Category Archives: IYLO

A decade on and Croydon’s Island offers stark lessons

Posted on March 17, 2017 by

It stands to the north of Croydon town centre like a monument to the flaws of the housing market, a broken tooth of a tower block in the middle of a busy south London roundabout. Construction work began a decade … Continue reading →

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Posted in Business, Housing, IYLO, Planning, Property | Tagged , | 17 Comments

Island tries to block out memories of seven-year hitch

Posted on January 6, 2015 by

It has been such a long time since the IYLO BUILDING last penned a column for this site, that they return now after a makeover and with a new name, though the developers probably don’t want you to regard the … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Environment, Housing, IYLO, Planning, Property, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Apartment Apartheid’ arrives in Croydon via the back door

Posted on October 9, 2014 by

Croydon’s previous, Tory-led council administration – who have spent their first few months in opposition re-affirming their credentials for backing rich landlords over the interests of tenants’ rights – gave planning permission to a multi-millionaire developer to have “Poor Doors” … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Cherry Orchard Gardens, East Croydon, Housing, IYLO, London-wide issues, Menta Tower, Paul Scott, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Inflation, Inflation, Inflation: C4 gives house prices a bump

Posted on September 14, 2014 by

BUMP! There. Did you feel that? That was the sensation of property prices in Croydon jumping another one, two, even 10 grand following the latest visit from that estate agents’ wet dream which is Channel 4’s Location, Location, Location. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Altitude 25, Broad Green, Housing, IYLO, London-wide issues, Planning, Property, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Croydon at back of pack in London’s house price boom

Posted on June 14, 2014 by

Research shows that property prices in Croydon have increased at one of the slowest rates among London boroughs over the last two decades, yet there are still many fewer residential builds going on in the borough than elsewhere in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Crime, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Housing, IYLO, London-wide issues, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Miliband leads calls for more affordable housing in Croydon

Posted on May 7, 2014 by

VOTE 2014: Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has set up his local councillors in Croydon for what could be some frank discussions with major developers in the borough, including Westfield, Barratt Homes and John Laing, after he announced that his … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2014 council elections, 2015 General Election, Boris Johnson, Business, Cane Hill, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Gavin Barwell, Housing, IYLO, Louisa Woodley, New Addington, Oliver Lewis, Planning, Property, Steve Reed MP, Taberner House, Tony Pearson, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I am a rock! But new kids on building blocks have problems

Posted on August 27, 2013 by

The IYLO BUILDING has awoken from its slumbers… The construction crane is back and builders in hi-viz jackets, like worker ants, are climbing all over it. But the oft neglected, unfinished tower in the middle of a suburban roundabout has … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Altitude 25, Broad Green, Business, Centrale, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Environment, IYLO, Planning, Property, Riesco Collection, Ruskin Square, Thornton Heath, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Londoners being priced out of London by social cleansing

Posted on August 25, 2013 by

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Building thousands of high-rise high-priced “luxury apartments” to be bought by overseas investors may enhance the bottom line of private property developers, but will do nothing to solve the borough’s housing crisis. By STEVEN DOWNES London, and Croydon, … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2014 council elections, Altitude 25, Business, Cane Hill, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Housing, IYLO, Lambeth Council, Menta Tower, Paul Spooner, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Steve Reed MP, Taberner House, URV, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Council wants to build high-rise flats on Queen’s Gardens

Posted on July 25, 2013 by

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Tonight’s council business sees a plan to knock down Taberner House and build on part of Queen’s Gardens as the latest move by our bankrupt council to rake back some cash from its disastrous URV property scheme. ANDREW … Continue reading →

Posted in Altitude 25, Andrew Pelling, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Commuting, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Environment, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Housing, IYLO, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Schools, Steve Reed MP, Taberner House, URV, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Gateway’s uninspired opening with a couple of blocks of flats

Posted on January 14, 2013 by

According to ANDREW PELLING, the first phase of development proposed for the long-vacant Ruskin Square site, in a town crying out for family housing, consists of a couple of ugly blocks of flats that even the architects admit are not … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Andrew Pelling, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, Housing, IYLO, Jon Rouse, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Transport, URV | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Boris’s cunning plan: too high, too many, too central

Posted on September 29, 2012 by

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Mayor of London’s “cunning plan” for Croydon is flawed in important respects, says ANDREW PELLING – too much housing crammed into the centre of the borough, in too many high-rise blocks, and by ignoring other parts of … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Ashburton, Boris Johnson, Broad Green, Cane Hill, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Commuting, Coulsdon, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon North, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, Health, Housing, IYLO, London Assembly, London Road Traders Association, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Purley, Ruskin Square, Schools, Transport, URV, Vidhi Mohan, West Croydon, West Croydon Community Forum | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Altitude 25 looks to off-load unsold flats as short-term lets

Posted on September 12, 2012 by

A new planning application for the Altitude 25 development at East Croydon, seeking to allow short-term, serviced lets of some of the unsold apartments, has cast further doubts on the council’s grand plans to build a city in the sky. … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Boris Johnson, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Fairfield, IYLO, London Assembly, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Steve O'Connell | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon’s Black Friday: Allders a sad sign of wider decline

Posted on September 7, 2012 by

Friday, September 7, 2012 will go down as the latest dark day in the history of Croydon. The announcement of the closure of Allders may not seem as tragic or dramatic as the events of the 8/8 riots of a … Continue reading →

Posted in 8/8: London Road stories, Allders, Business, Centrale, Charity, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Council, Dudley Mead, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, History, Housing, IYLO, Jon Rouse, Local media, London Road Traders Association, London-wide issues, Mike Fisher, Planning, Property, Surrey Street, Trinity School, Warehouse Theatre, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mary Portas, Westfield, Bradford and a £1bn hole in the ground

Posted on July 15, 2012 by

Shops and flats. That, in three words, appears to be sum and substance of the local Establishment’s superficial “vision” for Croydon’s future. It might be a slight improvement on “bread and circuses”, but not by much, and would seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Allders, Business, Centrale, Cinema, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, David Lean Cinema Campaign, East Croydon, Gavin Barwell, Housing, IYLO, Jon Rouse, Menta Tower, Mike Fisher, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Surrey Street, URV, Warehouse Theatre, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mugger with the mic? Or taken for mugs in the audience?

Posted on July 13, 2012 by

CROYDON COMMENTARY: A 15 per cent fall in turnover in the Croydon retail sector in five years? Solution: Build more shops! Expensive residential tower blocks left unfinished, unbuilt or unsold? Solution: Build more towers! CRO CRUSADER questions the logic of … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Allders, Business, Centrale, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Crime, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Central, Croydon College, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Education, Gavin Barwell, Housing, IYLO, Jason Perry, Jon Rouse, Menta Tower, Mike Fisher, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Transport, Trinity School, URV, Vidhi Mohan, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“I’m no expert”: Gavin Barwell and his one-man show

Posted on July 13, 2012 by

DIAMOND GEEZER joined the audience in central Croydon for a one-man show that was a song and dance for big business and land owners, but did a soft-shoe shuffle when asked for solutions to the borough’s problems [4.30pm update – … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Allders, Business, Centrale, Charity, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Commuting, Croydon Central, Croydon College, Croydon Council, Croydon North, East Croydon, Education, Environment, Gavin Barwell, Housing, IYLO, London-wide issues, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Schools, Transport, URV, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation, Whitgift School | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Time to cast off Croydon’s Concrete Jungle image

Posted on July 12, 2012 by

Prominent Purley-based architect TARSEM FLORA has seen many visions for the borough left to gather dust. But he believes that Croydon can shed its reputation for brutalist architecture I am convinced that the public perception of Croydon as a concrete … Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Housing, IYLO, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Purley, Ruskin Square, URV, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Upstart building was taught valuable lesson on night of riots

Posted on July 10, 2012 by

The IYLO BUILDING is fast becoming a Croydon “icon”, in all the wrong ways – unfinished, neglected and now the victim of vandals. Yet in its latest column for Inside Croydon, IYLO tells us of the lessons learned from another … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon 8/8, Environment, IYLO, Planning, Property, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Yuppies, riots, the half-priced £1.5m flats and Rouse’s Folly

Posted on July 7, 2012 by

A constant theme in our council’s various “masterplans” is a massive increase in the number of people living in the centre of the borough – mainly in high-rise blocks. In doing this, CR0 CRUSADER asks, whose interests is our council … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Commuting, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, Housing, IYLO, Jon Rouse, London-wide issues, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, URV | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Young architects highlight real need for human scale

Posted on June 30, 2012 by

ANDREW PELLING sat in on an ideas session at the architecture exhibition at Fairfield Halls, and was unsurprised by what he heard The London Festival of Architecture programme, which includes an exhibit of “New Croydon” at the Fairfield Halls through … Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Andrew Pelling, Art, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Housing, IYLO, New Addington, Planning, Property, Transport, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Confessions of a Croydon building project gone wrong

Posted on June 20, 2012 by

The IYLO BUILDING, a “landmark development” for all the wrong reasons, has taken to Twitter to ease its angst. Here it explains what it’s like to be the centre of a roundabout and not the centre of attention Listen up … Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Comedy, Environment, IYLO, Planning, Property, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments