Category Archives: Maria Gatland

Friends group opposes works to restore Croham Hurst after fire

Posted on April 21, 2019 by

Those not working this Bank Holiday Monday in the fine weather forecasted might want to take their recreation on the top of Croham Hurst, especially with the cooling tree cover on the route from the Croham valley. After the hard … Continue reading →

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Posted in Croham Hurst, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Croham Hurst Woods, Maria Gatland, South Croydon, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fire brigade on stand-by for fire risk at Croydon beauty spot

Posted on July 20, 2018 by

There’s growing concerns, ahead of another hot and dry weekend, for the safety of a Croydon beauty spot from fires, coupled with mounting anger at the carelessness and “eco-vandalism” of some who might be planning to hold barbecues at Croham … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon parks, Environment, London Fire Brigade, Maria Gatland, South Croydon, Wildlife | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Large sections of Croham Hurst left scarred after day-long fires

Posted on July 1, 2018 by

Firefighters are on standby today to dampen down the embers after fire left a large part of Croham Hurst charred and blackened. Three fire engines attended the Site of Special Scientific Interest for most of yesterday, as a bush fire … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon parks, London Fire Brigade, Maria Gatland, South Croydon, Wildlife | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Councillor appeals to public to avoid fire risk at Croham Hurst

Posted on June 25, 2018 by

With the London Weather Centre already declaring this month the driest June since records began, a councillor in South Croydon has appealed to the public not to light fires or barbecues in one of the area’s most sensitive natural open … Continue reading →

Posted in Croham Hurst, Croydon parks, Environment, Maria Gatland, South Croydon, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Council failure over children’s services becomes election issue

Posted on April 29, 2018 by

ELECTION COUNTDOWN: The local Tories are suspicious over the sudden banning of a senior councillor from a key social services improvement board meeting. WALTER CRONXITE reports For Labour in Croydon, it has been the issue that they dare not mention … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Maria Gatland, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pollard’s manifesto makes election a question of honesty

Posted on April 6, 2018 by

ELECTION COUNTDOWN: Four years ago, the Conservatives in Croydon demonstrated their contempt for the electorate by not even bothering with a manifesto. This time round, as political editor WALTER CRONXITE reports, what they have produced is simply not very credible … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", 2018 council elections, Alison Butler, Bernard Weatherill House, Boxpark, Brick by Brick, Carillion, Chris Philp MP, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, Jason Perry, Libraries, Maria Gatland, Michael Neal, Mike Fisher, Paul Scott, Planning, Purley, Shirley, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Waste incinerator, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council approves £30m school – despite 5,000 surplus places

Posted on February 19, 2018 by

GENE BRODIE, our education correspondent, provides lessons in arithmetic and reading comprehension for Croydon Council, after it cleared the way for the first selective state school in the borough for more than 40 years Croydon Council has removed Green Belt … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Coombe Wood School, Croydon Council, Education, Maria Gatland, Paul Scott, Planning, Schools, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

DfE sends in Camden officials to assist with children’s services

Posted on January 3, 2018 by

The press release issued by council leader Tony Newman just before Christmas proclaiming success in turning around Croydon’s failing children’s services department turns out to have been the epitome of “fake news”. Others might be less charitable, and more accurate, … Continue reading →

Posted in Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Maria Gatland, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Speakman speaks truth to the council’s powers-that-be

Posted on November 2, 2017 by

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on a rare outburst of straight talking among our Town Hall elected representatives “Thank goodness someone finally had the courage to say it,” one very senior Labour councillor confided after Monday night’s full council meeting … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018 council elections, Alison Butler, Croydon Council, Donald Speakman, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Oliver Lewis, Patsy Cummings, Phil Thomas, Purley, South Croydon, South Norwood, Stuart Collins, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Croydon’s leadership may be resigned to change at the top

Posted on September 19, 2017 by

WALTER CRONXITE, our political editor, on last night’s potentially defining meeting of the council The body language spoke volumes. There, sitting behind council leader Tony Newman, the Labour councillors’ heads were down, the arms folded. Facing unremitting questioning after Ofsted … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Mike Fisher, Phil Thomas, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon’s Ofsted crisis: This is too important for politics

Posted on September 18, 2017 by

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The children’s services report is the greatest crisis to confront the council since the riots six years ago. Except, says STEVEN DOWNES, it is just the local reflection of a national collapse of social work “This is too … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018 council elections, Barbara Peacock, Children's Services, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Maria Gatland, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Commission draws the line under Newman’s bid for control

Posted on July 4, 2017 by

Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on how an effort to shore-up Town Hall power through boundary changes has left Croydon’s Labour leadership even more dependent on Jeremy Corbyn, the party leader many of them tried to oust The Local Government Boundary … Continue reading →

Posted in 2018 council elections, Addiscombe West, Andrew Rendle, Ashburton, Croydon Council, David Wood, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Helen Pollard, Kenley, Maddie Henson, Maria Gatland, New Addington, Paul Scott, Selhurst, South Croydon, Stephen Mann, Steve O'Connell, Sue Winborn, Tim Pollard, Timothy Godfrey, Toni Letts, Tony Newman, Vidhi Mohan, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

£180m Fairfield operator contract is called-in for scrutiny

Posted on April 19, 2017 by

Fifteen Conservative councillors signed official forms to call-in the decision to award the operator contract for the Fairfield Halls, a move which some fear might delay the appointment process, and others have described as petty political point-scoring. The matter will … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Chris Philp MP, Chris Wright, Donald Speakman, Dudley Mead, Fairfield, Fairfield Halls, Gavin Barwell, Helen Pollard, James Thompson, Jan Buttinger, Jason Cummings, Jeet Bains, Lynne Hale, Margaret Mead, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Sean Fitzsimons, Tim Pollard, Timothy Godfrey, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Council returns £250,000 pupil premium and doesn’t know why

Posted on August 1, 2016 by

Cash-strapped Croydon Council sent back nearly £250,000 of education funding unspent to Government last year. The cash represents almost one-quarter of Croydon’s pupil premium, intended for some of the borough’s most in-need children. And probably most worrying of all, when … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Croydon Council, Education, Maria Gatland, Schools, Sean Fitzsimons, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Purley Tory Speakman’s Labour past emerges 50 years on

Posted on March 28, 2016 by

March 31 this year will be the 50th anniversary of the 1966 General Election, when Harold Wilson’s Labour enjoyed a landslide victory over the Conservatives. The BBC has been marking the occasion with a day-long transmission of their election night … Continue reading →

Posted in Donald Speakman, Maria Gatland, Purley | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Borough’s North-South divide and riddle of the 39 pitches

Posted on December 16, 2015 by

WALTER CRONXITE finally gets his hands on a hard copy of the council’s Local Plan and finds that its sub-title is “How to hand a political advantage to the opposition” Spite and pettiness by local politicians has seen another own … Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Broad Green, Business, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Environment, Gardening, Gavin Barwell, Heathfield, Housing, Jason Perry, Lloyd Park, Maria Gatland, Planning, Sarah Jones MP, South Croydon, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

96 days to go and councillors’ self-interest is showing

Posted on January 31, 2015 by

Have you had someone with a rosette knock at your door yet? You will, says WALTER CRONXITE, you will. Though how the tax-payers of Croydon will benefit from one of the longest election campaigns in history is questionable Fed up … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 General Election, Addiscombe West, Chris Wright, Croydon Central, Dudley Mead, Eddy Arram, Gavin Barwell, Helen Pollard, Jan Buttinger, Jason Cummings, Jason Perry, Louisa Woodley, Maggie Mansell, Malcolm Wicks MP, Margaret Mead, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Mark Watson, Patricia Hay-Justice, Robert Canning, Sara Bashford, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Hollands, Tim Pollard, Timothy Godfrey, Tony Newman, Wayne Lawlor, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council backs developers to allow Croham flat conversions

Posted on December 24, 2014 by

Inside Croydon Towers received the following letter in its bulging sack of mail this week. It is a damning account of how Croydon Council’s attitude to planning protection is affecting residents’ lives adversely I moved from Wallington to Croydon in … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Jason Perry, Maria Gatland, Michael Neal, Planning, Richard Ottaway MP, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Own goals galore scored on Croydon’s school playing fields

Posted on December 4, 2014 by

WALTER CRONXITE recounts the unedifying clusterfuck that has engulfed the Labour-run council over its development plans. Which they say that they don’t have Croydon’s Conservative councillors are predicting that Simon Hall’s days as a member of Labour’s front-bench team are … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 council elections, 2015 General Election, Alisa Flemming, Croydon Council, Environment, Heathfield, Jason Cummings, Julie Belvir, Maria Gatland, Nathan Elvery, Phil Thomas, Planning, Sara Bashford, Schools, Shasha Khan, Simon Hall, Tim Pollard, Tony Newman, Waste incinerator, Whitgift Foundation, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Friends environmental group to receive Queen’s award

Posted on October 28, 2014 by

The Friends of Croham Hurst Woods will be celebrating a prize-winning year at their annual meeting next month, when they will be presented with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. The doughty band of residents who each month spend at … Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Environment, Friends of Croham Hurst Woods, Maria Gatland, South Croydon, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Three children go missing while in Croydon Council care

Posted on October 14, 2014 by

Three children have gone missing in the past month while in the care of Croydon Council. The news of the children’s disappearances came in a written answer from Alisa Flemming, the council cabinet member for children, families and learning, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Crime, Croydon Council, Maria Gatland | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Exclusive: John Loony wins Tory election (sort of). At last

Posted on September 11, 2014 by

After a political career that started in failure (to misquote Enoch Powell), John Cartwright has at last won a public vote. Cartwright, after spending 20 years contesting every possible election in Croydon as John Loony, the Official Monster Raving Loony … Continue reading →

Posted in Dudley Mead, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Heathfield, Helen Pollard, Maria Gatland, Mike Fisher, Phil Thomas, Riesco Collection, Sanderstead, South Croydon, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

And they’re off! Betting hots up on Croydon’s Tory leadership

Posted on September 2, 2014 by

Sources on Katharine Street have told Inside Croydon that bets are already being laid as to who will be the next leader of the Conservative group on Croydon Council. It seems odds-on that Mike Fisher will stand down as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Dudley Mead, Gavin Barwell, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Mike Fisher, Phil Thomas, Sara Bashford, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Farage is right” says Croydon Conservative MP’s hired gofer

Posted on August 22, 2014 by

A leading member of the Conservative party in Croydon, and the Westminster assistant to a Tory MP in a marginal seat with a significant Muslim population, has backed UKIP’s Nigel Farage. Mario Creatura, who is paid up to £33,000 per … Continue reading →

Posted in 2015 General Election, Coulsdon, Coulsdon West, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, South Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

How Croydon Tories were trumped by more ideas and activists

Posted on June 2, 2014 by

COUNCILLOR ANDREW PELLING looks ahead to tomorrow evening’s formal Town Hall occasion which will herald the beginning of a new municipal year, and a new council administration I am looking forward to tomorrow’s annual meeting of the council. It’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in 2014 council elections, 2015 General Election, Addiscombe West, Andrew Pelling, Clare Hilley, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Fairfield, Gavin Barwell, Heathfield, Margaret Mead, Maria Gatland, Mike Fisher, Simon Hoar, Tony Newman, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments