Category Archives: Selsdon Vale and Forestdale

Suburban spy drama is coming to Selsdon Hall this week

In 1960s suburbia, Barbara and Bob Jackson are living an idyllic life with their daughter Julie. But when they are visited by the security services, they are informed that their best friends and neighbours, the Canadian Krogers, may not be … Continue reading

Posted in Art, CODA, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

With new timetable, 400 just needs the right turn at Caterham

One of Croydon’s many holes in the borough’s roads might yet be playing an unintended part in improving bus services in the area. Recent road closures on Coulsdon Common to unclog the soakaways have forced the highways department at Surrey … Continue reading

Posted in Caterham, Community associations, Coulsdon, Environment, London-wide issues, Outside Croydon, Redhill, Reigate and Banstead Council, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Surrey, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The cost of Croydon’s Music Heritage Trail: £750 per download!

BOROUGH OF VULTURES: Fewer than 500 people have bothered to use the special app intended to guide them around the town centre’s historic music locations. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES “Have we already fucked it up?” According to official meeting minutes … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Boxpark, Business, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Ken Towl, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Music, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

All bunged up: Thames Water’s concrete scheme for the sewers

Our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON, on the major road works in Selsdon that have sent buses on lengthy diversions The withdrawal of almost all bus routes in some parts of the south of the borough may be down to a … Continue reading

Posted in New Addington, Selsdon & Ballards, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Royal Mail struggling to deliver 3rd class service in Croydon

The cost of a first-class stamp may have recently been increased to £1.25 – or £1.95 for a “large” letter – but the service delivered by the Royal Mail for households across much of Croydon has deteriorated to the point … Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Broad Green, Business, Fairfield, New Addington, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Thornton Heath, Waddon, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Mayor Perry spends £140,000 on gym equipment for Monks Hill

Politics, they say, is all about priorities. So while Croydon Mayor Jason Perry takes away the £13,000 per year grant to the Selsdon Centre for the Retired and increases their rent, after hiking everyone’s Council Tax by 15%, up the … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Quest Academy, Schools, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Supporters campaign to save under-threat Selsdon Centre

The trustees of an old people’s charity in Selsdon that is under threat of closure after Mayor Jason Perry axed their annual council grant have launched a petition appealing for public support. As Inside Croydon revealed last week, the Selsdon … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Charity, Fatima Zaman, Joseph Lee, Mayor Jason Perry, Robert Ward, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Centre for the Retired, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , | 16 Comments

Crisis for Selsdon charity hard hit by council’s double-whammy

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Perry’s cuts are beginning to bite in his Tory heartlands, with the long-established Selsdon Centre for the Retired facing the prospect of closure next year. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES A respected and admired charity that supports … Continue reading

Posted in Age UK Croydon, Andrew Stranack, Charity, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, CVA, Fatima Zaman, Joseph Lee, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Robert Ward, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Centre for the Retired, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

There’s something for everyone to enjoy in our year of Culture

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The council’s cabinet member responsible for the arts, Councillor ANDY STRANACK, pictured above (he’s the one not wearing a tracksuit) outlines his plans for the Borough of Culture Last weekend saw the launch of This is Croydon, a … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Fairfield Halls, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Year of Culture set to begin with an Oratorio of Hopelessness

CROYDON IN CRISIS: If, like us, you have been scouring the listings pages to find what’s planned for Croydon’s year as London’s Borough of Culture, you’re likely to be disappointed. But some of the PR deals surrounding the event have … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Community associations, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Music, Oliver Lewis, Sadiq Khan, Theatre, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

CODA table an amendment to Ayckbourn’s council satire

So you’ve just received your Council Tax bill and you want to get an idea of what all that money is paying for? You really want to know how local councils work..? Then you’d best get along to Selsdon Hall … Continue reading

Posted in Art, CODA, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Get orf moy laaand! Posh hotel declares parkland a no-go zone

Michelin-starred chef to use foraged ingredients in Birch Selsdon’s two restaurants, as fences go up to keep local residents from walking their pooches across the former golf course The new owners of the luxury hotel that used to be known … Continue reading

Posted in Birch (Selsdon), Business, Croydon parks, Environment, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

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

Posted in Adele Benson, Andrew Stranack, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Fatima Zaman, Helen Redfern, Ian Parker, Jade Appleton, Jason Cummings, Jeet Bains, Joseph Lee, Lynne Hale, Margaret Bird, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, Michael Neal, Ola Kolade, Richard Chatterjee, Robert Ward, Scott Roche, Simon Brew, Simon Fox, Sue Bennett, Tony Pearson, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , | 25 Comments

37-34: Mayor’s 15% Council Tax hike rejected in budget vote

ANDREW FISHER sat through the three-and-a-half hours of last night’s budget non-setting meeting, so that you didn’t have to Labour, Green and Liberal Democrat councillors voted together last night to reject the budget proposal from the borough’s Conservative Mayor, Jason … Continue reading

Posted in Adele Benson, Andrew Fisher, Andrew Stranack, Community associations, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington, New Addington North, Rowenna Davis, Tamar Nwafor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

New owners plan re-opening of Selsdon hotel for late March

What used to be known as the Selsdon Park Hotel, with its 200-acre golf course, is expected to open its doors to guests for the first time in more than a year at the end of March, with cattle and … Continue reading

Posted in Birch (Selsdon), Business, Property, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Park Hotel, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , | 15 Comments

Selsdon Guild makes Contact with £1,000 charity donation

Selsdon Afternoon Townswomen’s Guild has made a donation of £1,000 to the local Contact charity. The presentation was made after Guild members last year chose to support the charity in recognition of the help they had provided to locals during … Continue reading

Posted in Charity, Community associations, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Townswomen's Guild, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

19th century abolitionist Starbuck’s archive up for auction

An important historical archive of early 19th-century correspondence compiled by prominent abolitionist Samuel Starbuck could sell for at least £6,000 when it goes under the hammer at Catherine Southon’s latest auction at Farleigh Golf Club, Selsdon, on Wednesday, February 8. … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Business, Selsdon and Addington Village, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Labour’s ‘toxic legacy’ in Croydon proving hard to shake off

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Around the country, the Tories are in retreat thanks to the failings of their three Prime Ministers. But not in Croydon, where they face a neutered opposition, as political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports In London and in … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, 2024 General Election, Alison Butler, Chris Clark, Chrishni Reshekaron, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Bonello, New Addington, New Addington North, Paul Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, South Croydon, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Perry accused of breaking election rules with Selsdon ‘bribe’

Jason Perry, Croydon’s £81,000 per year part-time Mayor, is subject to complaints that he broke the supposedly strict rules on pre-election purdah, which prohibit the use of council funds and resources to help influence the outcome of elections. There was … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Non-local mum wins Selsdon by-election with Greens second

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, sifts through the runes from the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale ward by-election Fatima Zaman retained the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale council seat for the Conservatives in yesterday’s by-election, as the reputational damage done to Labour locally … Continue reading

Posted in 2022 council elections, Andrew Pelling, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Croydon South, Fatima Zaman, Peter Underwood, Sarah Jones MP, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Part-time Perry’s Halloween howler on Tory investment zones

Our political correspondent, WALTER CRONXITE, on an extraordinary turn in the local by-election campaign over Conservative proposals to make it even easier for their developer chums to concrete over the Green Belt Tory sleaze is in full flow in the … Continue reading

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Environment, Fatima Zaman, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Voluntary groups face ‘wipe out’ in Tory Mayor’s budget cuts

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s charities and voluntary sector face an existential threat, as the Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, prepares to axe the council’s Community Fund next year. More than 40 groups could be affected, from larger organisations such … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Charity, Community associations, Croydon CAB, Croydon Council, Croydon Nightwatch, CVA, Mayor Jason Perry, Purley Food Hub | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Postal ballot switch puts by-election candidates in a rush

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on a schedule change that probably won’t do anything to increase turn-out in Selsdon Vale and Forestdale Election candidates for the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale ward by-election, their agents and supporters, had their carefully planned campaign … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Katherine Kerswell, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tories pose real threat to Selsdon Vale with ‘attack on nature’

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Prime Minister may have sacked her Chancellor and his replacement might have scrapped almost all of the Trussonomic financial policies announced just three weeks ago. But, says PETER UNDERWOOD, pictured right, there’s no sign that the Tories … Continue reading

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Friends of the Earth, Croydon Greens, Environment, Fracking, Peter Underwood, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

‘Expunge’: Labour candidate backs Mayor’s Power Rangers

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the barrel-scraping exercise going on in the local Tory and Labour parties to fill a councillor vacancy in Selsdon Vale and Forestdale The November 3 council by-election in what one council figure affectionately calls Sleepy … Continue reading

Posted in Fatima Zaman, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments