Recent Comments
Arfur Towcrate on Giant PubCo seeking new manage… Sarah Hartman on Giant PubCo seeking new manage… Jen Heward-Mills on Coulsdon temple’s 16 pil… Hum on BID’s latest town centre… Sarah Hartman on Perry’s ‘comedy… Ian Kierans on Perry’s ‘comedy…
Category Archives: Hamida Ali
Council looks to second postponement of budget meeting
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Town Hall chiefs still trying to negotiate another multi-million-pound government bail-out, with time running out to issue 136,000 Council Tax notices. By STEVEN DOWNES The council is on the brink of crashing into bankruptcy, unable to set … Continue reading
Posted in Adult Social Care, Business, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Richard Ennis, Tony McArdle
Tagged Council Tax, Croydon Council, Department for Levelling Up, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Michael Gove, Tony McArdle
Leave a comment
Going, going… Labour council flogs off parkland for £600,000
The toxic legacy of Alison Butler, Hamida Ali, Tony Newman and the rest of his numpties was hammered home this morning, with an auctioneer’s gavel. Heath Lodge, the long-neglected park keeper’s cottage in Grangewood Park, Thornton Heath, was sold by … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Business, Callton Young, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Grangewood Park, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Karen Jewitt, Pat Clouder, Thornton Heath
Tagged Alison Butler, Callton Young, Croydon, Croydon Council, Friends of Grangewood Park, Grangewood Park, Heath Lodge, Jo Negrini, Labour, Steve Reed OBE, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
6 Comments
Crisis-hit council hires fourth housing director in a year
Croydon Council has announced the appointment of Susmita Sen to the role of corporate director of housing. Recruitment ads for the post at the cash-strapped local authority offered a salary of up to £150,547. Sen is the fourth top exec … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Knight, Croydon Council, David Padfield, Hamida Ali, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Housing Revenue Account, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Regina Road, Social Housing Regulator, South Norwood, Susmita Sen
1 Comment
Expelled! Labour councillor lines up independent campaign
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: The local party’s hate-hate relationship with one of its most experienced and capable councillors has finally been brought to an end. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES Andrew Pelling, a Labour councillor for Waddon ward since 2014, has … Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Pelling, Hamida Ali, Joy Prince, Robert Canning, Tony Newman, Waddon
7 Comments
Labour group’s response to £73m scandal? Sack the auditors!
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Having been caught out with another multi-million-pound scandal, the councillors who have been running the Town Hall for the past eight years have now decided to pass the buck to accountants Grant Thornton. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Karen Jewitt, Labour, Paul Scott, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
7 Comments
Labour to sack councillor who voted against benefit cuts
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: The Tony Newman-led vendetta against one of his own council group seems set to reach a bitter conclusion this week when Andrew Pelling looks likely to have the whip removed for daring to vote in the … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Hamida Ali, Joy Prince, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Croydon, Croydon South, Joel Bodmer, Labour, Paul Scott, Robert Canning, Steve Reed OBE, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman, Waddon
13 Comments
Council faces new storm over ‘missing’ £73m housing money
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Auditors are refusing to sign-off the Town Hall accounts because of missing millions from a complex nexus of housing companies, which could force the council to tip over the edge into bankruptcy for a second time in … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, S114, Section 114, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
21 Comments
Halls of shame: Butler and Scott referred to council legal chief
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: Leading figures in the council’s financial crash failed to declare any interests before taking part in vote against calling in the police to investigate possible fraud at the Fairfield Halls. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Labour councillors … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, John Jones, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, John Jones, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Tony Newman
5 Comments
Hibberd handed key economic job as exec hiring continues
One of the directors recruited at Croydon this week has a track record that saw him blamed by the trades unions in Brighton for his part in causing a damaging bins strike last year While most of what’s left of … Continue reading
£67m fraud at Fairfield: Town Hall row over calling in police
CRISIS SPECIAL: The council’s most senior legal official wants to check the £70m Fairfield fiasco for fraud, but the borough’s Labour councillors don’t want to call in the police, yet their leader says she has already reported it to the … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Chris Clark, College Green, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Felicity Flynn, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, John Jones, Lisa Taylor, Lynne Hale, Mott MacDonald, Oliver Lewis, Paul Scott, Planning, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Robert Ward, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Labour, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Robert Ward, Sarah Ironmonger, STUART KING, Tony Newman, Tory
24 Comments
Sorry saga when asking questions was called ‘troublemaking’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Those found responsible for the £67.5m shambles of a refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls should not be allowed to get away ‘scot-free’, says ANDREW PELLING Once they are elected on May 5, Croydon’s new executive Mayor needs … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Alison Butler, Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Labour, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross
18 Comments
Tories miss chance to call for police action over Fairfield fiasco
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on the latest fall-out from the £37m overspend on the arts venue as the borough’s councillors – Tory as well as Labour – appear reluctant to turn their old mates over to the police The council … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Perry, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Shifa Mustafa, South Croydon, Tony Newman, Tory
1 Comment
Negrini and execs ‘failed to ensure council was acting lawfully’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: An auditors’ report into the ‘shoddy’ deal that handed the Fairfield Halls refurbishment to loss-making builders Brick by Brick hints at potential fraud and accuses senior officials of large-scale negligence. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor Some … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, College Green, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Paul Scott, Planning, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, Sarah Ironmonger, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
17 Comments
Boxpark’s £3m+ in council loans and grants under Newman
CROYDON IN CRISIS: While benefits to the borough’s most vulnerable are being cut, pools are being shut down and public services axed, the council has continued to hand out a juicy annual grant to a multi-million-pound business. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN … Continue reading
Posted in Boxpark, Business, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman
Tagged Boozepark, Boxpark, Croydon, Croydon Council, East Croydon station, Jo Negrini, Labour, Roger Wade, Tony Newman
3 Comments
Kerswell gets her fourth council finance chief in 12 months
Council correspondent KEN LEE reports on the latest bit of empire-building going on at Fisher’s Folly Croydon’s cash-strapped council, which over the past 18 months has been handing out P45s willy-nilly to hundreds of the low-paid front-line workers who grafted … Continue reading
Council’s tax benefit cuts are ‘Dickensian’ and ‘discriminatory’
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Now the council’s discredited leadership has the gall to claim that 80% of the borough’s residents support their arse-covering move to cut benefits from the poor, the disabled and elderly. By STEVEN DOWNES Croydon’s Labour-run council has … Continue reading
Inside Croydon’s Person of the Year 2021: Fransoy Hewitt
Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, Inside Croydon, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood
Tagged Axis, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fransoy Hewitt, Hamida Ali, Inside Croydon, Inside Croydon Person of the Year, ITV News, Regina Road, Sarah O'Connell, Soouth Norwood, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE
3 Comments
Croydon 2021: voter apathy, petrol queues and dodgy deals
DID WE HAVE NEWS FOR YOU: In our final instalment of our annual review of the stories that attracted the most attention in 2021, we reach the season of missed opportunities and not much fruitfulness, as far as Croydon Labour … Continue reading
Posted in 2021 Mayor Referendum, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Paul Scott, Planning, Sean Fitzsimons, Steve Reed MP, Stuart King, Tony Newman, Wendy's
Tagged 2022 Mayoral election, Brick by Brick, coronavirus, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Mayor, Croydon Mayoral election 2022, Croydon Park Hotel, Democratically Elected Mayor of Croydon, Fairfield Halls, Jo Negrini, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Steve Reed OBE, STUART KING, Terrapin Group, Tony Newman, Westfield
1 Comment
De-selected councillor Pelling: ‘This is damaging my health’
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: The target of an anti-democratic disciplinary process has made it clear that his party’s pursuit of him is damaging him, while further de-selections of council candidates are threatened. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Andrew Pelling, the Labour … Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Andrew Pelling, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Waddon
Tagged Andrew Pelling, Croydon, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Joel Bodmer, Labour, Local Campaign Forum, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Val Shawcross, Waddon
9 Comments
Croydon 2021: a tale of lockdowns, let-downs and meltdowns
DID WE HAVE NEWS FOR YOU: Croydon entered 2021 as a bankrupt borough, yet there was worse still to come. Inside Croydon has been there, reporting on every twist and turn of events around the cash-strapped council as it entered … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Rachel Flowers, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Report in the Public Interest, Simon Hall, South Norwood Community Kitchen, Stuart King, Tony Newman
Tagged #Binmageddon, Alison Butler, coronavirus, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Fransoy Hewitt, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Peter Bingle, Regina Road, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, STUART KING, Terrapin Group, Tony Newman
4 Comments
Scrooge-like council shuts voluntary food hub at Christmas
While dozens of voluntary groups and community organisations have been doing their bit to help the borough’s most vulnerable through the second pandemic Christmas, budget cuts at cash-strapped Croydon Council have seen their own voluntary sector organisation forced to shut … Continue reading
Pelling banned by Labour for daring to speak to Inside Croydon
CROYDON LABOUR IN CRISIS: ‘It’s not about justice, it is about Labour Party rules. It’s not a court of law.’ That’s what one official said, apparently seriously, as the purge continues with potentially ruinous consequences for the party come polling … Continue reading
Nine months on and council tenants are still being ignored
CROYDON IN CRISIS: If 2020 was Croydon Council’s year of Negreedy and bankruptcy, 2021 has been the year of leaks, mould and a local authority exposed as incompetent and uncaring about those living in its properties. And there are worrying … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Alison Knight, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Housing, London-wide issues, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood, Steve Reed MP, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Daniel Hewitt, Fransoy Hewitt, Hamida Ali, ITV News, Labour, News At Ten, Regina Road, Sarah O'Connell, South Norwood, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman
4 Comments
Kerswell culls 58 more jobs as council wrestles with budget
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Struggling to cut another £38m from its already trimmed spending, council chiefs’ response is to make more frontline workers redundant. By our Town Hall correspondent, KEN LEE Croydon’s cash-strapped council is struggling to make the further multi-million-pound … Continue reading
Council to be rocked by second Report In The Public Interest
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The £70m ‘Fairfield fiasco’ has provoked serious concerns with auditors over the potential misuse of public money, with bungling developers Brick by Brick under scrutiny. EXCLUSIVE By STEVEN DOWNES External auditors are to issue a Report In … Continue reading
Posted in Art, Ashcroft Theatre, Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Hamida Ali, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Paula Murray, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Shifa Mustafa, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, London, Oliver Lewis, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, RIPI, Tony Newman
5 Comments
