Six years after they closed it, ‘Spoons’ to sell Grape and Grain

Posted on August 11, 2023 by insidecroydon

The “Brexit dividend” is really not paying off for Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin, with another landmark pub put up for sale.

Probably worse for the area generally is the potentially permanent loss of one of south London’s most popular live music venues.

Left to rot: at least the hoardings around the Grape and Grain provided space for anti-Putin protest after the invasion of Ukraine

The Grape and Grain, at the top of Anerley Hill in Crystal Palace, called last orders for the final time in November 2017.

Despite expansive planning applications submitted by ‘Spoons, the company has done nothing with the property since, apart from put hoardings up around the site.

Previously known as the Crystal Palace Hotel and then for many years The Sportsman, the pub had an extensive hall area which helped make it a popular venue for live music – something which Martin and his mates put an end to after they bought the pub in 2014, reportedly for £1.9million. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Property, Pubs | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Council sends in bulldozers to village’s cherished green space

Posted on August 10, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Contractors working for the council have had the bulldozers in one of the borough’s much-loved, and too often neglected, public parks. Old Coulsdon resident SALLY ANN VOAK shares her concerns

Don’t dig this: Sally Ann Voak in Grange Park

On Monday morning, residents in Old Coulsdon woke to the sound of heavy barriers being erected in their much-loved Grange Park, a precious public green space in our village.

An asphalt pathway, set inside the park’s tree-lined perimeter and near a busy road, is being constructed by civil engineers Loughman.

I was shocked because I could not understand why there had been no open meeting in Old Coulsdon to discuss these works.

I was horrified when I saw the diggers in action. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Grange Park, Old Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Farewell Jamie Reid, artist and anarchist, forgotten by Croydon

Posted on August 10, 2023 by insidecroydon

Jamie Reid, the anarchist artist and graphic designer who devised the designs and artwork that defined the punk era’s iconoclasm, has died. He was 76.

Never mind the bollocks: Jamie Reid’s style was visible in his campaigning work in Croydon

Reid’s ransom note-style collage work for the Sex Pistols was “a central pillar of the punk aesthetic”, according to one obituary.

Reid was a product of his south London upbringing, including his training at Croydon School of Art, where he met Malcolm McLaren, who was to become the manager of the Sex Pistols.

Yet, as noted by Inside Croydon, Reid has been forgotten or ignored by the Croydon Establishment, omitted from the borough’s Lottery-funded Music Heritage Trail, a flagship project for the Borough of Culture.

Born in Croydon in 1947, Reid attended John Ruskin School – he will have been a pupil there at the same time as Roy Hodgson, who went on to manage the England football team and Crystal Palace – before he went to art school. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Croydon School of Art, History, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dominoes at Windrush Centre, Whitgift Centre, Aug 12 and 19

Posted on August 10, 2023 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Community associations | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

£250 per day fees paid to lead on borough’s Heritage Trail

Posted on August 9, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: One arts company in the borough appears to have won the Lottery for its role in the less-than-inspiring flagship project for the Borough of Culture. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

The project lead working on the Music Heritage Trail, a flagship project in Croydon’s year as London’s Borough of Culture, has been paid £250 per day, while actively seeking volunteers to work for no pay as tour guides, “oral historians” and exhibition assistants.

Inside Croydon has discovered the shocking figures from a Freedom of Information request to the National Lottery. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Croydon Council, Education, Museum of Croydon, Music, Queens Gardens | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Serious concern raised over brutal end to town centre artwork

Posted on August 9, 2023 by insidecroydon

Freeze frame: AMP House this week, with the builders in and the frieze artwork removed, in the latest instance of cultural vandalism in the town centre

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

There’s growing concerns and “disappointment” that Croydon, the 2023 Borough of Culture, has managed to lose yet another significant piece of public artwork, right from under the noses of the council.

The way we were: how AMP House used to look, with the frieze in place, seen and appreciated by thousands of commuters daily

A much-admired, mid-20th Century frieze on the front of the AMP House office block has been removed, and according to a workman on the site today, has been taken away and destroyed.

The potential loss of what has been described as the best piece of street art in Croydon has caused dismay at the 20th Century Society, and condemnation of the council for allowing this latest piece of wanton Philistinism.

According to sources close to the Town Hall, council officials – based in Fisher’s Folly offices, less than a five-minute walk from AMP House – did not even know that the frieze had been removed. Continue reading →

Posted in AMP House, Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Environment, Fairfield, History, Property, Ria Patel, Stiles Harold Williams, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Libraries to offer computer training to tackle digital exclusion

Posted on August 9, 2023 by insidecroydon

Digital skills courses, workshops and drop-ins are being staged for adults in their local libraries after Croydon Council was successful in securing grant funding.

Wired in: contact your local library for details of where and when the digital inclusion courses are taking place

Croydon’s library service has been awarded funding from Arts Council England.

The funding will go towards the costs of a three-year programme to help older members of our communities to become more comfortable with using computers, tablets and mobile phones. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Education, Libraries | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Purley Festival returns to Rotary Field with live music stage

Posted on August 9, 2023 by insidecroydon

The Purley Festival is set to return to Rotary Field next month, hoping to deliver “a wonderful celebration of culture, talent and community”, according to the organisers.

The focal point of the weekend of September 9 and 10 will be a live music stage with local bands and tribute acts throughout the two days.

“People will be able to enjoy live music, food and drink stalls and an incredible atmosphere for all the family,” says Purley Business Improvement District, who are behind the festival. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Charity, Music, Purley, Purley BID | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Mayor and Met in joint call for better mobile phone security

Posted on August 9, 2023 by insidecroydon

Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley have today called on the mobile phone industry to play their part and “deliver bold and innovative technological solutions” to help tackle the rising number of robberies in the capital.

Easy prey: more than two-thirds of robberies in London last year involved mobile phone thefts

They are urging leading mobile phone providers and manufacturers to work with City Hall and the Met Police to “design out” the theft of mobile phones, building on the successful precedent of car manufacturers who worked with police to reduce robberies of car radios and sat navs by integrating them into vehicle dashboards.

According to stats from the Metropolitan Police, so far in 2023 there has been a 27per cent increase in theft from person offences involving a mobile phone. In 2022, there were 38,996 thefts from person offences involving a mobile phone, making up 68per cent of all such offences.

The call to action from the Mayor and the Met is being made alongside renewed action by the police to target robbery hotspots, with neighbourhood policing being boosted in high streets and local communities as part of the New Met for London plan. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

GLA has few checks on how £1.3m Culture grant is being spent

Posted on August 8, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The cash-strapped council received £1.35m from City Hall towards the staging of the Borough of Culture, but it is subject to next-to-no external scrutiny over how that public money is being used.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Mugged off: public money has been used for this

The Greater London Authority, which has handed cash-strapped Croydon Council £1.35million towards the costs of the 2023 Borough of Culture, says it has no records whatsoever of how that public money is being distributed and spent.

That’s according to a Freedom of Information request from Inside Croydon to the GLA.

Inside Croydon has been conducting an investigation into which arts bodies have been receiving grants towards the Borough of Culture, and for what. And we’ve also been looking into which Croydon arts organisations have been refused grants, and why.

We have also asked who it is who has been making the decisions on which arts bodies receive cash, and which ones don’t.

Croydon Council declared itself effectively bankrupt in 2020 (twice), and then again in 2022, with debts of £1.6billion and massive losses on previous public projects such as the Brick by Brick failed housing company and the £70million fiasco at the Fairfield Halls, the borough’s major arts centre. So you might expect the authority’s use of public money to be under closer scrutiny than ever before.

But not according to the GLA. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Borough of Culture 2023, Business, Community associations, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

75th anniversary sees Mozart orchestra celebrate Fair Field

Posted on August 8, 2023 by insidecroydon

The London Mozart Players will be celebrating their 75th anniversary through the 2023-2024 concert season, with performances by the Croydon-based ensemble at the Fairfield Halls, in Upper Norwood and in Sussex to celebrate their history and development.

LMP’s season opens with Story of the Fair Field on Saturday October 7 at Fairfield Halls, featuring Matilda Lloyd as the soloist for Haydn’s Trumpet Concerto in E flat. The music in this concert, which includes Malcolm Arnold’s inaugural composition for the opening of Fairfield Halls in 1962, The Fair Field, traces Fairfield’s history as a bustling medieval fair and LMP’s history as an orchestra set up to play Haydn and Mozart.

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, Jonathan Higgins, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Be prepared? Coulsdon Scout caught in Korean jam(boree)

Posted on August 8, 2023 by insidecroydon

Flooded: the Scouts found their camp site under water when they arrived at the Jamboree at Saemangeum in South Korea. Pic: Kiera Ford

Tens of thousands of youngsters were put at serious risk by floods, a plague of insects, intense heat and an on-coming tropical storm at the latest World Scout Jamboree at Saemangeum. Here, PAUL FORD reports on the wretched experiences suffered by his daughter, Keira

On the opposite side of the world, on an enormous campsite, 43,000 Scouts drawn from across the world should be now enjoying the second week of the 25th World Scout Jamboree.

Instead, it’s over, with the threat of Tropical Storm Khanun and its projected 80mph winds the final straw for disaster-plagued event, which started badly and lurched from crisis to crisis before this knock-out blow.

My daughter, Kiera, is 18, and a volunteer member of the International Support Team for the Jamboree. The IST tends to be composed of older Scouts, often veterans of previous Jamborees. Kiera attended WSJ24 in the United States and Canada which, it must be said, ran like clockwork. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Coulsdon, Scouts and Guides | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

AFC Croydon Athletic women’s trials, Mitcham, Aug 13

Posted on August 8, 2023 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, Football | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Criticism of Kerswell’s election count ‘justified’ says report

Posted on August 7, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s chief executive has spent thousands of pounds on a not-very-independent report in an effort to vindicate her bungled handling of the May 2022 local elections which made Croydon a national laughing stock. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor

Katherine Kerswell, the chief executive of Croydon Council and sometime Returning Officer for elections in the borough, is not a completely incompetent, bungling buffoon.

That’s according to the findings of a special report, commissioned at considerable expense to the cash-strapped council by… Katherine Kerswell.

The report’s terms of reference were drafted by Katherine Kerswell, and the members of the panel which compiled the report were carefully hand-picked by Katherine Kerswell.

And once that was all done, and to ensure there was not the slightest suggestion of any conflict of interest, the process was overseen by Croydon’s deputy chief executive, Elaine Jackson. That’s the same Elaine Jackson who was appointed as deputy chief executive by…  Katherine Kerswell.

A complete count: Croydon’s £192,000 chief executive, Katherine Kerswell

What in fact amounts to a costly arse-covering exercise was carried out following the shambles of an election count overseen by Kerswell in May 2022, when checking the votes for a Croydon Mayor and 70 councillors took more than 48 hours longer than any other borough election count staged in London that week, and made Croydon a national laughing stock. Again.

Concerned observers of the mismanaged election count have alleged that “something dodgy happened” in a 20-minute period at the start of the count verification on the night of May 5, 2022, when candidates, agents and scrutineers were not allowed to observe the opening of ballot boxes.

And one veteran of many Croydon election counts has described today’s report as “a badly written whitewash”, and called for Kerswell’s immediate resignation.

Even the report, published by the council today, has been long delayed, having been sitting on Kerswell’s desk in Fisher’s Folly for four months, awaiting her final seal of approval. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, 2024 General Election, 2024 London elections, Croydon Council, Elaine Jackson, Katherine Kerswell | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Blaze in laundry room of council block that failed inspection

Posted on August 7, 2023 by insidecroydon

The Fire Brigade was called out to a block of flats on London Road on Saturday – a council-run block which five years ago was deemed to be a fire risk.

Laundry fire: Concord House is used by the council to house people who might otherwise be homeless

Concord House is one of three blocks – previously offices, but converted into bedsits and one-bedroomed flats – which the council has described as “quality accommodation for homeless people”.

In 2017, the council took over from contractors the buildings’ day-to-day management, including repairs.

But people living in the blocks have in the past told Inside Croydon, “We feel we are living in a fire trap.” Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London Fire Brigade, Norbury | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

No government checks on council’s borrowing for 15 years

Posted on August 7, 2023 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Scandals and revelations from other busted boroughs demonstrate a deliberate lack of diligence by the Tory government

No controls: the scandal at Thurrock, as uncovered by the BIJ, highlights the lack of financial controls over local councils

Government failures to keep a check on the runaway borrowing of Croydon and other local authorities is likely to come under additional scrutiny, as further scandals emerge.

Last week’s Panorama looked at the basket case borough of Thurrock, where it has accumulated debts of £1.3billion after the council’s finance director had “unlimited authority to invest in anything he felt fit”.

Mostly, this involved shovelling public money towards a series of investment schemes brokered by dodgy businessman Liam Kavanagh, who is reckoned to have skimmed off at least £130million which he spent on flash cars, a country estate, private jet and luxury yacht. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Football club’s new owner Stormzy is up for the FA Cup

Posted on August 7, 2023 by insidecroydon

Croydon Athletic’s first game under new ownership drew almost nine times their typical crowd from last season – and the 542nd person through the gate at the Mayfield Stadium for yesterday’s FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round was none other than Stormzy.

Cup of dreams: Croydon Athletic co-owner Stormzy (centre, in sunglasses) in the directors’ box at yesterday’s game in Thornton Heath

The world-famous rap artist, together with Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha and Danny Young, bought Croydon Athletic in June.

Young was at yesterday’s game at the Thornton Heath ground with Stormzy to see their senior men’s side win 3-1 against Sutton Athletic, thanks to goals from Nahum Green, Dan Vaughan and Shawn Clement-Peters.

After Green gave the home side the lead in the 13th minute, Sutton equalised from the penalty spot with just five minutes of regular time left. Vaughan restored the lead in the 90th minute, while Clement-Peters added the gloss five minutes into time added for stoppages.

Perhaps a sign of how tight and tense the game was, the Man of the Match award went to Oshane Brown, the Rams’ goalkeeper. Continue reading →

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, Balham FC, Croydon FC, Football, Thornton Heath, Wilfried Zaha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon Airport was take-off point for a life of innovation

Posted on August 6, 2023 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: From being a pilot in World War I to working as a visionary minister caring for the vulnerable during the Great Depression, Don Robins had an inspiring career, writes DAVID MORGAN

From Croydon to The Crypt: Don Robins was a man with a mission

Croydon Airport in the 1920s was at the forefront of the world’s travel revolution.

New aeroplanes, which were capable of flying greater distances and carrying heavier loads, and passengers, transformed the capabilities of the new airline businesses. One of the routes which began operating in May 1924 was a daily service from Croydon to Cologne. One of the pilots flying that route was Don Robins. His story is a remarkable one.

Born in Aldershot in 1899, Robins was still a pupil at Farnham Grammar School when the First World War broke out. He joined the army aged 16, eventually being assigned to the Royal Flying Corps.

Flying was in its infancy and, according to one report, Robins managed to land a damaged aircraft which he had repaired using nothing more than a handkerchief. On another occasion, when he was flying VIPs home from France, he had TE Lawrence – Lawrence of Arabia – among his passengers. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Church and religions, Croydon Airport, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sylvia Nuthall paintings exhibition, Clocktower Café, to Aug 31

Posted on August 6, 2023 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Art | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Kangals seized after Lloyd Park attacks may never be returned

Posted on August 6, 2023 by insidecroydon

Croydon police are “doing everything they can” to ensure that three large guard dogs that have been roaming, out of control in Lloyd Park, are never returned to their owner, according to local MP Sarah Jones.

Out of control: two of the three Kangal guard dogs, as video’d in a neighbour’s garden last month

The Turkish Kangals got out of their compound at Coombe Farm last month, breaking into a neighbouring garden where they killed three hens and then headed off into Lloyd Park.

There, they chased after a jogger and attacked another dog before eventually being collected by their owners and then taken away by the police.

Newspaper reports suggest that the incident on July 21 was the fourth time that these same dogs had broken out of their home and attacked other dogs or people. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Central, Croydon parks, Friends of Lloyd Park, Leslie Arms, Lloyd Park, Park Hill and Whitgift, Property, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

High Court ruling is a huge stride for fairer treatment by DWP

Posted on August 5, 2023 by insidecroydon

Failed in their duty: the DWP failed to provide a blind man with accessible information

A Croydon man has won his High Court case against the Department for Work and Pensions which asserted that they failed to provide blind people with accessible communications about their benefits – the Government department sending him more than 20 hard-copy letters that were either delayed or simply unreadable.

The case was brought by self-employed blind man Dr Yusuf Ali Osman, who earlier this year won another, unconnected High Court case, this against Croydon Council, when he claimed successfully that he had been wrongly charged Council Tax last year.

On this occasion, Dr Osman had brought a Judicial Review of the DWP’s systems for communicating with disabled people after it failed to provide him with important information about his benefits in ways he could access.

The RNIB charity described the court judgement as “a huge step forward”. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Only one of Croydon’s 120 parks achieves Green Flag status

Posted on August 5, 2023 by insidecroydon

This, in case you didn’t already know, is Love Parks Week.

Award-winning: Wandle Park

In Croydon under Conservative Mayor Jason Perry, it seems, we don’t love our parks very much.

Croydon has more than 120 parks and open spaces within its boundaries, ranging from the 200-acre Selsdon Wood to many recreation grounds and sports fields scattered throughout the borough. Nearly half of these cherished open spaces are what are known as “locally listed” parks and gardens.

And only one Croydon park has been judged good enough to receive the internationally recognised accolade of Green Flag status.

A sorry little press release plopped into the inbox here at Inside Croydon Towers last week, straight from the propaganda bunker at Fisher’s Folly.

It was clear from the release’s tone that it was tinged with embarrassment. They wanted to celebrate the achievement of Wandle Park, the only Croydon park to be awarded a Green Flag, yet they realised that by announcing it, they would give the game away that another 119 other open spaces have been so badly neglected by the council that they don’t merit such an award. Continue reading →

Posted in City Commons, Community associations, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Friends of Wandle Park, Hutchinson's Bank, Mayor Jason Perry, Norwood Grove, Park Hill Recreation Ground, Wandle Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Budapest virtuoso latest to enthrall Fairfield music school

Posted on August 5, 2023 by insidecroydon

The Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra will be performing at the Fairfield Halls next month, the latest highlight in the Croydon venue’s International Orchestral Series.

Budapest award-winner: pianist Mihaly Berecz

The orchestra will be performing a programme of rich, virtuoso music including Lizst’s Rhapsody No2 and Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto.

The pianist for the concert on September 12 is Mihaly Berecz, recipient of the Liszt-Bartók prize at the 15th Concours Géza Anda 2021.

Andras Keller, who has directed the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra since 2007, will also conduct the orchestra in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, with its famed finale.

Continue reading →

Posted in Fairfield Halls, Jonathan Higgins, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Charity ‘devastated’ after special mini-bus stolen and gutted

Posted on August 4, 2023 by insidecroydon

A Croydon charity has been “devastated” after it had one of its specially-adapted mini-buses stolen and left, burnt out and gutted.

Gutted: the Gardwood Foundation mini-bus, dumped and abandoned after it was stolen

The Garwood Foundation, which operates a special school and activities centre in South Croydon, exists to promote the care, welfare, interest, treatment and advancement of education of adults and children having cerebral palsy and other profound, multiple, acquired or other disabilities.

The stolen minibus “was an invaluable lifeline for individuals with disabilities in our community”, the charity says. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Garwood Foundation, South Croydon | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Athletic hoping their new season will go down a real Stormzy

Posted on August 4, 2023 by insidecroydon

Local banter: it’s not quite in the same league as the Tevez ‘Welcome to Manchester’ billboards, but the local rivalry has been piqued by Athletic’s ownership news

NON-LEAGUE NEWS: The (not-so) big kick-off is less than 24 hours away… Here, ANDREW SINCLAIR, right, the go-to-expert for BBC 5 Live and BBC Radio London, looks ahead to what’s in store at Croydon Arena and the Mayfield Stadium

The days before the start of a new football season are when enthusiasm is at its peak, managers talk a big game and fans dream of a nine-month campaign that’ll end in glory, of some kind.

Yet there is an added expectation about the 2023-2024 season for Croydon’s non-league clubs, where high-profile and celebrity new owners and a host of new players mean that hopes of success are higher than for many years.

Croydon Athletic grabbed the headlines with the announcement at the end of June that Wilfried Zaha, Stormzy and Danny Young had bought the club.

Although the news was a surprise to many, Rams boss Kevin Rayner has revealed to Inside Croydon that it’s been a long time coming. Continue reading →

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, AFC Whyteleafe, Balham FC, Croydon FC, Football, Sport, Thornton Heath, Wilfried Zaha | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment