 for six months’ work
BELLA BARTOCK, our arts correspondent, discovers that splitting the time of a Brighton council executive is raising questions at both ends of the A23 The council’s new executive in charge of culture, Paula Murray, will be paid £39,000 for her … Continue reading
