Coulsdon councillor Creatura distracted by charms of Epsom

Posted on January 15, 2024 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on the latest flailing efforts of one of Croydon’s third-rate councillors to grab bigger and better things (for himself, of course)

Trying again: not-so-super Mario Creatura

The Last Chance Saloon has a new bar room bore, as Coulsdon councillor Mario Creatura puts himself forward yet again for selection as a candidate for what appears to be a “safe” Conservative parliamentary seat.

This time, it is the poor people of Epsom and Ewell who the former gobby fac totum to Gavin Barwell is seeking to charm into choosing him as their parliamentary candidate, as Chris “Failing” Grayling has decided he’s made enough of a mess of the country and so won’t be seeking to continue as an MP at the next General Election.

At least this time, Creatura has managed to scrape his way onto the selection shortlist ahead of a Conservative Party local meeting tonight, although his focus on furthering his own political ambition probably means that work for the people of Coulsdon Town, who elected him to represent them, is yet again taking a bit of a back seat. Continue reading →

Posted in Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Epsom and Ewell, Mario Creatura, Surrey | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

All change! Confusion reigns as TfL’s bus stop map ‘vanishes’

Posted on January 15, 2024 by insidecroydon

The switchover of bus stops in Croydon passed off less than smoothly, with dozens of passengers clearly confused by Transport for London’s poorly advertised and executed alterations in the town centre.

Web of intrigue: TfL’s ‘spider map’ of Croydon town centre is no longer available on their website

“When I was walking through there on Saturday, was no sign of any uniformed (or otherwise) people directing folk to the right stops,” according to one loyal reader.

“There were a lot of bewildered people about.

“And of course there aren’t any shelters at the new stops…”

The official TfL “spider map” that was issued to illustrate the changes is not currently available on the transport authority’s website, suggesting that not all has gone according to plan. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, Fairfield, TfL, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon man sentenced to life for Canvey Island murder

Posted on January 15, 2024 by insidecroydon

Jamie Lewis, 25, from Bensham Lane, has been jailed for a minimum of 24 years for the 2023 murder in Canvey Island of Matt Portland.

Murderer: Jamie Lewis, from Bensham Lane, Croydon

Father-of-two Portland was 42. On Friday, February 3 last year he intervened in a dispute on the door of the Haystack public house at the Essex resort, after an argument broke out between door staff and customers who had been refused entry.

Portland was stabbed twice in the neck and was pronounced dead in the early hours of the following morning.

Lewis was arrested in Croydon three days later, when he was charged with murder and possession of a bladed article.

The murder trial jury unanimously found him guilty in October. He was handed a life sentence in court last week. Continue reading →

Posted in Bensham Manor, Crime, Knife crime | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hymns and arias: Whitgift’s key role in Bible’s Welsh translation

Posted on January 14, 2024 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Elizabeth I’s family background and Croydon’s most famous Archbishop encouraged a work of scholarship that has preserved a vital piece of heritage, writes DAVID MORGAN

There’s lovely: the cover of Morgan’s first Welsh translation Bible

A couple who visited Croydon Minster last year had planned their trip for a while.

They wanted to see the memorial to Archbishop John Whitgift.

Not only were they delighted to view it, they were thrilled to see the Whitgift stained glass window above it in the Nicholas Chapel.

“There it is,” said the man’s wife. “The coat of arms with the words, ‘the Principality of Wales’.”

Turning to me, her husband explained that the reason they had come to see the tomb and the window was because of Archbishop Whitgift’s role in getting the Bible translated into Welsh.

This merited further investigation. Continue reading →

Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Warlingham car boot sales, Hamsey Green, May to Aug

Posted on January 14, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Celebrity Piano Concerts, Trinity School, Jan 30-Mar 15

Posted on January 14, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Two suspects in court for ‘brutal’ murder of Michael Afonso

Posted on January 13, 2024 by insidecroydon

Two men will appear in court today charged with the murder of Michael Afonso in Thornton Heath just before Christmas.

Murdered: Michael Afonso

Omari Peat, 22, of Southampton Gardens, Mitcham, was arrested on December 24 and released on bail. He was re-arrested on Thursday and charged with the murder.

Zac Dylan Baako, 28, of no fixed address, was arrested on Thursday January 11 and also charged with murder.

Both are due to appear at a London magistrates’ court today.

John Budal, 19, from Ena Road, Pollards Hill, appeared at Bromley Magistrates Court on Saturday, December 30 charged with murder, robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of cannabis. He appeared again at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, January 3. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Constable in ‘bus stop arrest’ to appear in court next month

Posted on January 13, 2024 by insidecroydon

A police officer has been charged with assault of a woman in relation to the arrest of a passenger when she failed to produce her ticket or pass on a bus stopped in Whitehorse Road last July.

The Metropolitan Police announced yesterday that PC Perry Lathwood, 49, who is attached to the road traffic policing command, will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on February 14 charged with assault by beating in relation to bruising injuries caused to the woman’s arm during the incident.

An investigation was carried out by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Continue reading →

Posted in Andy Brittain, Crime, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Kevin Montgomery and friends, Mayfield Stadium, Feb 2

Posted on January 13, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Under the Tories, issuing a Section 114 notice ‘is pointless’

Posted on January 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

COUNCILS IN CRISIS: The partisan blame game over the financial collapse of local authorities is unravelling by the week, as ever more civic leaders and mayors admit that there’s no spending left to cut. The next couple of weeks could see a slew of Conservative-run authorities join Croydon on the financial naughty step. By STEVEN DOWNES

Leading the way: Croydon Council may have been first with its S114 notice in 2020, but due to Tory cuts, it is now far from alone

And there goes another one…

Middlesbrough Council in the north-east, which until last May was under a Conservative and independent administration, looks like they could be the next local authority in England to be forced to issue a Section 114 notice because they are unable to balance their budget. Although they are currently just one candidate in an increasingly crowded field.

Seven councils have run up the S114 white flag to declare that they cannot make ends meet since Croydon did so in November 2020. Although only Croydon, first under Labour, then in November 2022 under Tory Mayor Jason Perry, has surpassed all others by issuing three S114s.

There continues to be very gloomy predictions that after more than a decade when the Tory Government has deliberately choked off funding to local authorities across the country, there could be as many as two dozen councils now on the financial precipice. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Outside Croydon, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Sutton Olympic sprinter gets big chance in BBC’s Gladiators

Posted on January 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

Sprint start: Harry Aikines-Areetey is racing towards your TV screens tomorrow night

Carshalton Olympic sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey will be bursting on to your television screens tomorrow night, part of the toughest relay squad he has ever been a member of – the Gladiators in the BBC’s Saturday night retread of the once popular show.

25in thighs: Harry A-A will bring a smile and much more to the TV show

This is the third British incarnation of Gladiators, adapted from an American format and first aired on ITV, fronted by Ulrika Jonsson and John Fashanu from 1992, and which had a short-lived spell on Sky until 2009.

This time round, it is being fronted by the ubiquitous Bradley Walsh and his son, Barney, and among the band of muscle-flexing, orange-tanned body builders and weightlifters is Aikines-Aryeetey.

The Sutton and District athlete’s track career was plagued with injuries, but the man with a Superman memorabilia collection at his Carshalton home grabbed his chance to live out a childhood dream when the TV producers came calling early in 2023 for the new Gladiators series. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Athletics, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bankrupt council’s £100k job for Tory Mayor’s political adviser

Posted on January 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s no shortage of money available at Fisher’s Folly when the borough’s floundering Jason Perry needs someone to hold his hand. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor

‘Depth of political incompetence’: £82,000 per year Jason Perry needs help

Cash-strapped Croydon Council might not have enough cash to pay for even basic services for the public, but money is no object when it comes to recruiting a full-time, expert political adviser to assist the borough’s part-time Tory Mayor Jason Perry.

The job ad was posted just before Christmas for a “head of strategy and policy” on nearly £100,000.

The role appears to be to replace Helen Reeves, who has held the post only since last September, but is on secondment from the Local Government Association. Reeves’ previous jobs have included being an adviser to Lib Peck when she was leader of Lambeth Council in the period immediately after Steve Reed moved on to bigger and better things.

Given that Perry was noted in the latest edition of Private Eye for the “depth of his political incompetence”, whoever replaces Reeves will certainly be earning their money. Although no amount of sage political advice will be able to prevent the £82,000 per year Mayor lying to Town Hall meetings, as he has been caught doing in the past. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, David Courcoux, Elaine Jackson, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Labour members ignored and disrespected over vote scandal

Posted on January 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

It is five months since the Labour Party established a local organisation to run its affairs in the new parliamentary constituency of Croydon East. There has never been a democratic general meeting of members of the Croydon East CLP to elect officials to run its affairs.

Starbucks socialism…: when with Labour in Croydon East enter into any dialogue with  members?

Instead, Labour’s London region imposed “interim” officials on the CLP: Newman Numpty ex-councillor Carole Bonner as chair, Melanie Felton (who?) as secretary and Mark Henson (husband of Newman Numpty councillor Maddie Henson) as treasurer.

The members in the new constituency – drawn from parts of the old Croydon Central and bits of Croydon South – certainly did not get a say in the shortlisting of the people who want to stand for the party in the very winnable seat at the forthcoming General Election.

It is almost two months since that selection process was abruptly halted by officials from Labour head office, after serious allegations of voter fraud and problems with an online voting system.

Since when, Labour Party members in the constituency have heard nuffink. They’ve even had comments “switched off” on the CLP’s Facebook group.

It is now more than a week since one of Croydon East CLP’s long-suffering members wrote to the interim officials. They have now released that as an open letter… Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon East, Maddie Henson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Licensed to print money: incinerator’s five latest breaches

Posted on January 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

Viridor’s polluting incinerator at Beddington Lane broke the strict terms of its operating licence five times during December, according to data released by the operator.

Smoke stacks: the Beddington incinerator, polluting our air since 2018

Viridor failed to issue its usual two-weekly update during December – at a time when the Environment Agency was considering the profit-hungry multi-billion multi-national’s latest application to increase the amount of rubbish it can burn at the plant situated close to the Sutton-Croydon borough boundary.

The consultation into the licence extension conducted by the toothless environmental watchdog closed on December 23.

Viridor’s emissions data – the company is allowed to mark its own homework – shows that levels of sulphur dioxide (SO2), a major cause of asthma, were exceeded four times during the month: twice on December 15, then again on December 16 and for a fourth occasion on December 22. Nice, just in time for Santa… Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Environment, Kingston, Merton, Paul Scully MP, Refuse collection, Scott Roche, Sutton Council, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fire Brigade backs petition in memory of victim of e-bike fire

Posted on January 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

The London Fire Brigade is backing a petition from the friends and family of 21-year-old Sofia Duarte, who lost her life in a fatal fire caused by the catastrophic failure of a lithium battery used to charge an e-bike.

Sofia Duarte: the 21-year-old was the first fatal victim of an e-bike fire in London

The petition calls for urgent action from the Government to implement regulations on e-bikes, e-scooters, and the batteries and chargers sold with them.

The petition calls on all Londoners to sign it to prevent others losing their lives. Since creating the petition last month, more than 32,000 people have signed, seeking tighter rules.

A charity, Electrical Safety First, is also backing the petition, and is pushing for regulatory change with a Ten-Minute Rule Bill expected to be tabled in Parliament by Yvonne Fovargue MP.

Sofia Duarte’s family friend, Alda Simoes, who helped organise the petition, said, “We don’t want Sofia to die in vain. Deaths are continuing to happen. Sign this petition and tell everyone you know to sign it.

“Sofia was the first death in London due to an e-bike fire. Tragically others have lost their lives up and down the UK, and there are many who have suffered serious injuries, too. We must stop this happening today, not tomorrow. Sign the petition – it will save lives and make a difference! Together we can make change.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Fiona Twycross, London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Bailing out the water companies is poor policy – and unpopular

Posted on January 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

Surveys have found that 69% of the public want the nation’s water companies taken back into public control. So why is it not the policy of Keir Starmer’s Labour Party, asks ANDREW FISHER

Fine old mess: Thames Water was fined £1m by Croydon Council for delays in five years – not that it has made any difference

“In advance of every significant privatisation,” wrote Nigel Lawson, the former Chancellor, in his memoirs, “public opinion was invariably hostile to the idea.”

Lawson, who died last April, was right: in 1989 an opinion poll found that 79% of the British public was opposed to water privatisation. Nevertheless, Lawson and the Thatcher government pressed ahead and privatised.

The public was right to be hostile. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Croydon North, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Croydon Minster Lunchtime Recitals, Fridays Jan 19-Mar 15

Posted on January 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Scaffolding goes up on unsafe building – after storm damage

Posted on January 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Scaffolding has gone up around the long-derelict Drum and Monkey pub which was badly damaged in fire last summer and which lost tiles and masonry in the gale-force winds of last week’s Storm Henk.

On the edge: one hoarding at the back of a building on Gladstone Road has blown down, while another clings on – but for how long?

The scaffolding has appeared since Inside Croydon’s report of slates dangerously falling around the site – a potentially life-threatening incident that occurred just weeks after officials in Croydon Council’s building control department declared that all seemed fine to them when they inspected the site.

The Drum and Monkey, on Gloucester Road, was one of two abandoned Croydon pubs, within 200 yards of each other, that both caught fire within an hour one morning at the end of August last year. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

They’re having a Mayor in Lewisham as finally Egan quits

Posted on January 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Our south-east London correspondent, HILLAIRE FIELDS, on the long-predicted exit of another borough’s leader

Not so local: Damien Egan has resigned as Lewisham’s Mayor

The thrusting political ambitions of Damien Egan, Lewisham’s sometime borough Mayor, finally got the better of him this morning as he officially handed in his executive key fob and set off in pursuit of bigger and better(?) things at a parliamentary by-election in the West Country.

The people of Lewisham, though, have known Egan’s been on his way out for at least the last six months.

He was first elected Mayor in Lewisham in 2018, but the residents in that south London borough spotted his attention was elsewhere early last year, when the Irish-born Egan suddenly discovered some long-ago allegiance with Bristol and pitched in as the “local” candidate for a new seat there.

Egan’s political fickleness has demonstrated one of the inherent weaknesses of the model of having all power placed in the hands of a directly elected mayor (not that Croydon’s Mayor “political incompetence” Perry has the abilities to consider running for any higher office). 

The by-election for Lewisham Mayor is likely to cost the borough’s tax-payers at least £635,000 – all to satisfy one man’s personal, political whim.

The resignation last week of Kingswood Tory MP Chris Skidmore was hardly warmly welcomed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, but it is also bad news for Lewisham residents, who are faced with picking up an unnecessary and hefty bill, and clearing up the mess left by Egan’s five years in office. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 General Election, 2024 London elections, Lewisham, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Warm yourself this winter with Wassailing at community farm

Posted on January 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Harvest festival: some decent Wassailing can have some impressive results when it comes to fruit crops

Sutton Community Farm will open its gates later this month to welcome the public to its Winter Warmer event.

Dig for victory: there’s plenty of opportunity to buy and taste the farm’s veg crop

There will be a Bar-BQ, and hot food, cakes and drinks will be available to buy.

And the ancient community practice of Wassailing will take place, with farm members singing and making noise to encourage fruitful trees in the year ahead.

Sutton Community Farm is a seven-acre mixed crop fruit and veg farm located in the Little Woodcote Estate in Wallington. Community-owned, the farm is run by around 80 local volunteers who get involved in all areas of farm activities.

The Winter Warmer event will be held on Saturday January 27 from 10am to 4pm, showcasing the farm and giving people a chance to learn more about sustainable food growing at a commercial scale, and come together as a community in the winter. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Business, Community associations, Environment, Gardening, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Prologis given green light for Beddington Lane expansion

Posted on January 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Prologis has been granted planning permission to expand its logistics centre on Beddington Lane in Croydon, with work to build four units expected to begin in May.

Expansion: Prologis’ four new units will have floor space the size of one-and-a-half football pitches

The expansion will create an estimated 270 new jobs.

It is the second phase of development at Prologis Park, providing an additional 93,935sqft of work space high-quality development – the size of one and a half football pitches.

Prologis UK is an owner, developer and investor in logistics property.

Winvic has been appointed as the main contractor for the building works. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Planning | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Holocaust Memorial Concert, Ruskin House, Jan 27

Posted on January 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Cash-strapped council spent £305k on legal case it already lost

Posted on January 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The cash-strapped council paid a single firm of solicitors £2m over a two-year period. Now it has been forced to admit that it spent another chunk of public money in pursuing a housing case in which they had admitted they were in the wrong – in 2014.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

The lawyers’ friend: the cash-strapped council’s £192,000 per year CEO Katherine Kerswell

Between 2022 and 2023, cash-strapped Croydon Council paid a firm of external solicitors almost one-quarter of a million pounds, all on a single legal case that they had already lost in the courts.

Inside Croydon reported the outcome of the landmark case of R (Imam) v London Borough of Croydon in November, after the council had taken the matter all the way to the Supreme Court.

Ruba Imam is a wheelchair user and mother of three. She and her family have been living in accommodation which in October 2014 – almost 10 years ago – Croydon Council accepted was unsuitable.

Yet while lawyers for the council went to the Supreme Court making the case that the authority did not have the financial means to meet its legal duty to provide suitable housing for Imam, it was paying barristers and solicitors a total of £305,038.31 to run its doomed case for it. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Housing, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Perry’s Facebook group hosted video by Islamophobic ‘comic’

Posted on January 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: A secretive Facebook group which has policing minister Chris Philp among its members and where the Mayor of Croydon is an administrator has been sharing content from a far-right mate of the EDL’s Tommy Robinson. By STEVEN DOWNES

Far right: the content being allowed on Mayor Perry’s Facebook group is becoming more extreme

The secretive Facebook group set up by Croydon’s Tory Mayor Jason Perry has now hosted a video rant from a “venomously racist” mate of far-right criminal Tommy Robinson.

Among Perry’s Facebook group’s 2,000 members is Conservative MP for Croydon South Chris Philp, whose government job is… checks notes… the Policing Minister.

“Croydon say no to ULEZ expansion” was set up on the social media platform last year, with the borough’s £84,000 per year Mayor Perry listed as as administrator and “expert”.

It has since courted controversy as its members have posted a series of photos and videos celebrating tens of thousands of pounds of criminal damage to public property. Continue reading →

Posted in Bromley Council, Chris Philp MP, Crime, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, TfL, Transport, ULEZ, ULEZ expansion | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Khan’s ‘life-changing’ free school meals extended for extra year

Posted on January 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today confirmed that all primary school children in state-funded schools in the capital will continue to get free school meals for the next academic year, providing £140million extra funding as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit families.

Mayor Khan said that he recognises that families are in urgent need of support. The meals will help with the spiralling cost of living by making sure that children in state-funded London schools will receive free school meals through and into 2024-2025.

The extension of universal free school meals could save families up to £1,000 per child across two years, City Hall claimed in the announcement this morning.

“This is vital support for families facing a cost of living crisis, and will ensure that primary school children get at least one nutritious meal a day. Essentially, providing them with a much-needed safety net,” the announcement said. Continue reading →

Posted in 2024 London elections, London Assembly, London-wide issues, Marina Ahmad, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments