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Category Archives: Richard Simpson
Brick by Brick boss got paid while setting up own business
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An investigation by this website has discovered that Colm Lacey set up his own personal consultancy company while he was still a paid employee of the council-owned housing developer. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Colm Lacey registered his … Continue reading
Kerswell dismisses ‘missing’ £73m as ‘accounting problem’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Council chief exec relying on advice from veteran lawyer to overcome auditors’ objections to misuse of housing money. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £192,000 per year chief executive, and Hamida Ali, the council leader, can be … Continue reading
Council admits: We’re on the brink of bankruptcy. Again
CROYDON IN CRISIS: After a fortnight of unconvincing denials from the Fisher’s Folly propaganda bunker and the local Labour Party, official reports released ahead of budget-setting meetings confirm that Croydon could indeed have to issue a second S114 notice. By … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Richard Simpson, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon Affordable Housing, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, James Goudie QC, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Ennis, Richard Simpson, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall
8 Comments
Council faces new storm over ‘missing’ £73m housing money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors are refusing to sign-off the Town Hall accounts because of missing millions from a complex nexus of housing companies, which could force the council to tip over the edge into bankruptcy for a second time in … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
21 Comments
Tories miss chance to call for police action over Fairfield fiasco
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest fall-out from the £37m overspend on the arts venue as the borough’s councillors – Tory as well as Labour – appear reluctant to turn their old mates over to the police The council … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Shifa Mustafa, South Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
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Negrini and execs ‘failed to ensure council was acting lawfully’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An auditors’ report into the ‘shoddy’ deal that handed the Fairfield Halls refurbishment to loss-making builders Brick by Brick hints at potential fraud and accuses senior officials of large-scale negligence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Some … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
17 Comments
Opposition renews call for full-scale fraud probe into SDEN
Independent review finds that the loss-making, council-owned district heating network has less of a business case, and is more of a basket case, reports CARL SHILTON Richard Simpson, the senior council official who helped unleash the £200million disaster that is … Continue reading
Posted in Helen Bailey, Jayne McCoy, Nick Mattey, Richard Simpson, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tim Crowley, Tom Drummond, Waste incinerator
Tagged Amanda Cherrington, Beddington Lane incinerator, Catherine Gray, Helen Bailey, Jayne McCoy, Nick Mattey, Richard Simpson, Ruth Dombey, SDEN, Sutton Council, Sutton Decentralised Energy Network, Tim Crowley, Tom Drummond, Viridor
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Simpson feels heat from MP over SDEN ‘independent’ review
A Sutton MP has raised serious doubts whether a supposedly “independent” review into the controversial council-owned SDEN company will make any difference for the hundreds of Hackbridge residents whose homes and lives have been blighted by the expensive and unreliable … Continue reading
Posted in Elliot Colburn, London-wide issues, Nick Mattey, Outside Croydon, Richard Simpson, Sutton Council, Waste incinerator
Tagged Amanda Cherrington, Beddington Lane incinerator, Carshalton and Wallington, Elliot Colburn MP, Hackbridge, New Mill Quarter, Nick Mattey, NMQ, SDEN, Sutton Council, Sutton Decentralised Energy Network
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Complaints to regulator over council’s £100m pensions deal
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The scandals at Fisher’s Folly surrounding questionable property transactions keep emerging. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s £1.5billion pension fund has been the subject of two complaints to the statutory watchdog, the Pensions Regulator, Inside Croydon has … Continue reading
Investigation gets under way but left waiting for Negrini
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The terms of reference for an independent investigation into the disastrous decisions and mismanagement which led to the council going broke have been leaked to Inside Croydon. STEVEN DOWNES reports It might be seen as appropriate, given … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Robert Henderson, Section 114 notice
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Penn, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Robert Henderson, S114, Section 114
4 Comments
CEO Kerswell: council staff ‘are angry, upset and want answers’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: They say confession is good for the soul, though apologies issued yesterday by several council executives read more like pleas to keep their jobs. By WALTER CRONXITE There were several council staff members who half-expected Katherine Kerswell, … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Hamida Ali, Hazel Simmonds, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Chris Wood, Croydon, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Lisa Taylor, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Shifa Mustafa
15 Comments
The Audit Report: ‘Tony Newman always has been a coward’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: More senior council figures could lose their positions as a result of the Report in the Public Interest which was released last night, as the Town Hall politicians take stock of its consequences. KEN LEE reports Half … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grant Thornton, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Tory
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Consultant gives 75 reasons for council’s financial mess
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tony Newman goes into tonight’s council meeting without the cabinet member for finance who has been at his side for a decade, and confronted with a report that shows his administration failed to listen to the warnings … Continue reading
Croydon in crisis: Council spent £5.5m on legal fees in a year
EXCLUSIVE: The Town Hall has mounting legal issues, as it paid south London Rumpoles nearly half a million pounds a month over the past year, reports WALTER CRONXITE Croydon Council spent £5,477,010 in fees for external legal advice in the … Continue reading
Troubleshooter’s report may give Negrini no choice of action
STEVEN DOWNES on a crucial couple of days for the borough At some point today, Ian O’Donnell will deliver his report on the state of the borough’s finances and what he recommends that needs to be done to get the … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Children's Services, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Richard Simpson, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Ian O'Donnell, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Tony Newman
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Croydon now has three employees paid £200,000+ per year
Our political correspondent, WALTER CRONXITE, reports on the latest startling figures coming out of the council Croydon Council had three members of staff who took home more than £200,000 in the last financial year for which figures are available. That’s … Continue reading
Posted in Children's Services, Colm Lacey, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Eleni Ioannides, Guy van Dichele, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Richard Simpson, Robert Henderson, Shifa Mustafa
Tagged Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Heather Cheesbrough, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa
4 Comments
Council tries a cover-up over £41m spent on Fairfield Halls
WALTER CRONXITE reports on the latest attempt by council officials to disguise blundering that is costing the borough millions The increasingly secretive Croydon Council has taken to hiding behind its wholly owned building firm, Brick by Brick, as it tries … Continue reading
Another director quits job as pressure mounts on Negrini
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the storm gathering around the council’s ‘regeneration practitioner’ chief executive Pressure continues to mount on Croydon’s £200,000 per year chief executive, Jo Negrini. Another key member of her executive team is quitting the council, … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Richard Simpson, Robert Henderson, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, David Butler, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Jo Negrini, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Simpson, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
2 Comments
Councils’ property deals are ‘gambling with public money’
Councils across England – including Croydon and Sutton – have between them borrowed billions of pounds of public money to finance the purchase of real estate and commercial properties, a policy which could place some at risk of financial collapse, … Continue reading
Council is rocked by news that finance chief has resigned
EXCLUSIVE: Our local democracy reporter KEN LEE on a shock departure from Fisher’s Folly Richard Simpson, effectively the second-in-command at the council to chief executive Jo “We’re Not Stupid” Negrini, is to leave Croydon. Simpson has worked at Croydon Council … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Richard Simpson, Tony Newman
Tagged Conservative, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Richard Simpson, Tory
5 Comments
