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Category Archives: Nicola Townsend
Planning control has got worse under developers’ friend Perry
STEVE WHITESIDE has compiled dossiers of evidence that show that nothing much has changed in the council planning department since 2022. In some cases, for the residents living next to some developments that have gone ahead, things have actually got … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Sanderstead
Tagged 12 The Ridgeway, Chris Philp MP, Cllr Michael Neal, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon planners, Croydon South, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning enforcement, Purley, Sanderstead, SPD2, Steve Whiteside, Suburban Design Guide, Tory
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Stink from Arkwright Road flats smells of council failures
Jason Perry boasts that he halted the overdevelopment of parts of Croydon, caused by SPD2, the hugely unpopular ‘Suburban Design Guide. STEVE WHITESIDE has compiled dossiers of evidence that show that nothing much has changed in the council planning department … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Purley, Sanderstead, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
Tagged 12 The Ridgeway, 54A Arkwright Road, Cllr Ian Parker, Cllr Michael Neal, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon planners, Jan Slominski, John Penn, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning enforcement, Purley, Sanderstead, Sewers, SPD2, Steve Whiteside, Suburban Design Guide, Thames Water, Tory, Venetia Reid-Baptiste
7 Comments
Council bosses need to answer for Cheesbrough’s toxic legacy
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The announcement of the departure from the council of its long-standing planning director has been widely welcomed by many residents. But as WAYNE MULLEN explains, after his four-year battle with the council over planners’ misconduct, some of those … Continue reading
Posted in Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Planning, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill, Paul Scott, Planning, Ross Gentry, Steve Whiteside, Tory, Wayne Mullen
15 Comments
The Masterplan has just one aim, to make money for Westfield
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Town Hall planners handing over Masterplan responsibilities for the town centre to Westfield, as Inside Croydon reported this week, has left reader CARL LUCAS angry that our council will be missing a significant opportunity for a sustainable … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Planning, Property, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Carl Lucas, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, Hammersfield, London Borough of Croydon, Michael Neal, NEQ, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
25 Comments
Plans submitted for 288 homes on Norbury sports ground
Housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, looks at a planning application for a £75m scheme that the developers hoped you might never notice What do you mean, you had no idea that there have been plans submitted for a massive development of … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Environment, Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Merton, Nicola Townsend, Norbury, Norbury Park, Planning, Uncategorized
Tagged Angela Rayner, Croydon, Dorothea Hodge, Housing, Merton Council, NatWest Sports Ground, Norbury, Norbury and Pollards Hill, Ruach City Church, Streatham Vale, Turle Road
5 Comments
Councillor accuses Perry of broken pledge on affordable homes
Mayor Jason Perry’s council has been accused of yet another broken promise, and of wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of tax-payers’ money, this time after rejecting a planning application for seven affordable homes in Upper Norwood, in a scheme … Continue reading
Posted in Claire Bonham, Community associations, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Nicola Townsend, Planning
Tagged Brick by Brick, Claire Bonham, Council planning, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Community Land Trust, Crystal Palace Transition Town, GLA, Greater London Authority, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Upper Norwood
6 Comments
Planning battle over The Lawns after council official’s threats
Five years’ work has been wasted after Croydon Council planners rejected a planning application from a community group in Upper Norwood to build seven not-for-profit flats in a scheme instigated by… Croydon Council. BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, reports An enterprising … Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Tom Copley
Tagged Brick by Brick, Council planning, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Community Land Trust, Crystal Palace Transition Town, GLA, Greater London Authority, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Tom Copley, Upper Norwood
10 Comments
Latest Allders plan offers more fried chicken for town centre
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry managed to get all excited last week by a planning application from the Paris-based shopping mall developers that amounts to nothing more than a knocked-off, down-sized, mini-Boozepark. It’s just the latest sign that the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Allders, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Scott Parsons, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Westfield Europe Ltd, Whitgift Centre
21 Comments
People power! Roden Gardens residents hail planning victory
Residents in a council estate in Selhurst are claiming a victory after an application to erect a massive telephone mast, half the height of Nelson’s Column, which a commercial developer wants to plonk right in their backyards, was rejected by … Continue reading
Investigation call over property deals for £220m flats scheme
Residents in Addiscombe are angry that the council has ignored hundreds of objections and granted planning permission for 36- and 33-storey towers – and demand a thorough police investigation into the tax-payers’ millions lost on successive Croydon Park Hotel property … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Botanical House, Brick by Brick, Business, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Housing, Jo Negrini, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Sean Fitzsimons
Tagged Addiscombe West, Altyre Road, Amro, Botanical House, Clive Fraser, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, East Croydon station, Labour, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
19 Comments
Council planners agreed to the removal of admired public art
BOROUGH OF THE BANAL: Croydon’s professional planners had an opportunity to insist on the retention of a significant artwork, but approved its removal for something they said would ‘enhance’ the appearance of an East Croydon office block. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in AMP House, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, History, Nicola Townsend, Property
Tagged 20th Century Society, AMP House, Australian Mutual Provident, Croydon, Croydon Council, Cultural Quarter, East Croydon, East Croydon station, Humanity Relief, John Grindrod
17 Comments
Key document withheld from planning scrutiny for 21 months
STEVE WHITESIDE with an update on how the council’s planners and planning enforcement teams continue to fail the borough’s residents, while turning a blind eye to developers ignoring conditions Last month, I wrote about the sad saga of 158 Purley … Continue reading
Demolition shows how council’s planners have no ‘red lines’
STEVE WHITESIDE on the developing (geddit?) saga of a house-builder who manages to ignore planning conditions laid down by elected councillors, thanks to some considerable assistance being provided by council staff The sad saga of 158 Purley Downs Road, where … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Leila Ben-Hassel, Lynne Hale, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Sanderstead, South Croydon, Yvette Hopley
Tagged 158 Purley Downs Road, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Demetri Prevatt, Heather Cheesbrough, Labour, Leila Ben-Hassel, London Borough of Croydon, Lynne Hale, Nicola Townsend, Richard Freeman, Sanderstead, Sanderstead Residents' Association, South Croydon, Steve Whiteside, Tory, Yvette Hopley
17 Comments
Council’s planners lose multiple cases at appeal and in court
Independent inspectors and judges at the High Court continue to rule against decisions made by Croydon’s planning department. Yet those making these dubious, developer-friendly decisions remain in place Research for Inside Croydon has found at least another 11 planning cases … Continue reading
Posted in Aventier, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Lynne Hale, Maria Gatland, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Sanderstead, Yvette Hopley
Tagged Aventier, Church Hill Holdings, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Sullivan, Heather Cheesbrough, Labour, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, New Place Associates, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Planning Committee, Planning Inspectorate, Sanderstead, Steve Whiteside, Tory, West Ham United
29 Comments
Home owner’s victory after four-year battle with planners
The planning department at Croydon’s dysfunctional council has been caught out yet again after the collapse of a developer’s appeal – but only after incurring huge and avoidable costs. Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, unravels a saga of deceits and … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jade Appleton, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Parking, Paul Scott, Planning, Property
Tagged Brownlow Road, Chris Clark, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jade Appleton, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Planning Committee, Ross Gentry, Silverleaf Developments Ltd, Steve Whiteside
17 Comments
Old Coulsdon residents angry at developer badgering wildlife
Croydon’s planners are accused of working together with developers to allow the destruction of an ancient badger sett in Old Coulsdon. Residents have been collating evidence for two years of deliberate vandalism to the sett, despite the protected species status … Continue reading
Council planners ignore court order over flats in Sanderstead
Those who hoped new Mayor Jason Perry would sweep away the bad practices of the council’s planning department are in for a bit of a disappointment. STEVE WHITESIDE with the latest in a long-running saga Even the decision of a … Continue reading
Council rejects private school’s planning scheme for Heathfield
A planning application from a private education business to make extensive alterations to Heathfield House, a listed building owned by Croydon Council, has been refused. As Inside Croydon reported in June, Cressey College has been renting the building from the … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Education, Gardening, Heathfield House, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Sarah Jones MP, Schools, Selsdon and Addington Village
Tagged Cressey College, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heathfield House, London Borough of Croydon, Sarah Jones MP
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Suspicions over secrecy surrounding Slominski’s return
Council directors are withholding information from a local MP on the date that a planning official started a new job. By STEVEN DOWNES The attempts to cover-up the close connections between Croydon Council’s planning department and some commercial developers who … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Croydon Council, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Heather Cheesbrough, Nicola Townsend, Planning
Tagged #Macarnage, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, ECRA, Heather Cheesbrough, Jan Slominski, Macar Developments, Maureen Levy, NewPlace, Purley, Ross Gentry
13 Comments
#Macarnage: Formal complaint over planners’ too-close links
EXCLUSIVE: The council has approved a scheme for another block of flats which is to be built by a firm with close links to a senior member of the planning staff, and where another planner appears to have helped draw … Continue reading
Posted in Coulsdon, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Heather Cheesbrough, Nicola Townsend, Old Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Planning
Tagged #Macarnage, Alex MacDonald, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, London Borough of Croydon, Macar Developments, Natalie Gentry, New Place Associates, Old Coulsdon, Planning, Ross Gentry
10 Comments
#Macarnage: Higher Drive devastated as developers move in
Residents on a plush suburban street on a hillside in Purley have been thrown into a panic since the weekend after demolition workers showed up and started grubbing up trees and clearing the site of not one… not two… not … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Kenley, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Purley, Simon Brew
Tagged #Macarnage, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Foxley Residents Association, Jan Slominski, Kenley, Macar Developments, Purley, Simon Brew, Tory
16 Comments
The enforcers: residents making plans for council court action
Is something shifting in the Town Hall planning department? Amid news of the exit of a senior manager, and of director Heather Cheesbrough correcting her false claims on her online CV, and now a High Court ruling against the council’s … Continue reading
Buyers beware: High Court judge puts planners in the dock
A High Court judge has ruled against Croydon’s planning department, quashing the decision of a senior council official to grant permission for a block of flats in Sanderstead. Here, former council planner STEVE WHITESIDE explains how the court ruling could … Continue reading
Posted in Aventier, Business, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, Selsdon & Ballards, Selsdon and Addington Village
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, London Borough of Croydon, Nicola Townsend, Planning, Planning Committee, Planning enforcement, Purley, Riddlesdown, Sanderstead, Selsdon, Steve Whiteside
19 Comments
