Category Archives: Stephen McDonald

Council silent as HR chief Parkes heads for the exit

Posted on March 28, 2013 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s Council Tax-payers look to be facing another expensive six-figure pay-off, after an internal announcement yesterday confirmed that the borough’s human resources director, Pam Parkes, one of the council’s five most senior officers, is to leave with immediate effect. There … Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hayley Lewis, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Stephen McDonald | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

£248,000 CEO Rouse quits Croydon for Health Dept job

Posted on January 16, 2013 by insidecroydon

Just after 5pm today, proof positive came through that Croydon Council’s press office routinely dissembles, misleads and lies. Because that is when a press release was issued to confirm that Jon Rouse, Croydon Council’s £248,000 chief executive, had quit his … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hayley Lewis, Jon Rouse, Nathan Elvery, Stephen McDonald, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The council by numbers: hiding the real costs of failure

Posted on September 11, 2012 by insidecroydon

Croydon councillors are paid some of the highest allowances in the country. That does not stop them also enjoying a very long summer recess from Town Hall business, though. Next Monday, that summer break is finally over, marked by a … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jon Rouse, Stephen McDonald | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Regeneration posts that fail to offer a long-term future

Posted on June 29, 2012 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Loyal reader CRO CRUSADER was unimpressed by our council squandering £350,000 in over-generous pay-offs to departing senior staff. But it also highlights a lack of continuity at the Town Hall in this vital area Given the austerity that … Continue reading →

Posted in Allders, Croydon Council, Housing, Jason Perry, Jon Rouse, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Simon Hoar, South Croydon, Stephen McDonald, Steve O'Connell, Tim Pollard, Transport, Vidhi Mohan | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Croydon in Crisis: Mystery over council’s £350,000 pay-offs

Posted on June 27, 2012 by insidecroydon

The public service workers’ union, the GMB, was tonight demanding an urgent independent investigation into why Croydon Council had spent a “profligate” £350,000 of public money on golden handshakes to four top-level employees in the past year. The payments have … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jon Rouse, Planning, Stephen McDonald | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council’s planning chief leaves after less than 6 months in job

Posted on February 1, 2012 by insidecroydon

Stephen McDonald, appointed to much fanfare as Croydon’s executive director of planning and environment only last August, has quit his estimated £140,000 per year post as “a result of mutual recognition that there was a difference in expectations” over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Jon Rouse, Planning, Stephen McDonald, URV | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

McDonald’s new task: to help to re-build Croydon

Posted on August 16, 2011 by insidecroydon

You could be forgiven for wondering whether Stephen McDonald has been handed a poisoned chalice. It is certainly a case of out of the Olympic cauldron and into the (looters’) fire for the man announced today in an internal council … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Planning, Stephen McDonald | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment