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Category Archives: Planning
Perry’s poor waffle performance shows who is really in charge
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s £82,000 per year executive Mayor gave up a morning of his valuable time to help a property PR firm boost the flagging credibility of Westfield’s town centre proposals. And there among the breakfast croissants and … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Planning, Tom Copley, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Breakfast Waffle, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Holborn, Jo Negrini, LCA, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Sarah Jones MP, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
6 Comments
Surrey, Lambeth and Bromley beat Croydon as rotten boroughs
Based on official Ombudsman figures, our council remains among the most complained about in England. But might there be a glimmer of improvement in the figures, or has our borough just been overtaken for rotteness by others? EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning
Tagged Amerdeep Somal, Bromley Council, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth council, LGO, Local Government Ombudsman, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Surrey County Council, Tory
16 Comments
Another Croydon mugging as Westfield stages latest charade
There’s a public consultation about the long-delayed Westfield redevelopment of the town centre. Yes, another one. But there’s no promises of when any work will actually begin, or end. By STEVEN DOWNES After decades of broken promises and inflicting development … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Smith, Business, Centrale, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Adam Smith, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, LCA, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Scott Parsons, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
15 Comments
Upper Norwood neighbours win 5-year battle with developer
After a five-year battle against a deep-pocketed developer, aided and abetted by Croydon Council’s planning department, residents on Downsview Road in Upper Norwood have claimed victory in the High Court. But they now face financial ruin because of the huge … Continue reading
Westfield’s non-denial denials can’t mask their investment plan
More than 48 hours after trade magazine Property Week reported what Westfield had been briefing their investors about the possibility of them selling off their interests in Croydon, and there’s been not a peep from the Paris head office of … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon West, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Sarah Jones MP, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Sarah Jones MP, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
12 Comments
Westfield looking for ‘bargain basement’ sale of Croydon site
Respected trade magazine Property Week is reporting that after almost 14 years of inflicting development blight on Croydon town centre, without ever laying a single brick, Westfield could be about to flog off their interests in south London once and … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
21 Comments
£1,000 per day ‘Interim Adam’ was Kerswell’s personal pick
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Residents are stung twice for recruitment costs of head of planning, at a crucial time for Westfield development and review of London and Local Plans. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Adam Wilkinson was handed the position as Croydon’s … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Adam Wilkinson, Adam Wilkinson Consultancy Ltd, Companies House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Derby City Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Kent County Council, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
10 Comments
‘Scandalous’ planners condemn Coulsdon’s chippy to closure
Croydon’s planners have condemned Glade Fisheries, a long-cherished Old Coulsdon business, to its doom without a peep from the local councillors or Mayor Jason Perry. In March, KJC Architects applied to the council on behalf of the property’s landlord to … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Margaret Bird, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon, Planning, Richard Howard
Tagged Charlie King, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Coulsdon, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, East Coulsdon RA, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, ECRA, Glade Fisheries, London Borough of Croydon, Maureen Levy, Old Coulsdon, Planning, Tory
5 Comments
Crisis for Perry as Interim Adam resigns council planning job
KERSWELL’S CHAOTIC COUNCIL: A journeyman council director notorious for charging fees of £1,000 per day and taking massive pay-offs has quit as Croydon’s head of planning, following an investigation by this website. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Adam Wilkinson, the journeyman … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Adam Wilkinson, Adam Wilkinson Consultancy Ltd, Cllr Alasdair Stewart, Cllr Jason Cummings, Companies House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Derby City Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Kent County Council, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
24 Comments
Interim Adam gets council job as HMRC winds up his company
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s most recently appointed planning director was given the role while a company where he was sole director was being wound up in the High Court, an iC investigation has found. EXCLUSIVE by KEN LEE, Town … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Alasdair Stewart, Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Adam Wilkinson, Adam Wilkinson Consultancy Ltd, Alasdair Stewart, Brick by Brick, Cllr Alasdair Stewart, Cllr Jason Cummings, Companies House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Derby City Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Katherine Kerswell, Kent County Council, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
13 Comments
Owner Ansari seeks to avoid Leslie Arms planning conditions
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Since 2000, a multi-millionaire property developer has been allowing a Grade II-listed pub to decay. Now, he wants to change the conditions of his latest planning permission. KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter, on the sorry tale of … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Leslie Arms, Planning, Property, Pubs, Tony Newman, Uncategorized
Tagged AA Homes, Addiscombe, Addiscombe West, Anwar Ansari, Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dogs attack, Dr Anwar Ansari, English Heritage, Kangal, Labour, Landlord licensing, Leslie Arms, Lloyd Park, Lower Addiscombe Road, Sadiq Khan, Sir Sadiq Khan, The Victorian Society, Tony Newman, Turkish Kangal, Yvette Cooper
16 Comments
The sorry 25-year chronology of a once great Addiscombe pub
LESLIE ARMS TIMELINE Since 2020, the owner of the Grade II-listed Leslie Arms on Lower Addiscombe Road has submitted 13 separate planning applications for the building – 14 if you include his 2009 appeal against a refusal of a planning … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, History, Housing, Leslie Arms, Planning, Property, Pubs
Tagged AA Homes, Addiscombe, Anwar Ansari, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dr Anwar Ansari, Leslie Arms, Planning, pubs, Upper Addiscombe Road
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‘It has to be’: Westfield scheme needs millions of public money
UNDER THE FLYOVER: In our latest podcast interview, housing specialist Fiona Fletcher-Smith, now the volunteer chair of the Whitgift Foundation’s governors, discusses the housing crisis, the closure of Old Palace School, what’s happening with the long-promised ‘kiosks’ in the Allders … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Boris Johnson, Business, Charity, Croydon Council, Fiona Fletcher Smith, Housing, Inside Croydon, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Planning, Property, Sadiq Khan, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Boris Johnson, Court of Governors, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fiona Fletcher-Smith, GLA, Hammersfield, London, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Roisha Hughes, Under The Flyover, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
17 Comments
£1,000 per day ‘Interim Adam’ lands Croydon planning job
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council has made no announcement about who has taken over the borough’s top planning job, but this website has discovered that Heather Cheesbrough’s stand-in replacement is an ‘interim specialist’ who has pocketed more than £500,000 in … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Adam Wilkinson, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Derby City Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Kent County Council, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
23 Comments
Complaints against Perry’s council on rise, Ombudsman says
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on another year where our council is close to the top of a league table – for most upheld complaints Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £204,000 per year chief executive, if she bothered … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Bromley Council, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Planning, Southwark Council, Surrey, Sutton Council
Tagged Amerdeep Somal, Bromley, Children's Care, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth, LGO, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Local Government Ombudsman, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Ombudsman, Planning, social care, Southwark, Surrey County Council, Sutton, Tory
4 Comments
Building on precious green spaces won’t fix the housing crisis
CROYDON COMMENTARY: With mounting pressure on local authorities to allow the building on Green Belt land, PETER UNDERWOOD raises concerns that private profit is being put before people The combination of unreliable politicians and profit-hungry developers is putting our green … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon parks, Environment, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Peter Underwood, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Wildlife
Tagged Ashen Grove, Conservative, Croydon Council, Green Belt, Green Party, Housing, Labour, London, Mayor, Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, Peter Underwood, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Selsdon, Sir Sadiq Khan, Tory
6 Comments
‘Hypocrite’ Tory voted for proposal to destroy heritage home
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on a planning committee meeting where Conservative councillors backed a private developer’s bid to drastically alter a listed family home in a conservation area So much for Tory Mayor Jason Perry protecting family homes in … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Ian Parker, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Ria Patel
Tagged Chris Clark, Chris Philp MP, Cllr Esther Sutton, Cllr Ria Patel, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Ian Parker, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Morgan, Planning, Ross Gentry, Tory
12 Comments
Ashen Grove is up for auction again – as site for 27 houses
Alarm bells are sounding among concerned residents in Selsdon, after a patch of public open space that sold at auction last month for more than five times its guide price has now been put straight back on the market – … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Stranack, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Housing, Planning, Property, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Wildlife
Tagged Andy Stranack, Ashen Grove, Cllr Andy Stranack, Croydon parks, Forestdale, Parks and open spaces, Peacock Gardens, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Taylor Wimpey, Wimpey
5 Comments
569 more flats coming after £210m East Croydon property deal
Praise from Mayor Perry for a 28-storey tower in the town centre that his own council’s planners tried to block for being too tall Property speculators Cheyne Capital say they are going ahead with a scheme that will build hundreds … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, No1 Croydon, Planning, Property
Tagged Addiscombe, Cheyne Capital, City Link House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory, Wittington Investments
12 Comments
Network Rail pulls its planning request for Bridge to Nowhere
EXCLUSIVE: Network Rail has made a U-turn over the Bridge to Nowhere, as people power – and commonsense – appear to have won the day. By JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent Network Rail appears to have made a significant U-turn over … Continue reading
Negrini enjoys her centre stage return pitching for Mayor Khan
Like Banquo’s ghost, Jo Negrini has returned to haunt Croydon after her latest jaunt to the south of France for the annual “booze and hooker fest” – or prestigious international property conference – that is MIPIM. When “Negreedy” was the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Richard Plant, Sir Sadiq Khan, Stiles Harold Williams, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
10 Comments
Ex-planning chief’s rose-tinted view of Croydon developments
It appears that Heather Cheesbrough, Croydon Council’s former “director of planning and sustainable regeneration”, has been busy trying to rewrite history since leaving her £130,000-plus job earlier this month. An internal council memo gave the reason for Cheesbrough’s departure as … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
12 Comments
Planning consent granted for 580 flats in ‘space-age’ Croydon
Croydon Council has approved the plans to convert two 1960s office blocks on Wellesley Road, Apollo House and Lunar House, from office to residential use. More than 580 flats will be created as part of a scheme on behalf of … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Fairfield, Housing, Lunar House/Apollo House, Planning, Property
Tagged Apollo House, Fairfield, Ho Bee Land, Lunar House, Wellesley Road
12 Comments
Landowner wants public cash to help delayed Westfield project
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Whitgift Foundation is in talks with the Mayor of London and central government for another multi-million-pound bail-out for Croydon, this one likely to centre around building around 3,000 homes in the town centre. That’s according … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Charity, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Old Palace, Planning, Property, Roisha Hughes, Schools, TfL, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
Tagged Croydon, Hammersfield, London, Mayor, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Roisha Hughes, Sir Howard Dawber, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
7 Comments
