Category Archives: URV

Town Hall to have own architects department once again

Croydon Council is to recreate its own, in-house architects’ department. According to a report in Architects’ Journal, the council architects will be used to design housing schemes across the borough. “The move bucks the trend of recent decades, which has … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Bernard Weatherill House, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Planning, RIF, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

100 jobs will be lost with two-year Fairfield Halls closure

The battle for Croydon’s cultural future took a twist at the Town Hall last night, with local Tories arguing against job cuts and wanting to spend more public money on the borough’s flagship arts facility, as STEVEN DOWNES reports Croydon’s … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2018 council elections, Alison Butler, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon College, Croydon Council, David Lean Cinema Campaign, Dudley Mead, Education, Environment, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Housing, Jo Negrini, London Mozart Players, Music, Nathan Elvery, Phil Thomas, Planning, Property, Riesco Collection, Stuart Collins, Theatre, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, URV, Warehouse Theatre, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council’s chasm of unaccountability grows wider each day

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Our borough’s elected representatives are being increasingly marginalised by a system that places huge power in the hands of a handful of unaccountable officials, writes STEVEN DOWNES Make the most of it at the Town Hall tonight. For … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Cane Hill, Chris Philp MP, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Housing, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Julie Belvir, Maggie Mansell, Nathan Elvery, Norbury, Oasis Academy, Paul Scott, Planning, Pubs, Purley, South Norwood, Stuart Collins, Thornton Heath, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Torpor in the Town Hall as the Tories miss key questions

With an enfeebled opposition, and by keeping the big money items to late in the action, Tony Newman is managing to turn council meetings into a cure for insomnia, as WALTER CRONXITE reports What follows is our contemporaneous/contemptuous [delete as … Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Property, RIF, Schools, Taberner House, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The “continuity council” that rarely meets and barely debates

WALTER CRONXITE welcomes a rare opportunity for Croydon’s councillors to meet at the Town Hall tonight Croydon’s well-rewarded cabinet, the nine Labour councillors hand-picked for his top team by leader Tony Newman, get together in the council chamber at the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Boxpark, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, RIF, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Boxpark loan deal turns councillors into a bunch of bankers

£3 million. So now we know how much tax-payers’ money it takes to bring a decent-sized business to the town centre. The Croydon Guardian reports that Croydon Council has gone into the banking business, making a £3 million loan to … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Boxpark, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

This is what £8,000 of public money buys Croydon at MIPIM

When the Conservatives were in power in Croydon, the spending on sending a delegation to Cannes for the annual developers’ champagne “junket” (© Tony Newman) was at least announced at a council meeting in the Town Hall. This year, under … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Planning, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council calls in Ronald McDonald to help pay off £144m bill

It would be a cheap shot to suggest that Fisher’s Folly is run by a bunch of clowns. But Ronald McDonald has registered a presence recently in Croydon Council’s £144 million headquarters building. Desperate to rake back some of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Croydon Council, Mike Fisher, Nathan Elvery, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Democratic control is an alien concept at the Town Hall

CROYDON COMMENTARY: What powers and influence do our elected councillors really have? ROD DAVIES, a local resident and a local authority official in the past, poses the questions Croydon Town Hall’s 70 elected councillors are all dependent on professional officers, … Continue reading →

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

By Jupiter! Is Whitehall considering a move to Fisher’s Folly?

A government department is looking to move into a 250,000 square foot office building in East Croydon, according to reports in the commercial property trade press this week. And the only relatively new office block in the vicinity offering that … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Croydon Council, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Eye! Eye! Council offices’ £144m cost is attracting attention

Not for the first time, a scandal involving Croydon Council has attracted the attention of the scurrilous satirical magazine, Private Eye, when the local mainstream media has kept well clear of the story. Presumably, the Sadvertiser doesn’t think that an … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Mike Fisher, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Money-saving argument over pool closure won’t hold water

Campaigners hoping to keep Purley Pool open might want to consider whether the costs saving argument put forward by Croydon Council for the closure actually… well… holds water. The pool at Purley was earmarked for closure in 2014 by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Nathan Elvery, New Addington South, Planning, Purley, Purley Pool, Purley Way, Sport, Swimming, Tony Newman, URV, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Terry & June, the sequel: His and Her MBEs

As it’s the pantomime season, Inside Croydon is proud to present a special Croydon-themed show, not featuring Gareth Gates and unlikely to be performed at the Fairfield Halls any time soon, but starring Croydon’s First Couple, Dudley and Margaret Mead … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Dudley Mead, Fairfield Halls, Gavin Barwell, Heathfield, London Mozart Players, Margaret Mead, Mike Fisher, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Theatre, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon council offices cost more to build than The Shard

Fisher’s Folly, the glass palace that is our council’s headquarters which opened just over a year ago and which cost the borough’s Council Tax-payers’ £144 million, was more expensive to build than The Shard. That’s the conclusion reached by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Jon Rouse, Leisure services, Mike Fisher, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Property, Taberner House, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Developer price tag for New Addington pool is £10m too much

David Cameron and Gideon Osborne, the Tory Prime Minister and his Chancellor, have been described as “two posh boys who don’t know the price of milk”. Croydon’s own career politician, Gavin Barwell, the MP for the Whitgift Foundation, has himself … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Leisure services, Nathan Elvery, New Addington South, Planning, Property, Purley, Purley Pool, Sport, Swimming, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Newman goes big on promises on jobs, homes and investment

Is it mandatory to take large quantities of hallucinogenic drugs on assuming a senior position at Croydon Council or taking political office at the Town Hall? We only ask because it seems Tony Newman, the council leader, has been on … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, John Burton, Nathan Elvery, RIF, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Town centre is a monument to municipal mismanagement

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The honeymoon is over for Tony Newman’s Labour council which was elected in May, says DAVID CALLAM Labour has settled back into power in Croydon Town Hall and many of the same old problems are as intractable as … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Boris Johnson, Business, Centrale, Council Tax, Croydon Council, David Callam, Housing, Jo Negrini, London Assembly, Mayor of London, Planning, RIF, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

‘Award-winning’ planning chief says house building is easy

Famously, Tom Lehrer said that satire died the day that Henry Kissinger was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. What Lehrer might have made of Croydon being presented with an award for being Britain’s best local planning authority probably … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, RIF, Steve Reed MP, Taberner House, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Flat-broke’ councils all set for MIPIM’s champagne reception

Australian-born Jo Negrini, who was appointed as Croydon’s head of planning soon after Australia-based developers Westfield rode into town with their £1 billion super-mall scheme, is likely to cut a lonely figure as the MIPIM UK international developers conference gets … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon Council, Environment, Jo Negrini, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Planning, RIF, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council gambles millions with “Son of CCURV” scheme

Given recent experience, Croydon councillors more than most should realise that using public money to gamble rarely ends happily. But like a losing punter chasing after his losses, Croydon Council, now under a Labour administration, is going back to the … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Alison Butler, Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

East Croydon’s new platforms put borough on track for growth

East Croydon Station is to get two new platforms to help it cope with the increased number of passengers anticipated in a plan for growth by the Labour council, which forecasts 16,000 new jobs being created in the borough and … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Commuting, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Jo Negrini, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Tony Newman, Tramlink, Transport, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Building a new Croydon won’t be boring, promises Negrini

Jo Negrini, Croydon Council’s head of planning, this week rejected earlier schemes – drawn up by the previous Conservative council – for Fairfield Halls to be virtually surrounded by high-rise housing as “really, really boring”. Instead, Negrini told hundreds of … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Ashcroft Theatre, Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Centrale, Cinema, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Planning, Taberner House, Tech City, Theatre, URV, Warehouse Theatre, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radically pragmatic Negrini exhibits award-winning chutzpah

Nathan Elvery’s up to his old tricks. And Croydon Council looks like a shoo-in for another empty “award“, to be handed over by the council’s mates in the property market, for being “pragmatic” planners. MIPIM UK is a property developers … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Capita, Centrale, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Nathan Elvery, Planning, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Opportunity knocked as council halts office conversions

Croydon’s Labour council is putting its pro-business reputation on the line by calling a halt to the often lucrative conversion of the borough’s empty offices into housing. Last week, owners and occupiers of office buildings in what the council has … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Tony Newman, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

#WadGate: Labour announces inquiry into Tory leader’s cash

Tony Newman, the Labour Leader of Croydon Council, this morning pushed himself front and centre of a campaign to hound his predecessor Mike Fisher out of public office, when he took the credit for announcing an “independent” inquiry into how … Continue reading →

Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Mike Fisher, Nathan Elvery, Steve Hollands, Steve O'Connell, URV, Vidhi Mohan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments