Category Archives: Jason Cummings

Rubbish councillor Roche finally sacked from Mayor’s cabinet

Jason Perry’s ‘top team’ for his second term in charge of the Town Hall sees a belated call-up for a 76-year-old pensioner, and an overdue axing for a work-shy colleague. KEN LEE reports Scott Roche, the Conservative councillor for Shirley … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, Andrew Stranack, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Fly tipping, Housing, Jason Cummings, Jeet Bains, Luke Shortland, Lynne Hale, Margaret Bird, Mayor Jason Perry, Ola Kolade, Refuse collection, Richard Chatterjee, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Scott Roche, Selsdon and Addington Village, Shirley South, Simon Brew, Veolia, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Toss-cars 2026: We name Croydon’s laziest councillors

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES, Inside Croydon Editor Two of Croydon’s councillors, who receive tens of thousands of pounds in allowances from the cash-strapped council over the course of their term in office, submitted not a single members’ enquiry through a … Continue reading

Posted in Adele Benson, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury Park, Richard Chatterjee, Shirley North, Shirley South, Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

£40m Trinity School expansion given planning green light

The council’s planning committee has given a green light to a £40million development to expand Trinity School in Shirley Park to ready the independent boys’ school to go fully co-educational by 2031. The scheme is the first major re-build since … Continue reading

Posted in Alasdair Kennedy, Business, Charity, Education, Jason Cummings, Old Palace, Planning, Schools, Shirley South, Trinity School, Whitgift Centre, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

It was a bad deal for Croydon. Why did they allow it to happen?

CROYDON COMMENTARY: With Tory Mayor Jason Perry using £½million of public money as a hush fund, RICHARD HOWARD, pictured right, the LibDem mayoral candidate, lays out all the obvious flaws with the council’s Red Clover Gardens scheme Two years ago, … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Business, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Ian Parker, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Howard, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor candidates call for investigation into Red Clover Gardens

LibDems and Greens say that only a thorough, deep dive into the council’s accounts and records conducted by an outside body – such as HM Revenue and Customs – can get to the bottom of the latest multi-million-pound financial scandal … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Rick Howard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Perry agrees to pay £½m to reclaim flats at Red Clover Gardens

Inside Croydon has obtained a top-secret, ‘Part B’ council report providing key financial details on the collapsed property deal for Red Clover Gardens  – all because someone at Croydon’s cash-strapped and incompetent council posted it on their own website EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tory council loses £20m over Coulsdon collapsed property deal

It is almost three years since this website warned that a ‘complicated, opaque lease-back arrangement’ conducted with a property firm with no real track record, for the disposal of blocks of flats at Red Clover Gardens, all looked just a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon East, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Council, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Housing, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Mears, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Labour refuse to respond to Cummings’s budget challenge

WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on a sham challenge issued to rival political parties by a borrowing-dependent Conservative administration that is trying to con the public that they have ‘fixed the finances’ As Tory Mayor Jason Perry prepares to deliver what … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Commissioners, Conrad Hall, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Esther Sutton, Fairfield, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Underwood, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Storm rages at Town Hall over unspent £4m climate funding

Jamaica has been declared a disaster zone, after Hurricane Melissa ripped through the Caribbean island overnight. But according to Mayor Jason Perry’s most senior colleague at Croydon Town Hall, the climate emergency “is not a priority”. Today, the supercharged Hurricane … Continue reading

Posted in Business, Climate Crisis Commission, Croydon Community Energy, Croydon Council, Croydon Friends of the Earth, Environment, Jason Cummings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Climate crisis? It’s not a priority for Croydon, says Cummings

Last week, the cabinet member for finance, Conservative councillor Jason Cummings, pictured left, stood up in the Town Hall Chamber and explained that the council had failed to spend £3.9m of carbon offset grants in nine years because… well… they … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Crisis Commission, Croydon Community Energy, Croydon Council, Croydon Friends of the Earth, Environment, Jason Cummings | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Toss-cars 2025: We name Croydon’s laziest councillors

It’s Inside Croydon’s annual round-up of official figures which show which of our 70 elected councillors have been asking the most questions. And which councillors need to be seriously questioned, after they’ve effectively given a grand ‘up yours’ to the … Continue reading

Posted in Adele Benson, Alisa Flemming, Brigitte Graham, Callton Young, Clive Fraser, Croydon Council, Fatima Zaman, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury Park, Richard Chatterjee, Scott Roche, Sherwan Chowdhury, Shirley North, Shirley South, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Tony Pearson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 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

Labour Party ends suspension of ex-council leader Newman

CROYDON IN CRISIS: After more than four years, the two men who presided over what at the time was the biggest financial collapse in the history of local authorities in England have been allowed back into their political party. EXCLUSIVE … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, David Evans, Fieldway, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington South, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

What a load of old rubbish! And that’s just inside the Town Hall

There’s only a handful of opportunities each year for the public to question the way their council is being run, but as ANDREW FISHER, pictured right, discovered when watching last night’s full council meeting, it is increasingly obvious that the … Continue reading

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Fisher, Callton Young, Christopher Herman, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Crime, Croydon Council, Fly tipping, Heathfield House, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Live Facial Recognition cameras, Mayor Jason Perry, Refuse collection, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, Simon Fox, Stuart King, Veolia, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Top Tory admits Fairfield Halls could be sold for the right deal

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Come on down! The price is right!’ The cabinet member for finance has said that the arts and conference centre could yet be sold if the cash-strapped council is ordered to do so. By STEVEN DOWNES Jason … Continue reading

Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Music, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

They voted to raise your Council Tax, then to increase their pay

TOWN HALL SKETCH: Things don’t sound too good in the Chamber these days, and it is not just because the council has hired a cheaper contractor for its audio system. As tempers frayed at the most important meeting of the … Continue reading

Posted in 'Future Croydon', Amy Foster, Avril Slipper, Callton Young, Christopher Herman, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Carers, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Esther Sutton, Ian Parker, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Kola Agboola, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Councillor complains over legal failings: ‘It feels morally wrong’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: No one will face legal action for their part in the council’s financial collapse, despite Town Hall bosses spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on special reports and advice from high-powered barristers. Yet one of Mayor Perry’s … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shirley South, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Perry ducks scrutiny over council financials that don’t add up

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Elected Mayor didn’t hang around to face the music from councillors as the £42m overspend was discussed at the Town Hall this week. By STEVEN DOWNES The council’s projected £42million overspend this financial year is “unprecedented”, and … Continue reading

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Comic Kumar’s message for Mayor over Shirley library closure

The likely closure of Shirley Library would be “a devastating blow” for local residents, according to comic and television presenter Nish Kumar. Kumar grew up in Shirley and used its public library, where borrowing books “fostered a lifelong love of … Continue reading

Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Education, Jason Cummings, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Sanderstead, Shirley North, Shirley South | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Two weeks early and most candidates are conceding defeat

ELECTION SKETCH: As other parties’ candidates in Croydon East have admitted they will lose come July 4, Labour’s shoo-in as a new MP calls her party’s bankrupting of the borough and its part in illegal hacking as ‘a load of … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Croydon East, Jason Cummings, Ken Towl, Natasha Irons, Peter Underwood | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Voters being taken for granted as ‘battleground’ moves south

As postal voters start to receive their ballot papers ahead of the General Election on July 4, others in parts of Croydon are beginning to feel that their votes are being taken for granted by Tories and Labour, as our … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Jason Cummings, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Coulsdon flats deal was rushed through as massive tax dodge

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Professional financial analyst RICHARD HOWARD, pictured left, has been concerned for some time about the multi-million-pound sale-and-leaseback arrangement that the council has carved out with an Essex property firm for Red Clover Gardens in Coulsdon. Here, he goes … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Housing, Jason Cummings, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Rick Howard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Perry’s ‘sale’ of Coulsdon flats will cost Croydon £60million!

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The borough’s Tory Mayor is accused of ‘doing a Tony Newman’ over a multi-million-pound property deal, one which will cost future generations tens of millions. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Meet the new boss. Same as the old … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Business, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon South, Housing, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Mayor Jason Perry, Mears, Property, Rick Howard, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

After Sunak’s washout on ‘Drowning St’, here comes a wipeout

GENERAL ELECTION SPECIAL: Our in-house psephological expert, WALTER CRONXITE, looks at Croydon’s new constituencies and the uncertain political prospects for some come July 4 With a sodden Prime Minister running away from letters of no confidence from his own party’s … Continue reading

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Anthony Boutall, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Claire Bonham, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Elaine Garrod, Gavin Barwell, Jason Cummings, Marley King, Natasha Irons, Richard Howard, Sarah Jones MP, Scott Ainslie, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Toss-cars 2024: We name Croydon’s most work-shy councillors

IT’S TOSS-CAR TIME Now is the time when Inside Croydon can reveal those councillors who really couldn’t give a toss, the ones who have done least to hold Mayor Perry, chief exec Katherine Kerswell and their officials to account, or … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Norbury Park, Richard Chatterjee, Scott Roche, Shirley North, Shirley South, Sue Bennett | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments