Brit School celebrates its made-in-Croydon Grammys hat-trick

Posted on February 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

Best newcomer: north London-raised Olivia Dean attended the Brit School from 14

News just in from Hollywood: former Brit School pupils have scooped the Grammys.

The Brit School had a trio of Grammy winners in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

Olivia Dean, Lola Young and FKA twigs, former pupils at the specialist arts state school in Selhurst, all picked up their first Grammys, something described by Music Week as representing “a new wave of British talent making an impact on the global stage”.

The head of Universal Music UK called the made-in-Croydon triple success “a pivotal moment”.

And this in the week when another former Brit School pupil, Raye, was also recognised by the Grammys, receiving the prestigious Harry Belafonte best song for social change award for “Ice Cream Man”. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, BRIT School, Dance, Education, Music, Raye, Schools, Selhurst | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Road closures in South Croydon start next week for fortnight

Posted on February 3, 2026 by insidecroydon

Croham Valley Road will be closed at the junction of Farley Road for a fortnight from next Monday, February 9, while UK Power Networks conducts works to instal power ducts through South Croydon.

Diversions: UK Power Networks is closing Croham Valley Road from Feb 9 for two weeks

Notification from UK Power Networks was sent out yesterday for a project to upgrade underground electricity cables between substations at Addington and Beddington.

“We are currently installing ducts on Croham Valley Road,” the UKPN’s letter to residents says.

“The full stretch will be carried out in short stages and started at the junction with Melville Avenue in October, heading in the direction of Addington substation by the entrance to Littleheath Woods on Croham Valley Road… Continue reading →

Posted in South Croydon | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Dara Ó Briain is a BIG act. Fairfield Halls needs more like him

Posted on February 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

It was a big night at the Fairfield Halls on Saturday, with Dara Ó Briain, one of the biggest stand-up acts around, performing in front of a full house.
KEN TOWL fills in the venue’s audience feedback form

Big name, big show: Dara Ó Briain performed to a Croydon full house on Saturday. But there’s only one other comedy act booked at the Fairfield Halls before November

The minute the show at the Fairfield Halls ended (10.16pm on Saturday), my phone buzzed as I received an email that thanked me for attending and breathlessly expressed the hope that I had “enjoyed seeing Dara Ó Briain: Re:Creation”.

It went on, exhorting me not to “be shy”, but rather to “tell us what you think in 60 seconds. We’d love to know what you thought of Fairfield Halls. Be honest, we’re always looking for new ways to create memorable experiences”.

What I thought of Fairfield Halls, rather than Dara Ó Briain? The venue rather than the performer? And I have to do it in 60 seconds?

OK, Fairfield Halls, I’ll tell you what I think, but you’ll have to be patient. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, BH Live, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Ken Towl, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Perry’s landlord licensing scheme will create a postcode lottery

Posted on February 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

Mayor Jason Perry’s proposals for a landlord licensing scheme to be introduced by Croydon Council later this year are discriminatory against half the borough, creating a postcode lottery for private renters.

Lottery: Cllr Claire Bonham says that all Croydon’s private renters deserve the protection of a landlord licensing scheme

That’s according to Councillor Claire Bonham and residents in her Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward, which has been excluded from the Tory Mayor’s scheme because it does not meet the criteria.

Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood is one of 14 wards in the borough that were left out of the council’s consultation, which ended last month.

There are 28 wards within the borough of Croydon. The 14 chosen to be subject to Mayor Perry’s landlord licensing scheme are mostly in Labour-supporting areas.

Not a single Conservative-voting ward has been included in the proposed landlord licensing scheme. Continue reading →

Posted in Claire Bonham, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Landlord licensing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Croydon man among six charged with stealing from immigrants

Posted on February 2, 2026 by insidecroydon

A man from Croydon is among six immigration officers who have appeared in court facing various charges related to them stealing money from people arriving in Britain after having crossed the Channel in small boats.

Vulnerable: six Home Office officials, including David Grundy from Croydon, have been charged with offences linked to stealing from migrants arriving by small boat

David Grundy, 43, from Croydon, appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week charged with converting criminal property – money laundering.

The other immigration officers in the dock were also charged with conspiracy to steal or misconduct in public office.

Prosecutor Rosalind Earis told the court that the charges related to thefts of “property belonging to migrants arriving at Dover between August 2021 and November 2022”. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

All downhill for Odlings after they dismantled London Bridge

Posted on February 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

Ski Sunday: the annual World Cup ski races at Wengen provide part of the course for an annual competition established by a member of the Odling family from Croydon

CROYDON CHRONICLES: A dynasty began in the late 1800s with a family living at Lennard Road whose relatives would build a global business empire from marble, played roles in running the British team at the 1936 Winter Olympics, helped to build Broadcasting House and to dismantle London Bridge, as well as taking part in Dunkirk and D-Day.
DAVID MORGAN traces the history of the Odling family

The wedding register at what we know today as Croydon Minster shows that on Thursday, August 27, 1896, William Anselm Odling was married to Margaret Briton. The ceremony was conducted by Rev Allen T Edwards, assisted by Rev T G Hill, the curate who was in the middle of a court case because of the anti-social behaviour of one of the parishioners…

Margaret Briton would have attracted attention as she was marrying thousands of miles away from her Australian home in Wingelo, New South Wales. William Odling, the groom, was the eldest son of Anselm and Susanah Odling, who lived in Wickham House, 9 Lennard Road in West Croydon. The 1900 Kelly’s Directory for Croydon shows the parents still living at that same address. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

London Mozart Players: St John Passion, Fairfield Halls, Mar 8

Posted on February 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

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

Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Business, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Junkyard Choir and Bewley Brothers, Oval Tavern, Fri Feb 6

Posted on February 1, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Business, Music, The Oval Tavern | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Surrey Street market trader Joseph quits Labour in race row

Posted on January 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

Fairness and respect: Jose Joseph, well-known stall-holder on Surrey Street market, has quit the Labour Party making allegations of racism in the selection process

Jose Joseph, the Surrey Street market stall-holder and one of the best-recognised faces on the local political scene, has quit the Labour Party, accusing it of “discrimination and toxic behaviour”.

In a brief statement shared with party colleagues, Joseph announced his resignation by saying that Labour “fails to treat members of ethnic communities with fairness and respect”.

Joseph’s farewell statement was mentioned at a meeting of the Croydon West constituency party on Thursday, but no specific reasoning has been given for the timing of his resignation.

It is six months since Joseph learned that he was blocked from being a Labour candidate in the 2026 Town Hall elections. Joseph has told friends and colleagues that he believes he has been the subject of an unfairly critical internal report written by local official, Julie Setchfield. Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Business, Chris Clark, Croydon Greens, Croydon West, Fairfield, Jose Joseph, Surrey Street | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Valentine’s Barn Dance, St Mary’s Addington, Sat Feb 14

Posted on January 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Addington, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Church and religions | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Remark’s Croydon Lunch Club, every Thu, Wellesley Road

Posted on January 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Charity | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Hamnet and Marty Supreme among DLC’s February screenings

Posted on January 31, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

Posted in Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Cinema, Community associations, David Lean Cinema Campaign | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

After 25 years of achievements, TfL plans need more vision

Posted on January 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: As Inside Croydon revealed earlier this week, the tram network’s ageing rolling stock won’t be replaced until the 2030s.
But as CHRISTIAN WOLMAR, pictured left, explains, TfL’s draft business plan actually reflects the transport authority’s achievements over the last quarter-century

The publication of the draft business plan for Transport for London is an opportune moment to put the capital’s transport system in perspective.

Before looking at the future as addressed in the plan, which covers the period to 2029-2030, it is worth recalling the radical changes that have taken place in the quarter of a century of existence of Transport for London.

The very creation of Transport for London was a momentous achievement of the Labour government which, in 1997, had inherited an absolutely chaotic situation in the capital. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Rush makes move along George Street with discount offers

Posted on January 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

Hair salon Rush is moving along George Street, and opens tomorrow with some money-saving offers for customers.

New location; Rush’s salon at 25, George Street, is refreshed and improved, with special features to enhance the customer experience

Rush has had a salon in Croydon for more than 20 years, but it was time for a move, albeit not very far: to 25, George Street, with an upgrade and refresh for their premises.

The new salon features eight styling stations, contemporary grey-stone flooring and what Rush describes as “unique fixtures and fittings”. Artwork graces the walls, and the salon uses LED lighting to allow stylists “the ability to see clients’ hair tones perfectly whilst hair colouring”.

Rush’s George Street salon was designed by Dudley Cummings, from Rush’s salon design team. Continue reading →

Posted in Business | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

RSPCA is recruiting frontline animal rescue officers in London

Posted on January 30, 2026 by insidecroydon

The RSPCA is recruiting animal rescue officers in London.

Recruitment drive: the RSPCA is offering jobs on the frontline of its animal welfare service

RSPCA rescuers primarily help animals by investigating reports of cruelty and neglect, and also rescue those who are sick, injured or stranded.

“The animal rescue officer can be hugely rewarding and make a real difference to the well-being of animals and in educating owners who care for them,” says the RSPCA, the country’s oldest and largest animal welfare charity. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, RSPCA | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Labour’s Davis looks to CPO the ‘hole in the heart of Croydon’

Posted on January 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

Development blight: Chinese property firm R&F’s stalled £500m scheme at St George’s Walk, including the Nestlé Tower, has been a drag on the town centre for six years

Mayoral candidate intends to discuss a Compulsory Purchase Order of Chinese-owned property with Prime Minister on his return from Beijing. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Labour’s candidate for Croydon Mayor, Rowenna Davis, says that if elected in May she will look to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order on the long-derelict building site opposite the Town Hall.

Such an audacious and ambitious purchase might cost between £150million and £200million of public money, but it could finally offer the prospect of ending a development stalemate that has blighted Croydon town centre for years, stretching back to the last century.

The St George’s Walk site, including the Nestlé Tower which appears in its glowing former glory as a channel ident on ITV most days, was bought by Chinese firm R&F Properties in 2017 for £60million.

They got planning permission for a £500million scheme that included 290 flats in one of Croydon’s landmark office blocks, and a further 800 homes on what they called “The Queen’s Quarter”, on the opposite side of Katharine Street from the Town Hall and Queen’s Gardens. Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Nestle Tower, Property, Rowenna Davis, St George's Walk, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

No Beckenham and New Addington trams for 2 weeks in Feb

Posted on January 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

It’s not only the ageing rolling stock that requires replacement on south London’s tram network.

Transport for London is to close half of the network, from East Croydon to Beckenham Junction, and all points in between, including New Addington, for two weeks next month.

TfL says that the closure has been planned to coincide with school half-term – between Wednesday February 11 and Wednesday February 25. Most school half-term breaks last only five days.

Regular users of the trams will be accustomed to the withdrawal of service during school holidays, which has become a frustratingly regular occurrence four or five times a year.

For this major and lengthy closure, bus replacement services will operate between East Croydon and Beckenham Junction, and from East Croydon to New Addington.

The works are “to allow essential track renewal works to take place at Sandilands junction, and between Gravel Hill and Addington Village”, TfL says. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, New Addington South, TfL, Tramlink, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Campaign petition is challenge to south London councillors

Posted on January 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

Environmental campaigners in Sutton have launched a petition in an 11th-hour effort to persuade the Environment Agency to refuse Viridor’s request to be allowed to burn hundreds of thousands of tonnes more waste at their incinerator at Beddington Lane.

Determined protest: Cllr Nick Mattey has been protesting against the environmental damage caused by the incinerator for more than a decade

Inside Croydon has reported how Viridor’s incinerator had broken the terms of its licence nearly 1,000 times – 916, to be exact – in an 18-month period in 2022 to 2024. But Viridor never bothered to report its excessive emissions to the Environment Agency, as it is legally required to do.

And last October, Viridor’s Beddington plant pumped sulphur dioxide – the chemical used to make sulphuric acid – into the south London skies with emissions of 382.4 mg/m³, nearly double the permitted daily limit. The volume was literally off the scale on the plant’s public monitoring charts.

Since the 916 emission breaches, Viridor’s compliance rating with the EA has dropped from A to E.

Yet an official from the Environment Agency told a recent Sutton community meeting that it is “minded” to grant Viridor’s application to vary its licence andallow them to  burn even more rubbish, which will be trucked in from all over south-east England. Continue reading →

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Environment, Kingston, London-wide issues, Merton, Nick Mattey, Refuse collection, Sutton Council, Waddon, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

READER OFFER: 10% off tickets for Fairfield Halls concert

Posted on January 29, 2026 by insidecroydon

In tune: Inside Croydon readers can save money on their tickets when booking to see the next London Mozart Players’ concert at the Fairfield Halls

Inside Croydon is delighted to announce that, thanks to the London Mozart Players, our readers can enjoy a special discount on the price of tickets for their much-anticipated performance of JS Bach’s St John Passion at the Fairfield Halls on Sunday, March 8.

Using the iC exclusive discount code, readers can make savings of more than £4 on their tickets, which are available to book now for between £10 (for under-30s) and £43.50. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls, Inside Croydon, London Mozart Players, Music | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

TfL report confirms decade delay over Croydon’s new trams

Posted on January 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

South London’s transport network has slipped even further down the pecking order of the capital’s travel priorities, with no new line extensions mentioned in a five-year plan published today.
EXCLUSIVE by JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent

Slow service: it could be at least another four years before replacement trams arrive

It will be the 2030s before Croydon gets sight of the long-awaited replacement trams for south London’s hard-working public transport network.

That has been confirmed by Transport for London, which has today published a draft business plan for the next five years in which £143million has been allocated to replace Croydon’s ageing tram fleet.

But that tram spend is less than one-fifth of the near £1billion budget allocated in the same report for a Tube line extension which does not even have planning permission or funding yet in place. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, East Croydon, Housing, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Property, Sadiq Khan, Seb Dance, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Dangerous driver does a runner after crash on Woodside Green

Posted on January 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

Flipped: the Honda sports car ended up on its roof after the driver lost control when racing along Woodside Green last night

Residents in Woodside Green were both terrified and relieved last night, after a car that was racing through their neighbourhood crashed into roadside barriers and ended up on its roof in the middle of the public open space.

They were terrified at the prospect of the “carnage” which might have been caused had pedestrians been passing at the time that the car sped out of control on to the green.

And they were relieved that the incident had not occurred just a few hours earlier, when dozens of small children from two nearby primary schools and a nursery might have been making their way home.

The shocking incident is just the latest in a series of high-speed near-misses on Croydon’s roads, where motorists are allowed to ignore all speed limits or common sense, with little prospect of facing any enforcement action. Continue reading →

Posted in Amy Foster, Crime, Croydon Council, Policing, Transport, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Perry’s council fails to spend £74,000 from road safety budget

Posted on January 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

Under the Tory Mayor, Croydon axed six lollipop patrols outside primary schools last year in a cost-cutting measure. Yet now, according to Croydon East MP Natasha Irons, the council is sitting on a pot of grant money while children’s lives are at risk in Forestdale

Signing up: parents and staff at Forestdale Primary are signing a petition to get the council to act over Featherbed Lane

A Croydon MP has launched a campaign to make Featherbed Lane safer, following serious concerns raised by families with children attending nearby primary schools.

Natasha Irons, the Labour MP for Croydon East, took up her constituents’ complaints with Croydon Council last year. But after months without any action from the Town Hall, and tens of thousands of pounds sitting in the council’s road safety budget untouched, the MP is now backing a public petition calling for a road safety review and a new, safer crossing. Continue reading →

Posted in Addington, Crime, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Forestdale Primary, Mayor Jason Perry, Natasha Irons, New Addington South, Schools, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The Veacock, Haddrell, Savage Trio, The Oval Tavern, Sun Feb 1

Posted on January 28, 2026 by insidecroydon

C O M M U N I T Y
A D V E R T I S E M E N T

Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Advertisement, Advertisement features, Art, Business, Music, The Oval Tavern | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Minister Reed buckles under lobbying for ‘feudal’ landlords

Posted on January 27, 2026 by insidecroydon

BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent, on how an election promise to scrap ground rents for leaseholders has been watered down to something which now won’t take full effect until the year 2066

Property progress: leaseholders got some good news today, but the government has been accused of ‘tinkering’ under pressure from landowners

Groups representing leaseholders and renters have accused the Labour government of “feet-dragging” and “tinkering around the edges” over its proposals to cap ground rents and reform the leasehold system.

The Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Bill, published today, was first put forward in the King’s Speech in 2024.

Keir Starmer’s Labour made an election promise to sweep away ground rents altogether, in a thorough modernising overhaul of the medieval land ownership rules in England and Wales. The measures were strongly supported by his former Deputy PM, Angela Rayner. But since Rayner has been replaced, the policy has been significantly watered down. Continue reading →

Posted in Housing, London-wide issues, Property, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Sweet Science will be landing a blow for women’s cause

Posted on January 27, 2026 by insidecroydon

Hive of activity: the Coulsdon Community Centre, home of the Theatre Workshop Coulsdon, where preparations are going on for The Sweet Science of Bruising

KEN TOWL got a behind-the-scenes preview of the next production from Coulsdon’s acclaimed theatre group, which he says will be a real knock-out

In December, when I went to the Coulsdon Community Centre, I saw a great performance of My Fair Lady but I left my favourite hat on my seat.

On Sunday, I went round to collect it and found myself in the middle of the hive of activity that is Theatre Workshop Coulsdon’s “set-build Sunday”, an early stage in the group’s preparation for their next show, a tale of Victorian lady boxer. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Community associations, Coulsdon, Ken Towl, Theatre, Theatre Workshop Coulsdon | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment