Recent Comments
charlyjonesy on Polls tighten in Town Hall rac… derekthrower on Keir Starmer’s niece is… Alan Malarkey on Planning control has got worse… Ev Quistorff on Polls tighten in Town Hall rac… insidecroydon on Polls tighten in Town Hall rac… Christopher Myers on Polls tighten in Town Hall rac…
Category Archives: Woodside
Owner Ansari seeks to avoid Leslie Arms planning conditions
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Since 2000, a multi-millionaire property developer has been allowing a Grade II-listed pub to decay. Now, he wants to change the conditions of his latest planning permission. KEN LEE, Town Hall reporter, on the sorry tale of … Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Leslie Arms, Planning, Property, Pubs, Tony Newman, Uncategorized
Tagged AA Homes, Addiscombe, Addiscombe West, Anwar Ansari, Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, Croydon Council, Dogs attack, Dr Anwar Ansari, English Heritage, Kangal, Labour, Landlord licensing, Leslie Arms, Lloyd Park, Lower Addiscombe Road, Sadiq Khan, Sir Sadiq Khan, The Victorian Society, Tony Newman, Turkish Kangal, Yvette Cooper
16 Comments
Trebles all-round! Kerswell’s nominated herself for an award
CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council still has debts of £1.4bn, or more, but that won’t stop a select few execs attending a gala event at a Mayfair hotel next week, where tables cost up to £5,000 and our bureaucrats are … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony Newman, Veolia
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Grosvenor House Hotel, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, LGC, Local Government Chronicle, Local Government Chronicle Awards, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Tony Newman, Tory
11 Comments
All change at Boxpark as they appoint Farrell as ‘growth officer’
The company behind Boozepark at East Croydon has appointed Michelle Farrell as its first “chief growth officer”. “It makes her sound like she’s in charge of verrucas and warts,” according to one punter stepping into the Croydon venue this morning. … Continue reading
Posted in Boxpark, Business, Jo Negrini, Tony Newman
Tagged Boozepark, Boxpark, Croydon, Jo Negrini, LDC, Matt Snell, Michelle Farrell, Roger Wade, Tony Newman
9 Comments
Now Perry wants to axe school safety patrols to save £58,000
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Without any debate or discussion at the Town Hall, the Tory Mayor is trying to sneak through cuts which some fear will put thousands of children’s safety at risk on a daily basis. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Claire Bonham, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Mayor Jason Perry, Norbury Manor, Orchard Park High, Rowenna Davis, Ryelands Primary and Nursery, Schools, Selsdon and Addington Village, Waddon, Woodside
Tagged Cllr Claire Bonham, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Monks Orchard, Norbury, Selsdon, South Norwood, Tory, Woodside
8 Comments
Agent on a mission overlooks Coulsdon Tories’ dark secret
It is just over a year until Croydon goes to the polls in its second Mayoral election, and the local Tories already seem up for the fight. But leading the way for them is a paid gofer who struggles to … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Council Tax, Croydon South, Ian Parker, Mario Creatura, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Chris Philp MP, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Conservative, Coulsdon, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Ian Parker, Labour, Mayor Jason Perry, Peter Morgan, Tony Newman, Tory
9 Comments
Party bosses criticised over bungled Mayor candidate selection
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, on the grumblings of disaffection among ‘loyal’ Labour members in Croydon What’s left of Labour’s membership in Croydon, even those described as being part of the “loyal mainstream”, are getting increasingly unhappy with the way the … Continue reading
Posted in Croydon East, Simon Hall, Tony Newman
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Croydon East CLP, Labour, London, Simon Hall, Tony Newman, Woodside
6 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, 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 Brick by Brick, Cllr Rowenna Davis, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Evans, Fieldway, Jo Negrini, Labour, Lord Evans of Penge, Mayor Jason Perry, New Addington, Simon Hall, Steve Reed OBE, Tony Newman, Tory, Woodside
23 Comments
82% of Labour members back Davis as 2026 Mayor candidate
The 2026 Croydon Mayoral contest began in earnest today when Labour finally got round to naming their chosen candidate EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor To the surprise of absolutely nobody – except perhaps Manju Shahul-Hameed – Rowenna Davis has … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Tony Newman, Tory, Waddon
11 Comments
Labour blocks members from questioning mayoral candidates
Our Political Editor, WALTER CRONXITE, sneaked in at the back of Labour’s Zoom room last night to discover what the party’s 2026 mayoral candidates might have to offer to the people of Croydon, and found himself in a dystopian bonus … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Anonyvoter, Broad Green, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Evans, Keir Starmer, Labour, Labour London Region, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Severance, Tony Newman, Tory, Waddon
8 Comments
Labour sticks with Anonyvoter to choose its mayor candidate
Labour’s inexplicably delayed selection process to choose a candidate to run for Croydon Mayor in 2026 enters its final stages tomorrow, but without the party holding a single in-person selection meeting with the pair of wannabes, councillors Rowenna Davis and … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Anonyvoter, Broad Green, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Labour London Region, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Tory, Waddon
3 Comments
‘We need a Mayor who puts people first’ says Labour’s Davis
Rowenna Davis has emerged as the front-runner in the race for selection to be Labour’s candidate for next year’s Croydon mayoral elections. A councillor for Waddon since 2022, Davis announced over the weekend that she has been shortlisted in her … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Tony Newman, Tory, Waddon
25 Comments
Newman Numpty could seek Labour pick as Mayor candidate
EXCLUSIVE: In 2021, one councillor seeking to be chosen as her party’s candidate for elected Mayor ran a campaign with the slogan: ‘I can do more for the people I care about’. What might be her catchphrase be in 2025? … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Broad Green, Croydon Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Tony Newman, Waddon
Tagged Alan Patridge, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Scrutiny committee, Tony Newman, Tory, Waddon
5 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 2025 Council budget, Claire Bonham, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Jason Cummings, Kola Agboola, Labour, Liberal Democrats, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Rowenna Davis, STUART KING, Tory
5 Comments
Accountancy watchdog moves in on officials from Woking
After almost five years, not a single person in Croydon has ever been held responsible for their parts in the council’s financial collapse, the scandal of Brick by Brick or the Fairfield Halls refurbishment fiasco. But in Surrey, two former … Continue reading
Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Financial Reporting Council, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Kroll, Kroll Report, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Penn Report, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, RIPI2, Simon Hall, The Kroll Report, The Penn Report, Tory, Woking Borough Council, Woking Council
9 Comments
News black-out after Labour Party suspends Assembly Member
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Unmesh Desai, the London Assembly Member for The City and East London, has been suspended by the Labour Party following what was initially reported as “a police investigation into a serious allegation”. A spokesperson for the … Continue reading
MP Reed claims those who left borough broke ‘have now gone’
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, checks the ‘facts’ where other local news outlets dare not look Steve Reed OBE, the MP who was Labour’s front bench spokesperson on local government at the time that the council for the area he is … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon North, David Evans, Environment, Fairfield Halls, Lambeth Council, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Sean Fitzsimons, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Clive Fraser, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Croydon Park Hotel, David Evans, Fairfield Halls, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott, Sean Fitzsimons, Simon Hall, Steve Reed OBE, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony Newman
8 Comments
Lord Evans of Penge completes clique’s stranglehold of Labour
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE gives his crystal ball a polish after one of his easier predictions came to pass Friday’s announcement of another raft of political peerages was the latest move to consolidate a takeover of the Labour Party by … Continue reading
Posted in David Evans, Lambeth Council, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Croydon, Croydon Council, David Evans, House of Lords, Imogen Walker, Keir Starmer, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Morgan McSweeney, Simon Hall, Steve Reed OBE, Sue Gray, The Campaign Company, Tony Newman
2 Comments
Negrini doctored specialist reports and withheld finance details
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Investigators from Kroll never had investigatory powers to check people’s bank accounts in the search for possible fraud over the £73m refurbishment of the Fairfield Halls. But there was evidence in the public domain of ‘direct personal … Continue reading
Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Arup, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Kroll, Kroll Report, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Mott MacDonald, Penn Report, Project Dillon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, RIPI2, The Kroll Report, The Penn Report, Tory, Vinci, Vinci Construction UK Ltd
15 Comments
Kroll Report provides no answers to £73m Fairfield fiasco
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Jo Negrini refused to be interviewed, all Colm Lacey’s emails got wiped and former cabinet members Newman, Scott, Butler and Hall were never spoken to in person as part of the £310,000 investigation. By STEVEN DOWNES Late … Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Business, College Green, Colm Lacey, Crime, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman
Tagged Alisa Flemming, Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Council, Fairfield Halls, Grant Thornton, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Kroll, Kroll Report, Labour, Lisa Taylor, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Mott MacDonald, Paul Scott, Penn Report, Project Dillon, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI, RIPI2, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Kroll Report, The Penn Report, Tony Newman, Tory, Vinci, Vinci Construction UK Ltd
13 Comments
Manchester Mayor can’t provide answers to Croydon problems
WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the early start to the 2026 local election campaign Croydon’s 2026 mayoral election campaign is well and truly underway – and the Labour Party has not even started its candidate selection process yet. In a … Continue reading
Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Council Tax, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Rowenna Davis, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony Newman
Tagged Andy Burnham, Callton Young, Conservative, Council Tax, Croydon, Croydon Council, Labour, London, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Rowenna Davis, Steve Reed OBE, STUART KING, Tory, Waddon
2 Comments
Davis quits scrutiny to be Labour pick as mayor candidate
EXCLUSIVE: Labour councillor for Waddon ward stands down from council committee role, with 2026 local elections as a target. By STEVEN DOWNES The starting gun on the campaign for election as Croydon Mayor in 2026 was fired this afternoon, as … Continue reading
Labour Party chief’s consultancy business is in deep trouble
EXCLUSIVE: Might the failure of David Evans’s Croydon-based business offer some clues to the effectiveness, or otherwise, of his time running the party machine for Keir Starmer? By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE Whatever might be planned by David Evans … Continue reading
Arena’s stand remains shut – 6 months after Perry’s ‘delight’
Football supporters turning up for Croydon FC’s Bank Holiday Monday fixture at Croydon Arena last weekend exposed another of Mayor Perry’s porkies. The council-owned sports stadium has its main stand and toilets out-of-bounds to the public, almost six months since … Continue reading
Posted in Athletics, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Football, Mayor Jason Perry, South Norwood, Sport, Woodside
Tagged Better, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Arena, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Greenwich Leisure, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Perry's porkies, Tory
15 Comments
Splash and purge: just another five weeks of campaigning to go
It started with a damp squib, but as the days have passed, the campaign has got steadily murkier. ANDREW FISHER assesses the first week of the 2024 General Election A week ago, in a wet Downing Street, Rishi Sunak, the … Continue reading
Watch out Michael Gove! Croydon Labour are coming for you!
The ink on the formal declaration of her election as a councillor for Woodside was barely dry before the names of one favoured Labour member was popping up as a parliamentary candidate. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor Jess Rich has … Continue reading
