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Category Archives: Housing
Perry’s poor waffle performance shows who is really in charge
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s £82,000 per year executive Mayor gave up a morning of his valuable time to help a property PR firm boost the flagging credibility of Westfield’s town centre proposals. And there among the breakfast croissants and … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Planning, Tom Copley, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Breakfast Waffle, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Holborn, Jo Negrini, LCA, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Sarah Jones MP, Tory, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
6 Comments
Another Croydon mugging as Westfield stages latest charade
There’s a public consultation about the long-delayed Westfield redevelopment of the town centre. Yes, another one. But there’s no promises of when any work will actually begin, or end. By STEVEN DOWNES After decades of broken promises and inflicting development … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Smith, Business, Centrale, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Adam Smith, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, LCA, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Scott Parsons, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
15 Comments
Upper Norwood neighbours win 5-year battle with developer
After a five-year battle against a deep-pocketed developer, aided and abetted by Croydon Council’s planning department, residents on Downsview Road in Upper Norwood have claimed victory in the High Court. But they now face financial ruin because of the huge … Continue reading
Westfield’s non-denial denials can’t mask their investment plan
More than 48 hours after trade magazine Property Week reported what Westfield had been briefing their investors about the possibility of them selling off their interests in Croydon, and there’s been not a peep from the Paris head office of … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Croydon West, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Sarah Jones MP, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Sarah Jones MP, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
12 Comments
Council told to ‘get a grasp’ over repeat homelessness failures
Ombudsman issues withering criticism of Croydon’s failing council: ‘Sadly this is not an isolated case in the borough’ Mayor Jason Perry’s council has been chastised again by the Ombudsman over its mistreatment of one of the borough’s most vulnerable residents … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Commissioners, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stabilisation Plan
Tagged Amerdeep Somal, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, homeless, Homelessness, Jim McMahon, Katherine Kerswell, Local Government Ombudsman, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, MHCLG, Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government, Ombudsman, Tory
9 Comments
Westfield looking for ‘bargain basement’ sale of Croydon site
Respected trade magazine Property Week is reporting that after almost 14 years of inflicting development blight on Croydon town centre, without ever laying a single brick, Westfield could be about to flog off their interests in south London once and … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Centrale, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamburg, Hammersfield, Hammerson, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Property Week, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
21 Comments
Anti-crime CCTV cameras nicked from Brick by Brick block
EXCLUSIVE: The winding up of Brick by Brick won’t see an end to the misery being suffered by those who bought homes or live as leaseholders in properties built by the Croydon Council-owned housing company. By our housing correspondent, BARRATT … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry
Tagged Auckland Rise, Brick by Brick, Church Road, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory
6 Comments
Reeves’ Spending Review sees Labour take London for granted
Taking Londoners, and Labour voters in London, for granted in a big effort to secure ‘Red Wall’ areas less loyal to the party looks like a ploy straight out of the Morgan McSweeney playbook. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor The … Continue reading
Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan
Tagged Chancellor of the Exchequer, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Darren Jones, Labour, LCA, London, London Assembly, London Borough of Croydon, London Communications Agency, Mayor, Morgan McSweeney, Rachel Reeves
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‘Council’s finances remain broken’ MP Irons tells Commons
Local government minister admits that Croydon’s finances ‘are not small problems to deal with’ Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East, yesterday made an 11th-hour plea to government ministers to act to salvage something from the wreckage of Croydon … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, Section 114 notice
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, EFS, Exceptional financial support, Government Spending Review, Jim McMahon, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons MP, Rachel Reeves, Section 114, Section 114 Notice, Spending Review, Tory
4 Comments
Owner Ansari seeks to avoid Leslie Arms planning conditions
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Since 2000, a multi-millionaire property developer has been allowing a Grade II-listed pub to decay. Now, he wants to change the conditions of his latest planning permission. KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter, on the sorry tale of … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Leslie Arms, Planning, Property, Pubs, Tony Newman, Uncategorized
Tagged AA Homes, Addiscombe, Addiscombe West, Anwar Ansari, Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dogs attack, Dr Anwar Ansari, English Heritage, Kangal, Labour, Landlord licensing, Leslie Arms, Lloyd Park, Lower Addiscombe Road, Sadiq Khan, Sir Sadiq Khan, The Victorian Society, Tony Newman, Turkish Kangal, Yvette Cooper
16 Comments
The sorry 25-year chronology of a once great Addiscombe pub
LESLIE ARMS TIMELINE Since 2020, the owner of the Grade II-listed Leslie Arms on Lower Addiscombe Road has submitted 13 separate planning applications for the building – 14 if you include his 2009 appeal against a refusal of a planning … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, History, Housing, Leslie Arms, Planning, Property, Pubs
Tagged AA Homes, Addiscombe, Anwar Ansari, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dr Anwar Ansari, Leslie Arms, Planning, pubs, Upper Addiscombe Road
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‘It has to be’: Westfield scheme needs millions of public money
UNDER THE FLYOVER: In our latest podcast interview, housing specialist Fiona Fletcher-Smith, now the volunteer chair of the Whitgift Foundation’s governors, discusses the housing crisis, the closure of Old Palace School, what’s happening with the long-promised ‘kiosks’ in the Allders … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Boris Johnson, Business, Charity, Croydon Council, Fiona Fletcher Smith, Housing, Inside Croydon, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Planning, Property, Sadiq Khan, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Boris Johnson, Court of Governors, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fiona Fletcher-Smith, GLA, Hammersfield, London, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Roisha Hughes, Under The Flyover, Unibail Rodamco Westfield, URW, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
17 Comments
Superdry closure is the latest nail in Whitgift Centre’s coffin
With every passing announcement of the latest closure, nails are being hammered into the coffin of Croydon’s sadly declining Whitgift Centre. The latest exit is that of Superdry, the shop selling the premium British fashion brand that occupies a large, … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Housing, Mayor of London, Property, Secret Cinema, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
Tagged Body Shop, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hammersfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Monsoon, Sainsbury's, Superdry, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation
20 Comments
Complaints against Perry’s council on rise, Ombudsman says
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE, on another year where our council is close to the top of a league table – for most upheld complaints Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s £204,000 per year chief executive, if she bothered … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Bromley Council, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth Council, Planning, Southwark Council, Surrey, Sutton Council
Tagged Amerdeep Somal, Bromley, Children's Care, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Lambeth, LGO, Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, Local Government Ombudsman, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Ombudsman, Planning, social care, Southwark, Surrey County Council, Sutton, Tory
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Building on precious green spaces won’t fix the housing crisis
CROYDON COMMENTARY: With mounting pressure on local authorities to allow the building on Green Belt land, PETER UNDERWOOD raises concerns that private profit is being put before people The combination of unreliable politicians and profit-hungry developers is putting our green … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon parks, Environment, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Peter Underwood, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Wildlife
Tagged Ashen Grove, Conservative, Croydon Council, Green Belt, Green Party, Housing, Labour, London, Mayor, Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, Peter Underwood, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Selsdon, Sir Sadiq Khan, Tory
6 Comments
Ashen Grove is up for auction again – as site for 27 houses
Alarm bells are sounding among concerned residents in Selsdon, after a patch of public open space that sold at auction last month for more than five times its guide price has now been put straight back on the market – … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Stranack, Community associations, Croydon parks, Environment, Housing, Planning, Property, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Wildlife
Tagged Andy Stranack, Ashen Grove, Cllr Andy Stranack, Croydon parks, Forestdale, Parks and open spaces, Peacock Gardens, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Taylor Wimpey, Wimpey
5 Comments
569 more flats coming after £210m East Croydon property deal
Praise from Mayor Perry for a 28-storey tower in the town centre that his own council’s planners tried to block for being too tall Property speculators Cheyne Capital say they are going ahead with a scheme that will build hundreds … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, No1 Croydon, Planning, Property
Tagged Addiscombe, Cheyne Capital, City Link House, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tory, Wittington Investments
12 Comments
Tenants call for urgent action on rising rents and evictions
Hundreds of members of the London Renters Union took to the streets of the capital today to protest at soaring rents while landlords, and their agents, continue to record often obscene profits. The protest is part of a Global Day … Continue reading
After 4 years, Croydon’s housing taken out of special measures
The ‘slum-like’ conditions of ‘dangerous squalor’ in council flats on Regina Road caused a national scandal in 2021. Only now, and £30m of spending later, is the housing regulator satisfied that council housing in the borough meets proper standards. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading
Negrini enjoys her centre stage return pitching for Mayor Khan
Like Banquo’s ghost, Jo Negrini has returned to haunt Croydon after her latest jaunt to the south of France for the annual “booze and hooker fest” – or prestigious international property conference – that is MIPIM. When “Negreedy” was the … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Housing, Jo Negrini, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Planning, Sadiq Khan, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre
Tagged Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jo Negrini, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Planning, Richard Plant, Sir Sadiq Khan, Stiles Harold Williams, Tory, Westfield, Whitgift Centre
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Planning consent granted for 580 flats in ‘space-age’ Croydon
Croydon Council has approved the plans to convert two 1960s office blocks on Wellesley Road, Apollo House and Lunar House, from office to residential use. More than 580 flats will be created as part of a scheme on behalf of … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Fairfield, Housing, Lunar House/Apollo House, Planning, Property
Tagged Apollo House, Fairfield, Ho Bee Land, Lunar House, Wellesley Road
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Landowner wants public cash to help delayed Westfield project
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES The Whitgift Foundation is in talks with the Mayor of London and central government for another multi-million-pound bail-out for Croydon, this one likely to centre around building around 3,000 homes in the town centre. That’s according … Continue reading
Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Charity, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, North End Quarter, Old Palace, Planning, Property, Roisha Hughes, Schools, TfL, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Under The Flyover, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
Tagged Croydon, Hammersfield, London, Mayor, Old Palace of John Whitgift School, Old Palace School, Roisha Hughes, Sir Howard Dawber, Tom Copley, Trinity School, Westfield, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School
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A century of Selsdon captured in new exhibition’s photographs
CHRIS JONES, Editor of The Selsdon Gazette, the publication of the area’s residents’ association, outlines a century of suburban growth, which is now the subject of a free exhibition at the local library One hundred years ago, in 1925, Selsdon … Continue reading
Fond sporting memories played out on Norbury’s fine pitches
NEIL BENNETT, the former BBC News reporter, hopes that plans for the redevelopment of a sports ground in Norbury will at least restore some of its past sporting glories It was just the Westminter Bank Sports Ground in the 1950s … Continue reading
Posted in Business, Housing, Lambeth Council, Merton, Neil Bennett, Norbury, Planning
Tagged Merton Council, NatWest Sports Ground, Neil Bennett, Norbury, Peter Loader, Surrey cricket, Turle Road
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Perry repeats lie as he calls meeting over No Access Croydon
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Delayed replies, giving short-notice of an appointment and a divide-and-rule approach betray Mayor’s struggle to justify the closure of the authority’s public area, as librarians are now providing advice to the homeless. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Jason … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Brown, Bernard Weatherill House, Charity, Community associations, Council Tax, Crisis Skylight Centre, Croydon BME Forum, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, South Norwood Community Kitchen, South West London Law Centres
Tagged Access Croydon, Bernard Weatherill House, BWH, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon BME Forum, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, Fisher's Folly, Homelessness, Katherine Kerswell, London Renters' Union, Mayor Jason Perry, South Norwood Community Kitchen, South West London Law Centre, Tory
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