Mayday! Hospital under lock down after ‘chemical’ incident

Posted on April 4, 2024 by insidecroydon

Two police officers treated for exposure to dangerous substance after emergency services called to early morning incident in Thornton Heath

Busy morning in A&E: Croydon’s main hospital has been at the centre of an emergency

Croydon’s main NHS hospital was locked down briefly earlier today following an incident in the early hours in which a woman “swallowed poison”, and two police officers who attended the incident are being treated for “chemical exposure”.

London Road at Thornton Heath, outside Croydon University Hospital, was closed to traffic and several bus routes diverted for several hours this morning as emergency services dealt with the situation. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon NHS Trust, Health, Mayday Hospital, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Don’t panic! MP Philp could lose seat in Tory election wipe-out

Posted on April 4, 2024 by insidecroydon

By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE

On the retreat: Chris Philp has started describing himself as ‘an active local MP’

Inside Croydon’s long-dormant mole inside Croydon Tories’ headquarters in Purley (it’s been an especially long winter, even for small furry creatures that don’t usually hibernate) reports having been rudely awoken by the sound of property investment multi-millionaire Chris Philp running around the house shouting, “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!”

Our mole reckons that the sudden flurry of activity, mainly Philp stamping his feet like a spoilt four-year-old, occurred shortly after yesterday’s edition of the Evening Boris dropped on the doormat, with headline polling figures predicting a near-complete wipeout of Conservative MPs in London – including in previously true-blue Croydon South. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 General Election, Andrew Pelling, Ben Taylor, Chris Philp MP, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, London-wide issues, Paul Scully MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

Murder investigation follows New Addington body discovery

Posted on April 4, 2024 by insidecroydon

Preliminary tests conducted by a forensic anthropologist yesterday confirmed that the body parts discovered in a New Addington park this week are human, as the Metropolitan Police launched a murder inquiry.

The body parts – some reports suggest a human hand – were discovered on Tuesday morning in Rowdown Field, a park just a short distance away from two schools: Addington Valley Academy and Applegarth Academy.

Both schools are closed for the Easter break, as police homicide teams moved into the park yesterday, taping off large sections as a crime scene. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, New Addington, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sign the petition today to save Shirley Heath for the public

Posted on April 3, 2024 by insidecroydon

Addington Hills in bloom: this is a tract of land that The Addington Golf Club wants to take over, claiming it is ‘unmanaged’ – which is not actually true

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Our exclusive news report yesterday of a bid by one of the country’s best-known golf clubs to take over public land from the council has been greeted with widespread disgust.
Here, PETER UNDERWOOD, local conservationist and Green Party election candidate, pictured left, outlines his objections to the proposal, and launches a public petition

The plans for The Addington Golf Club to take control over and fence off our public spaces just so they can build a driving range on Shirley Heath for their private members’ club must be stopped.

One of the wonderful things about living in Croydon is being able to visit our amazing parks, woodlands and green spaces. We use them to go for a walk, run or cycle. We walk the dog and take the children to a place where they can run around. And we use them as a place to connect with nature and get away from the noise and concrete in other parts of Croydon.

One of the bad things about Croydon is that we are constantly having to fight off threats ruin those green spaces.

Continue reading →

Posted in Addington, Addington Hills, Addington Residents' Association, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Golf, Peter Underwood, Property, Selsdon and Addington Village, Shirley Heath, Sport, The Addington GC, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Government blocks public inquiry into collapse of councils

Posted on April 3, 2024 by insidecroydon

Any suspicion that the Establishment that controls local and national government doesn’t want the public to find out about the shady deals that go on in Town Halls up and down the land will have been confirmed with the news that a Tory minister has blocked calls for a public inquiry into one of the worst bankruptcies ever seen at a local authority.

A petition signed by 1,500 Thurrock residents and backed by calls from politicians from three major parties has been rejected by the Conservative Government, denying the opportunity for a quasi-legal investigation into how a council with an annual budget of around £150million managed to rack up a deficit in a single year of £470million.

And in doing so, also denying an opportunity to present vital evidence to show the damage done to local government in this country by 14 years of Tory austerity. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Outside Croydon, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

How the ‘Mighty’ have fallen: relegation haunts rugby clubs

Posted on April 3, 2024 by insidecroydon

On the charge: Old Walcountians’ No8 Ollie Dodwell (with ball) provided some much-needed ‘go forward’ in his side’s 25-5 win over Kingston

RUGBY ROUND-UP: After ill-tempered local derby clashes which had more cards than Christmas, and a revised formula for relegation that would leave Einstein confused, JOHNNY DOBBYN pulls on his flanker’s jersey, right, for the final time this season to preview this Saturday’s crunch fixtures

It had been building up for weeks as a match with much more at stake than simple local bragging rights. Only in the last fortnight or so have the blazers at the RFU offered more clarity about the relegation prospects facing our leading local rugby clubs that we now know – at least, we think we know – that Saturday’s last game of the league season at Lime Meadow Avenue between Trinity and Old Walcountians won’t now determine whether either club gets relegated.

Derby games always have an added “edge” – see what happened between Purley John Fisher and Warlingham below – but this last-gasp game of the season appeared to have its status affected by events that occurred hundreds of miles away, and to a club playing in a rugby division seven or eight tiers above Walcs and Trinity. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon RFC, Old Mid-Whitgiftians/Trinity RFC, Old Walcountians, Old Whitgiftians, Purley-John Fisher, Rugby Union, Sport, Streatham-Croydon RFC, Warlingham RFC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Met investigates ‘human remains’ found in New Addington park

Posted on April 3, 2024 by insidecroydon

Forensic detectives from the Metropolitan Police have begun an investigation into what has been described as “possible human remains” that were discovered yesterday morning in a park in New Addington.

Rowdown Fields, off Lodge Lane, the site of the gruesome discovery, is just a few hundred yards from two local schools.

Police remained at the scene overnight as the remains were sent away for analysis. The discovery was reported to police yesterday morning.

“We are aware of the concerns within the local community following the discovery of possible human remains in the Croydon area this morning,” a police spokesperson said. Continue reading →

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Suspicions raised over golf club’s Addington Hills ‘land grab’

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

Tee with a view: The Addington golf course is renowned for its tough par 3s and outstanding views over London

Multi-million-pound sports business that needs to provide its members with a practice range is seeking to annex 15 acres of Shirley Heath in a deal with Croydon Council. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

A world-famous golf club which charges almost £2,000 just to become a member has held discussions with Croydon Council on what has been described by conservationists as a “land grab” of parts of Addington Hills and Shirley Heath public open space.

The proposals from The Addington Golf Club are “privatisation by stealth”, according to one source.

An official from a wildlife organisation has described the golf club’s plans as being typical of “development proposals that seek to damage or remove areas of nature conservation importance”.

Residents fear that Croydon’s cash-strapped council will be a soft touch for The Addington’s platitudinous proposals, which include turning six hectares (15 acres) of public open space on Shirley Heath into a golf driving range and irrigation pond.

“Our council don’t seem to care what happens as long as it means more money for them,” one said. Continue reading →

Posted in Addington, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Golf, Peter Underwood, Planning, Property, Ryan Noades, Selsdon and Addington Village, The Addington GC, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Central Parade blaze brings renewed warnings on e-bikes

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

The London Fire Brigade has issued another safety reminder about e-bikes after a fire on Central Parade in New Addington on Sunday night.

Fire risk: the cause of the New Addington blaze is thought to be a faulty e-bike battery

The fire occurred in a three-storey building made up of a shop with homes above.

Most of the first floor of a maisonette and half of the second floor of the maisonette was damaged by fire. A staircase between the first and second floors was destroyed by fire.

A man, woman and four children were all taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service crews suffering from smoke inhalation. Continue reading →

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LibDems and Tories name candidates for St Helier West ballot

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

Our Sutton reporter, ROSE HILL, on the latest wanabees announced for the council by-election on May 2

In front of St Helier…: Tory by-election candidate Catherine Gray

They may have been left flat-footed by the near-deadline-day resignation of Labour councillor Sheila Berry, but Sutton’s Tories and LibDems have managed to run quick-fire selections to choose their candidates for the St Helier West ward by-election on May 2.

The LibDems named Noor Sumum as their candidate. Now retired, Sumum, 68, is a Carshalton resident who spent his career in the NHS, first as a psychiatric nurse and latterly as an engineer in blood and transport. His children were born at St Helier Hospital. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 London elections, Catherine Gray, Neil Garratt, Sheldon Vestey, St Helier Hospital, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Maple tree marks brave sacrifice of Kenley’s Canadian pilots

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

A solemn ceremony was conducted at Kenley Common on Sunday, with the planting and dedication of a red maple tree to honour the memory of the Canadians who served at RAF Kenley during World War II.

Unveiling: the red maple tree has been planted at Kenley to mark the sacrifice and service of Canadian pilots in WWII. Photos by Phil Swallow

It is 100 years since the formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

RAF Kenley was home to eight Royal Canadian Air Force fighter squadrons during World War II. Roughly one-third of the Kenley pilots who lost their lives during the Battle of Britain and the war were Canadians.

The tree was donated by the family of Wing Commander Hugh C Godefroy DSO, DFC and Bar, Croix de Guerre with Gold Star, who served as Kenley’s Wing Leader during the second half of 1943. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, History, Kenley, Kenley Airfield Friends Group | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ten years on, cinema campaigners celebrate lasting triumph

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

Happy anniversary: cinema-goers gather in the Arts Bar at the David Lean Cinema, which a group of dogged volunteers have managed since its re-opening in 2014. Pic: Peter G Ball

Last week saw a memorable conclusion to the 10th anniversary events at the David Lean Cinema, where the doughty troup of volunteers were celebrating the re-opening and re-establishment of the venue under their care and management in 2014, following its closure for almost three years due to council cuts.

The culmination of events was this country’s first cinema screening of Nostromo: David Lean’s Impossible Dream. Continue reading →

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Raggio di Sole, handmade pizzas made to order, South Croydon

Posted on April 2, 2024 by insidecroydon

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

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Larks! Downs rangers ask ramblers to care for nesting birds

Posted on April 1, 2024 by insidecroydon

A bracing spring day (at last!) and a brisk amble across Farthing Downs and Happy Valley might be just the thing for a Bank Holiday Monday.

Protected species: fencing has gone up on Farthing Downs to protect skylark nests

But the rangers who look after the wildlife and habitat on Croydon’s downs and commons are asking the public to exercise a bit of care and attention as we enter the nesting season for one of the country’s most delightful birds, and red-list endangered species, the skylark.

Over on Roundshaw Downs, beside the constantly busy Purley Way, where Inside Croydon conducted a year-long photo-story in 2022, the skylarks could be heard this year on February 10 – the earliest in a completely unscientific bit of monitoring of that site going back over the past 10 years, but possibly another sign of the advance of spring and global warming.

At Farthing Downs, to help these precious ground-nesting birds prosper, the rangers working for the City of London Corporation, who oversee this special place, have put up some temporary fencing. Continue reading →

Posted in City Commons, Coulsdon, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Farthing Downs, South London Downs NNR, Wildlife | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

NUTS! Croydon Labour blunders into new cover-up shock

Posted on April 1, 2024 by insidecroydon

Temporary fascia: from left MP Sarah Jones, Maddie ‘Mrs Anonyvoter’ Henson, Ben Taylor and Natasha Irons outside Labour’s ‘Nuts!’ office in Coulsdon

Embroiled in a series of controversies, the latest being the cover-up of the vote rigging for their own Croydon East parliamentary selection, the local Labour Party blundered into a cover-up of a different sort in Coulsdon on Saturday. And no, this is not an April Fools’ gag.

Standing in front of a disused high street shop, MP Sarah Jones and election candidates Ben Taylor, Maddie Henson and Natasha Irons proudly “unveiled” their party’s new campaign offices, under a banner of Croydon South Labour Party.

Trouble is, the temporary Labour banner has been strung across the front of the shop’s former business: Guitar Nuts!, and the “Nuts!” can still be clearly seen despite Labour’s best efforts at a cover-up. It doesn’t take much to read a hidden message into it all… Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 General Election, 2024 London elections, Andrew Price, Ben Taylor, Carole Bonner, Chris Philp MP, Coulsdon, Croydon Central, Croydon East, Croydon South, Croydon West, Jason Cummings, Jess Hammersley-Rich, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Natasha Irons, Park Hill and Whitgift, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Susan Hall, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Prestigious Olympic qualifier may be coming to Croydon

Posted on April 1, 2024 by insidecroydon

The drinks are on us: Federation Internationale Pour Lancer de Bière is bringing its 2024 Paris Olympic qualification competition to Croydon

EXCLUSIVE: Despite set-backs and disappointments of council-staged events, a new festival is coming to Croydon ahead of the 2024 Paris Games

Croydon is to stage the prestigious European qualifier for the first-ever Olympic beer-chucking gold medal event later this year.

Boozepark, next to East Croydon Station, is expected to be packed out for the event, which will see competitors battling for the right to go forward to the Paris Games later this year. This is the first time beer-chucking has been a recognised Olympic sport. Continue reading →

Posted in Inside Croydon, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Artists in glass who gave the Minster its windows on the world

Posted on March 31, 2024 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: As the congregation at Croydon Minster celebrates the holiest day in the Christian calendar, DAVID MORGAN peers through the church’s windows at the history behind their exquisite artistry

Five Miracles of Christ: this memorial stained glass window in Croydon Minster was completed in 1870 by Lavers, Barraud and Westlake

Walking through Endell Street in Covent Garden recently, I noticed a plaque on a wall above a café informing passers-by that Nathaniel Westlake, a stained glass artist, had lived there in the 1880s.

Just a few metres along the road from the café I discovered a building on which there is some very intricate brickwork. Nowadays that building is used as office space, but above the first-floor windows, etched in bold lettering, can be discovered its original use: “Lavers and Barraud, Stained Glass Works”.

Here, on the north side of Covent Garden, was the site of one of the leading stained glass makers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Business, Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Blues at The Oval, every Sunday through April, Addiscombe

Posted on March 31, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Theatre Workshop Coulsdon production of Orca, Apr 20-27

Posted on March 31, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Drummond heads three-strong Tory list for Sutton and Cheam

Posted on March 30, 2024 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: Our investigations editor CARL SHILTON on the race in the Tory Party to replace Paul Scully as MP

Councillor Tom Drummond, the leader of the Conservatives on Sutton Council, heads a three-person selection shortlist for the constituency where his party colleague, Paul Scully, has been the MP for nine years.

The vacancy in the Sutton and Cheam seat was created when Scully announced he was quitting as an MP, bitterly disillusioned with the way the Tory Government is being run and the way his party dropped him from consideration as their candidate to run for London Mayor.

Front runner: Tom Drummond, leader of the Tory group on Sutton Council

Also on the Conservative shortlist with Drummond are former Twickenham MP Dr Tania Mathias and Jed Dwight, a councillor on Reigate and Banstead council.

After winning the seat from LibDem Paul Burstow in 2015, Scully retained it in 2017 and 2019 with more than 50% of the vote – which makes it one of the rare constituencies where the Conservatives have a chance of not being wiped out at the General Election, when it is held sometime this year. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 General Election, Chipstead, Elliot Colburn, Paul Scully MP, Reigate and Banstead Council, Surrey, Sutton Council, Tom Drummond | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ruskin House Screen Club: Shadow World, Apr 5

Posted on March 30, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Chipstead Players’ Grimm Tales, Courtyard Theatre, Apr 9-13

Posted on March 30, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Two more Croydon music and dance festivals forced to cancel

Posted on March 29, 2024 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s calendar year as London’s Borough of Culture has not quite finished, but its dubious legacy appears to be sealed in failure after not one but two established festivals announced that they won’t take place in 2024.

Money troubles: Croydon Pride and the Croydon Mela have both cancelled in 2024

Croydon Pride posted an announcement this morning stating “with regret” that it has cancelled this summer’s event “due to a lack of funding combined with ever-increasing costs”.

The Croydon Mela, a day of south Asian music, dance and colour, had already pulled the plug on its 2024 staging.

The cancellations of the inter-dependent events ought to raise serious questions of Mayor Jason Perry and the Mayor of London’s culture team over some of the decisions made for the Borough of Culture’s more dubious, art-less projects, with some events being given tens of thousands of pounds and never even taking place. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Community associations, Croydon Council, Dance, Mark Watson, Mayor Jason Perry, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Fox is left fuming after being kicked off London Mayor ballot

Posted on March 29, 2024 by insidecroydon

The capital’s election authorities have confirmed all the candidates for standing for election on May 2. And some that won’t be standing, too

The jokes just write themselves. The bloke who used to be sidekick to Inspector Morse’s sidekick would never have solved any murders if he couldn’t get his forms filled in properly on time…

This charming man: Laurence Fox, not a candidate for Mayor

But Laurence Fox, who when he stands up against “wokeness” from an international sportswear firm manages to do so wearing a pair of the same brand’s very expensive trainers, won’t be on the ballot paper for Mayor of London on May 2.

Fox’s major policy pledge in seeking to be elected as Mayor of London was to abolish the role of Mayor of London. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 London elections, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Ria Patel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Life-saving first aid lessons, Kenley Memorial Hall, Apr 13

Posted on March 29, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Posted in Activities, Community associations, Health, KENDRA, Kenley | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment