Category Archives: Purley Oaks and Riddlesdown
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
Revealed: Croydon’s laziest and costliest local councillors
Across the country, outside London, people have been going to the polls in local elections today, often voting for the same tribe just as they always do, or voting on national issues over which the councillors they are voting for … Continue reading
Here’s the Mayor and 33 Croydon Tory councillors who THREE times voted in favour of hitting you with a 15% Council Tax hike
JASON PERRY. Mayor of Croydon Elected in May 2022 with a margin of fewer than 600 votes. Is paid £82,000 per year by the council. His office answers the phone just 20 hours per week. Stood on a election promise … Continue reading
Fatal dog attack prompts council to review licensing scheme
A week after the horrific death of a dog walker at a beauty spot near Caterham, the police are yet to name the victim, or to release any of the eight dogs that they seized following what was reported to … Continue reading
Firefighters stage a cliff-hanger to save Gandalf the goat
Firefighters using a drone rescued a goat that was stranded more than 100 feet up on a cliff edge at the disused Riddlesdown quarry. The usually sure-footed goat, named Gandalf by City Commons rangers, found itself in trouble after becoming … Continue reading
Merton councillor gets the nod onto Croydon South shortlist
And then there were four… Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on Labour’s shortlist for the ‘must-win’ Croydon South constituency Being parachuted in from the north of the borough with endorsements from Starmer shadow cabinet member Steve Reed OBE and Stuart King, … Continue reading
Croydon South’s Labour contender gets backing from MP Reed
Will they ever learn? Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest fumbling efforts by the Labour Party to organise a selection process in Croydon The Croydon Labour Party and their bosses at London Region have lost none of their capacity … Continue reading
Riddlesdown goat dies after vicious attack by off-lead dog
Just a few weeks after the City Commons rangers released a flock of six goats to graze the rocky quarry at Riddlesdown, one of the animals has had to be put to sleep by vets, after it had been savaged … Continue reading
Riddlesdown’s rangers have some new kids on the block
The annual visit of a herd of goats at Riddlesdown Common saw half a dozen nannies released last week to graze the steep slopes of the old quarry. “The quarry is an amazing habitat with chalk wildflowers, reptiles and butterflies … Continue reading
Council delays and lack of enforcement cause residents misery
Council planners have ignored an Order from a High Court judge over the granting of retrospective permission for a block of flats in Sanderstead. But as STEVE WHITESIDE explains, the case of 54 Arkwright Road is far from an isolated … Continue reading
No Overall Control: full election results for Croydon’s 28 wards
No overall control. After weeks of campaigning, all the voting and, eventually, all the counting was concluded three days after the polls closed, the final results of the 2022 Croydon local elections were in. With the borough’s first Green councillors … Continue reading
Take your pick: our ward-by-ward guide to council elections
With a complete listing of all the candidates in Croydon’s May 5 councillor vote, political editor WALTER CRONXITE provides a guide to where the contest for the Town Hall might be won or lost The introduction of Croydon’s first democratically-elected, … Continue reading
Planning Inspector rejects developer’s appeal on Hartley flats
After nearly a decade of profit-hungry developers being allowed to build too-small flats in too-large blocks in Croydon’s leafy suburbs, a government official has finally pointed out that this does nothing to help the housing crisis. By BARRATT HOLMES Residents … Continue reading
That’s entertainment! Purley celebrates its High Street heroes
Purley BID has announced its first Entertainment Week to be held from March 28 to April 3, featuring more than 45 events in what they claim “will be Purley’s most entertaining week ever”. Entertainment Week will also mark the return … Continue reading
Let the drains take the strain: council acts to avoid flooding
Officials ask residents to report blocked gulleys to help reduce the risks of floods this winter A £162,000 flood alleviation project carried out in an area near Riddlesdown Station has been completed by the council before the worst of the … Continue reading
Buyers beware: High Court judge puts planners in the dock
A High Court judge has ruled against Croydon’s planning department, quashing the decision of a senior council official to grant permission for a block of flats in Sanderstead. Here, former council planner STEVE WHITESIDE explains how the court ruling could … Continue reading
NHS alliance staging consultations in Coulsdon, Nov 4 and 5
A health services alliance organisation is to stage two consultation sessions next week to outline plans for the medical centre planned for Coulsdon town centre. The sessions will be held at Coulsdon Methodist Church on Thursday November 4 and Friday … Continue reading
Batteries caused the spark for damaging South Croydon blaze
Four fire engines and around 25 firefighters were called to a flat fire on Purley Oaks Road in South Croydon yesterday. Part of a flat on the first floor of a converted semi-detached house was damaged by fire and a … Continue reading
Tories welcome back far-right figures as 2022 candidates
Our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, on the names in the frame to become new Tory councillors next May Jason Perry, the leader of the Conservative opposition at Croydon Council, has handed the local politics equivalent of Willy Wonka’s Golden Ticket … Continue reading
Tories in reshuffle as Redfern and Streeter quit cabinet jobs
Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports on the latest departures from the Conservatives’ front bench at the Town Hall Less than 10 months out from the borough-wide local elections, and with Labour in Croydon on the ropes after the scandals … Continue reading
Flood warning: after six years, Riddlesdown works set to start
More than a month’s average rainfall was deposited on Croydon and parts of southern England yesterday, exposing once more the areas of the borough more prone to flooding, and in many cases also illustrating the failures of council contractors’ to … Continue reading
£1m cuts to children’s centres aimed at south of borough
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The cash-strapped council waited until the week after the London elections and local by-elections to reveal its latest plans for swingeing cuts to children’s services. PAUL WADDELL, right, says residents ought not allow this to happen without a … Continue reading
Eight walks to encompass Croydon’s boundaries and history
Over the course of lockdown, one intrepid geographer has managed to complete the ‘beating of the bounds’ and discover the fascinating history of our parish and civic boundaries, stretching back to Saxon times. Words, pictures and mapping by Dr BEN … Continue reading
Labour councillors ‘shocked and appalled’ at incinerator link
Claims made in an official consultation that power supplied from an ‘energy-from-waste’ plant is ‘clean’ are ‘patently untrue’, according to a letter from Waddon’s elected representatives Three councillors have written a stinging criticism of a council-run “consultation”, saying that they … Continue reading
Questions raised over new £21m rubbish deal with Veolia
The council budget, which is set to be approved at a virtual meeting tonight, offers “the worst of both worlds” as far as the borough’s recycling centres are concerned, according to a Tory councillor. In the middle of the council’s … Continue reading
