Category Archives: Housing

Regina Road residents to be balloted over estate demolition

The 100-or-so households living in council tower blocks and surrounding properties on Regina Road are to be balloted in the next month over whether the damp and mould-blighted buildings should be demolished. The decision to go-ahead with the estate ballot … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Take a Peep at this: public garden planned for Zodiac Court

Zodiac Court, fabled as the home of Jez and Mark in Channel 4’s cult comedy Peep Show, is to get a complete makeover, including the addition of a community garden and café in a space which for half a century … Continue reading

Posted in Broad Green, Broad Green Common, Business, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Housing, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Too often councils are failing in their duties’ on homelessness

Two-thirds of all upheld complaints to the Local Government Ombudsman about homelessness involve local authorities in London, including Croydon, according to a report published today. “Too often we are finding councils at fault,” Ombudsman Michael King said today in releasing … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘Restructuring’ has housing workers facing £3,000 pay cut

Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on the latest shocking cost-cutting measures being imposed on council staff Croydon Council could be heading for a series of strikes later this year, after senior managers at Fisher’s Folly moved to cut some … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Love it or List it is coming to Croydon and want you to take part

Have you yearned to have Phil Spencer poking around your garden shed or Kirstie Allsopp knocking down your dividing wall? Well now’s your chance, because the Channel4 property programme Love it or List it is casting for its next series, … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Housing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

10-year campaign by locals wins reprieve for Central Hill Estate

Plans by a labour-controlled south London council to bulldoze a residential estate have been binned, after a decade-long campaign by locals. Lambeth Council has paused the redevelopment of Central Hill and two other estates after a critical report recommended a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Community associations, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Housing, Lambeth Council, London-wide issues, Matthew Bennett, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ombudsman orders urgent review of council’s housing policies

Retired lawyer and former councillor JERRY FITZPATRICK on a breakthrough ruling for those on Croydon’s housing register with special medical needs In an important and hard-hitting decision, the Local Government Ombudsman has required Croydon Council to undertake a thorough review … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Health, Housing, Jerry Fitzpatrick | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council’s planners lose multiple cases at appeal and in court

Independent inspectors and judges at the High Court continue to rule against decisions made by Croydon’s planning department. Yet those making these dubious, developer-friendly decisions remain in place Research for Inside Croydon has found at least another 11 planning cases … Continue reading

Posted in Aventier, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Lynne Hale, Maria Gatland, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Nicola Townsend, Paul Scott, Planning, Sanderstead, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

£495,000 for a flat – this is Brick by Brick’s ‘affordable’ housing

The argument that the council-owned property developer was somehow the answer to the borough’s housing crisis appears lost among the high cost of its properties in Coulsdon. By BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent Flats in Coulsdon that were built by council-owned … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon West, Croydon Council, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£1.5m government fund ‘targets’ Croydon in drugs strategy trial

Croydon is to receive £1,490,858 from the government’s drug strategy housing support fund, it was announced today. Croydon is one of only two London boroughs (the other is Westminster) included among 28 local authorities receiving the money, allocated from a … Continue reading

Posted in Crime, Croydon Council, Health, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Galpins Road hero still in temporary accommodation after blast

The south London hero who risked his life to rescue neighbours from the rubble following the terrifying explosion on a residential street in Thornton Heath last summer is among dozens of evacuated residents still living in hotel rooms six months … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Housing, Merton, Siobhain McDonagh MP, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Welcome to Croydon! And a town centre designed by Minecraft

KEN TOWL on the latest cheap publicity stunt that seeks to patronise the borough’s youth and encourage them to sign up for an addictive video game, rather than to study design or architecture The first thing to point out is … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Education, Environment, Housing, Jules Pipe, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The end is nigh: Brick by Brick’s final tower block is sold off

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the council’s increasingly desperate efforts to flog off the last developments from its inept house-builder Flyover Towers, the final development by Brick by Brick, Croydon Council’s bankrupting building firm, has been sold as a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, Jason Cummings, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

‘Severe maladministration’ at Barwell’s housing association

The Housing Ombudsman has found severe maladministration in two separate cases which formed part of a wider investigation into the Clarion Housing Association. One of the cases is understood to involve social housing in Merton, where a leaking roof, damp … Continue reading

Posted in Gavin Barwell, Housing, London Assembly, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Town Hall meetings halved as new Mayor dodges questioning

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tonight’s cabinet meeting has on its agenda the borough’s underperforming schools, the Westfield failure, Council Tax Support and council rents… in all, 24 items need to be considered at a meeting where opposition councillors will barely be … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Centrale, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Education, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Schools, Section 114 notice, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry about to giveaway millions in social housing flog-off

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The new Mayor wants to run a ‘minimal council’, and is getting pensioners and the worst-off to pay for its financial turmoil while he arranges a £36m property deal that seriously undervalues public assets, says ANDREW PELLING Nothing … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Greystar looking at possible third tower twins for town centre

Plans for a £500million 69-storey residential tower at One Lansdowne Road have been dumped, as the original landowners have instead sold the site to the American developers behind the world’s tallest prefabs, the black towers near East Croydon Station. Guildhouse … Continue reading

Posted in 101 George Street, Business, College Tower, Fairfield, Growth Zone, Housing, Jo Negrini, One Lansdowne Road, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Optivo plays blame game by gas-lighting Addiscombe residents

Residents of shared-ownership homes in Addiscombe, who have spent the past 18 months trying to get an external door lock fixed by their landlords, have angrily accused the housing association responsible of trying to diminish the extent of the issues … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe East, Business, Housing, Ken Towl, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Home owner’s victory after four-year battle with planners

The planning department at Croydon’s dysfunctional council has been caught out yet again after the collapse of a developer’s appeal – but only after incurring huge and avoidable costs. Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, unravels a saga of deceits and … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jade Appleton, Katherine Kerswell, Nicola Townsend, Park Hill and Whitgift, Parking, Paul Scott, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Mayor of London activates emergency procedure for homeless

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Voluntary groups are concerned that the council did not respond quickly or properly when SWEP – the Severe Weather Emergency Protocol – was activated across London last month. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES With freezing temperatures forecast tonight, … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, CVA, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fobbed off: unlocking 18 months of misery with Optivo

Following the Regina Road council flats scandal, much attention has been focused on the appalling record of local authorities in managing and maintaining properties. But as KEN TOWL has discovered, there are some housing associations whose attitude to residents also … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe East, Housing, Ken Towl | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Council tenants face 7% rent hike to meet repair costs

Some council tenants in Croydon will face a rent increase of almost £50 per month from April, if a planned 7per cent rent hike is approved by the borough’s Conservative Mayor later this month. The rent increases come as the … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mayor Perry must get at least £33m for BxB’s Coulsdon flats

CROYDON COMMENTARY: In our first public platform article of 2023, former MP and Mayoral candidate ANDREW PELLING, pictured right, says that it is essential to get maximum value from the cash-strapped council’s assets – and having more than a single … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Brick by Brick close to selling off Coulsdon flats at half-price

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s residents could be short-changed again as the council’s housing developer bails out by selling Lion Green Road flats on the cheap. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES One of the country’s biggest housing associations is in talks … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Soaring private rents prompt calls for more tenant protections

With the average monthly rent for Londoners living in the private sector hitting more than £2,000 during the autumn, campaign group Generation Rent has called on the government to bring in a rent freeze to fight the growing cost of … Continue reading

Posted in Housing, London-wide issues | Tagged , , | 2 Comments