Category Archives: Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown

Perry dodges scrutiny as council delays refunds of LTN fines

CROYDON IN CRISIS: What do you mean, you can’t easily find how to claim a refund of the unlawful low traffic neighbourhood fine you were forced to pay? Do you expect the council to make the repayments system simple and … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Environment, Leila Ben-Hassel, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense, Venetia Reid-Baptiste | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Council chief made mates’ rates payments at £726 per hour

Lack of proper governance over payments and ‘interims’ working at the council for up to five years raise further questions over ‘runaway’ spending for chief exec Kerswell and Mayor Jason Perry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon Council’s chief executive Katherine … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Alasdair Stewart, Business, Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Dean Shoesmith, General Purposes and Audit Committee, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Interim Adam gets council job as HMRC winds up his company

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s most recently appointed planning director was given the role while a company where he was sole director was being wound up in the High Court, an iC investigation has found. EXCLUSIVE by KEN LEE, Town … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Adam Wilkinson, Alasdair Stewart, Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, CPO, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Perry’s council endorses scheme for 3,000 flats in town centre

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Getting rid of two-thirds of the retail space in the town centre and replacing it with flats is about all that execs from Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield were prepared to share to a council committee, reports our housing correspondent, BARRATT … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Helen Redfern, Housing, Ian Parker, Mayor Jason Perry, Nicola Townsend, North End Quarter, Planning, Sean Fitzsimons, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 30 Comments

For planner Cheesbrough, budget increase is ‘non-negotiable’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: All those public consultations that don’t ever make any difference to what the council sets out to do? This week, one director made it clear that they are indeed pointless exercises, as KEN LEE reports Croydon Council … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Business, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Karen Agbabiaka, Louis Carserides, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Directors leave scrutiny short of answers over council job cuts

KEN LEE reports from the frontline of budget discussions at the cash-strapped council, after a meeting where everyone is working very, very hard, but no one in charge bothered to turn up equipped to provide any answers  Councillors from both … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Croydon Council, Heather Cheesbrough, Karen Agbabiaka, Kristian Aspinall, Libraries, Louis Carserides, Scott Roche, Stella Nabukeera | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Purley Pool revised plan to be revealed next month, Mayor says

A new planning application for the controversial development of the site of Purley Pool is to be submitted in January. That’s according to an email to some residents’ associations from Mayor Jason Perry, who appears to be taking more than … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool, Selsdon Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

GLA rejects Polaska Purley Pool plan as ‘wholly unacceptable’

London’s deputy mayor Jules Pipe has stepped in over a project with 220 retirement flats worth an estimated £70m and not a single affordable new home. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES City Hall has rejected proposals from shady developers Polaska to … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Housing, Jules Pipe, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool, Selsdon Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Deadline looms for Polaska’s ‘Purley Pool’ planning application

BARRATT HOLMES, our correspondent covering shadowy-developers-based-in-off-shore-tax-havens, on the dearth of information around the massive retirement homes scheme proposed for Purley Mystery surrounds the status of the planning application to build a vast block of more than 200 retirement homes on … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool, Selsdon Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry presides over late-running, unapologetic leaders meet

While Labour members were drooling/raging (delete to taste) over their rapidly discredited leadership’s performances at their annual conference in Liverpool this week, Croydon’s Conservatives were gathering to hear from their wannabe new leader. And it is fair to say that … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Samir Dwesar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Panicked Purley Pool developer in appeal for public support

BARRATT HOLMES, our correspondent covering shadowy wealthy-developers-based-in-off-shore-tax-havens, reports on the panic that has broken out among the company behind the massive retirement homes scheme proposed for Purley Polaska, the shadowy development firm which is ultimately owned by an even more … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool, Samir Dwesar, Selsdon Residents' Association, Simon Brew | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Perry stages scrutiny stitch-up to dodge the tough questions

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Halfway through his term of office, and the executive Mayor has broken cross-party understandings to dodge scrutiny – appointing a climate crisis sceptic to chair the council’s environment scrutiny committee. WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, reports It took … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Andrew Price, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Environment, Park Hill and Whitgift, Richard Chatterjee | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Free Bike Marking Event, Riddlesdown Common, June 2

Posted in Cycling, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Pro-car Perry’s cycle lane ‘vandalism’ could cost council £1m

Susan Hall fan-boy Jason Perry, after operating a web page that gave encouragement to ULEZ vandals, is about to commit his own act of vandalism on a piece of public infrastructure that he has undermined from the start, reports JEREMY … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Commuting, Croydon Council, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Cycling, Environment, Karen Agbabiaka, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Parking, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Scott Roche, South Croydon, TfL, Transport, ULEZ, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Residents’ groups reject Purley ‘pool’ plan backed by Perry

Our shadowy multi-millionaire developers based in off-shore tax havens correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on an outbreak of common sense, and serious reservations, over proposals for a massive retirement home complex  Seven of the borough’s largest and most influential residents’ associations have … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Coulsdon West Residents' Association, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Parking, Place Review Panel, Planning, Polaska, Polaska Assets Ltd, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool, Selsdon Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Volunteer in it for the long haul as she clocks up 1,000 Parkruns

A Croydon woman has been volunteering at local sports events for 15 years – and all she got given was a T-shirt… It was, however, a cherished 1,000 Parkruns T-shirt. Nicki Clark is thought to be the first volunteer in … Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Athletics, Charity, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kerrr-ching! Unsuspecting drivers hit with no-notice £190 fines

Croydon Council has been accused of “corruption”, as dozens, perhaps hundreds, of residents have been issued with demands for £190 for driving offences after failing to pay the original £65 Penalty Charge Notice – which they never received. Some suspect … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Croydon Council, Parking, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Time to end cash-strapped council’s £1.5m political subsidies

CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s cuts planned to all kinds of services in the borough in the coming months. The only thing local politicians aren’t planning to cut-back on are their own jobs, as WALTER CRONXITE reports The holidays are over. … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Alasdair Stewart, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon West, Endri Llabuti, Esther Sutton, Jade Appleton, Karen Jewitt, Mario Creatura, Matt Griffiths, Mayor Jason Perry, Park Hill and Whitgift, Simon Fox, Stuart Collins, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Shhhh! Purley pub is open again. Just don’t tell anyone…

Loyal reader CHRIS MYERS took a stroll with some old mates, and while someone else got the beers in, he checked out the changes at the former ‘Spoons pub the Foxley Hatch (plot spoiler: there’s hardly any) “Meet the new … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Pubs, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Purley M&S scheme gets 96% support – and a Spitfire fly-past

Proposals for a Marks and Spencer Foodhall, together with flexible space for studios and offices, to be built on the site of a former dairy on a busy main road outside Purley, received 96% approval from residents in a recent … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Planning, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Philp gets caught flat out by Chancellor’s development plan

By JOHNNY DOBBYN, housing writer The campaign against flat developments in the south of the borough that has been led by Tories Chris Philp and Jason Perry has been dealt a severe blow by… the Conservative Chancellor’s Autumn Statement. Buried … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Environment, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Planning, Property, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Purley Pool | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Riddlesdown Art Showcase and sale, Mitchley Hill, Sep 24

Posted in Art, Community associations, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Councillor’s complaint sees Fairfield Halls drop mix-sex loos

Within a week of a Conservative councillor grumbling on social media about the “awful misogyny” of having mixed-sex signs on toilet doors at the Fairfield Halls, the management at the arts venue has abandoned the idea and removed the offending … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, BH Live, Fairfield Halls, Restaurants | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Purley Scouts start Croydon’s first ‘drey’ for little Squirrels

The 29th Purley Scout Group is launching Croydon’s first Squirrels group, a brand-new branch of the Scout movement for children aged four and five. Squirrels offers the best Scouts has to offer – learning by doing and getting into the … Continue reading

Posted in Church and religions, Community associations, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Scouts and Guides | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A22 Godstone Road closure lifted one week ahead of schedule

The water board’s road works on the A22 Godstone Road at Purley Cross have finished – a week ahead of schedule. SES Water closed off the A22 at the junction close to Purley Tesco’s last month for what they described … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Kenley, Purley, Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown, Samir Dwesar | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments