Category Archives: Taberner House
Council-backed £800,000 flats cast a shadow over public park
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Amid the ludicrous claims that £800,000 yuppie apartments to be built on the site of former council offices at Taberner House are in any way “affordable”, LEWIS WHITE attended last week’s consultation session which also confirmed that developers … Continue reading
£800,000: that’s an ‘affordable’ flat according to developer
One of the great mysteries of London life in the 21st century – exactly how much does an “affordable” home cost? – may have finally been solved. Because, according to the managing director of the company to which Croydon Council … Continue reading
Developers to reveal plans to ‘improve’ Queen’s Gardens
Sshhh! Don’t tell everyone, but there’s another poorly publicised meeting later this month where developers are going to tell Croydon residents just what’s good for them, and how they plan to annex the only public open space in the town … Continue reading
New plan for Queen’s Gardens takes away public open space
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Having searched high and low through the council’s website to find the latest raft of proposals for Queen’s Gardens as part of the build on the Taberner House site, VALERIE HUNTER is dismayed by what she has seen … Continue reading
Fears for Queen’s Gardens in multi-million-pound land-grab
The latest proposals for Queen’s Gardens, the only open space in central Croydon, have left residents underwhelmed, with some seeing the small public park being rendered into little more than an annex of the £120 million private housing development proposed … Continue reading
Re-flowering of Saffron Farm means volunteers needed again
Another year with the Taberner House site undeveloped for new homes means another autumn harvest at what calls itself “the world’s largest urban pop-up saffron farm”*. Flowers have begun to appear from around 17,000 Crocus Sativus corms potted out on … Continue reading
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
Council sells Taberner site in secretive multi-million pound deal
Croydon Council has agreed to sell the Taberner House site. The deal has been done within the first month of Jo Negrini being installed as the council’s chief executive, but neither she nor Tony Newman, the leader of the Labour-run … Continue reading
Council drops own housing company for new Taberner scheme
In central Croydon, where some think it is “easy” to build houses, it’s back to square one for the building of homes on the site of Taberner House, the council’s former office block. Work on the £150 million project is … Continue reading
Council backing for tour launch that calls Croydon a ‘crap town’
Croydon Council Tax-payers have spent at least £3 million over the past five years for an official press office which as well as churning out the latest news from the council, also has the responsibility for “moulding” and improving the … Continue reading
Brexit means ‘business as usual’. Which may be not so good
Could Croydon Council be getting the jitters over the post-referendum prospects for the town centre’s redevelopment? WALTER CRONXITE looks at a cabinet report which tries to look on the bright side, but cannot disguise the uncertainties Croydon faces “significant challenges … Continue reading
Croydon, June 2016: ‘Farage Lies’ and the signs of our times
We live in interesting times. One week on from what someone like Roosevelt might have described as “the Referendum that will go down in infamy”, and the graffiti artists who have been daubing the hoarding around what was once Taberner … Continue reading
Pop-up farm asks volunteers to make a bee-line with donations
The pop-up farm on the site of what was once Taberner House is appealing for more public donations, ahead of a visit by competition judges from the Royal Horticultural Society. With plans to build housing alongside Queen’s Gardens delayed last … Continue reading
Taberner House build delay sees site revert to Plan Bees
With no building work planned for the town centre site at least until the autumn, a key plot opposite the Town Hall has turned to Plan Bees. From saffron farm to bee haven, the Taberner House site is undergoing transformation … Continue reading
Taberner House homes scheme is hit by further delays
Building work on the council’s prestigious development of hundreds of new homes on the site of its former headquarters office block, Taberner House, will not now start until autumn this year at the earliest, nearly two years later than originally … Continue reading
Pop-up farm seeks new homes for 20,000 crocus corms
Ally McKinlay has got a few thousand crocus corms on his hands, and he needs your help to distribute them. Saffron Central was the pop-up spice farm set-up on the site of Taberner House, next to Queen’s Gardens in central … Continue reading
Bloomin’ marvellous: volunteers wanted for saffron harvest
Croydon is about to have its first mass harvest of saffron since Roman times, and you could play a part. The spice that’s worth more than its weight in gold is gathered from crocus flowers, and across the borough, in … Continue reading
First green shoots sighted as work goes on at Saffron Central
Croydon’s going potty for crocuses, with a topping-up session held today at Saffron Central, the pop-up crocus farm on the site of Taberner House, the council’s former office block. More than 16,000 pots were filled with compost and Crocus Sativus … Continue reading
Community blooms as the sun shines on Saffron Central
The sun shone on Croydon’s “Central Park” yesterday, as volunteers came together on the Taberner House building site for the #BigPotUp to plant 21,000 crocus corms. Photo-journalist LEE TOWNSEND was there to capture the day exclusively for Inside Croydon Croydon … Continue reading
Crocus farm seeks volunteers for the Big Pot Up, Sep 19
Volunteers are needed to pot up 21,000 Crocus Sativus corms in the centre of Croydon next week to ensure an autumn harvest of their precious saffron crop – which is worth its weight in gold, and then some. Last month, … Continue reading
Taberner House saffron farm within £1,000 of fulfilling dream
A vision of recreating Croydon as Crocus Valley needs another £1,000 in crowd-funding before the weekend to become a reality. One restaurant has already placed an order for the scheme’s entire first crop of saffron, Ally McKinlay’s idea of turning … Continue reading
Poor Doors planned for Ruskin Square’s ‘Vita’ apartments
The first phase of residential development at Ruskin Square, on the prestigious gateway site next to East Croydon Station, is to include controversial Poor Doors for the residents of the 36 “affordable” apartments included in the scheme. Places for People, … Continue reading
Back to the future to find lessons from Croydon’s past
Architecture author JOHN GRINDROD re-views an old television documentary and sees some interesting warnings for the town’s regeneration Back in 1993, it’s fair to say that I had never given much thought to the architecture of my home town, Croydon. … Continue reading
