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Officer’s distinguished service on Western and Home fronts
On the brink of war: Croydon-born Edmund Robinson (centre) at his wedding to Mary Read in New Zealand in 1915, not long before he was sent off to fight in WWI
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: The physical and psychological sacrifices made by all those who served, including those who survived the horrors of trench warfare, are important to recall, writes DAVID MORGAN
As we outlined in last week’s column about how the lives of ordinary people of Croydon were affected, sometimes tragically, by war, it had been common at the start of the last century for people to emigrate from this market town on the borders of south London and Surrey to seek a better life in the Commonwealth.
Although Canada and Australia were the destinations of choice for many, several from Croydon settled in New Zealand. And when war broke out in August 1914, it was an almost reflex reaction for them to to sign up to fight “for King and country”, albeit with the forces from their adopted country.
Although we tend to focus on those who lost their lives in the conflict, there are those who survived the horrors of World War whose stories should be told, too. Continue reading
Croydon’s council close to the top of the table – for complaints
Outstanding… but not in a good way: Fisher’s Folly, next to the Town Hall, attracts plenty of upheld complaints from the borough’s ill-served residents
Croydon has proved itself to be outstanding once again – but in a manner in which no local authority should ever seek to shine.
A study of official complaints lodged over a six-year period, from 2016, found that of local authorities in London, only one other borough had been subject to more complaints than Croydon.
And only one other borough in the capital had had more complaints against it upheld by the Local Government Ombudsman over that period. Continue reading
Fairfield’s Peter Pan panto to Hook in the Christmas audiences
He’s back: Captain Hook returns to the Fairfield Halls this Christmas, with EastEnders‘ Ricky Champ as the villain.
Pics: Elliott Franks
Fairfield Halls has released full cast details for this year’s pantomime: Peter Pan – The Return of Captain Hook, which runs from December 10 to 31.
Promising plenty of swash and buckle, the cast is headed up by EastEnders bad boy Ricky Champ as Captain Hook, with Gemma Hunt as Tinker Bell.
“It promises to be a fabulous festive production with guaranteed fun, laughs and adventure,” say the producers. “With galleons of entertainment, fantastic flying effects, an acrobatic pirate crew, and possibly the hungriest crocodile you’ll ever see, join the adventure this festive season.”
Joining Champ and Hunt are CBBC and Crackerjack’s Mark Rhodes as Smee and Channel 5 Milkshake! presenter David Ribi as Peter Pan. The company also features Ohanna Greaves as Emily Darling and Emma Jay Thomas as Mrs Darling. Continue reading
Posted in Art, Fairfield Halls
Tagged Captain Hook, David Ribi, Fairfield Halls, Gemma Hunt, pantomime, Peter Pan, Ricky Champ
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Thornton Heath Festive Fair, High Street, Nov 12
Posted in Church and religions, Community associations, Thornton Heath
Tagged Salvation Army, Thornton Heath
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Palace granted permission (again) for £100m stand at Selhurst
The Eagles have landed: after a six-year delay, the planning process for the £100m Main Stand at Selhurst Park was given a green light last night
Back of the net! The result of last night’s planning committee meeting was never in doubt. But now Crystal Palace and their chairman Steve Parish have to seal a deal with Sainsbury’s. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE
It was the one home win this season that Crystal Palace could guarantee.
There was no need to check with VAR to ensure all the players were on-side. Part-time Perry, Croydon’s Mayor, is a Selhurst Park season ticket-holder. The Labour lead on planning at the Town Hall, “Thirsty” Chris Clark, is an Eagles cheerleader. The local MP had been wined and dined by expensively hired lobbyists and plied with hundreds of pounds of free tickets for matches.
And the council planners – just as they had done four years before – had recommended that the planning committee should grant approval for Crystal Palace FC’s £100million new stand. Continue reading
Posted in Business, Christopher Herman, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace FC, Football, Leila Ben-Hassel, Planning, Selhurst, South Norwood, Steve Parish
Tagged Croydon, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace FC, Labour, Planning, South Norwood, Steve Parish, Wooderson Close
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Downfall of Truss leaves Tory Philp facing uncertain future
With the parliamentary Conservative Party in meltdown after a month of chaos under Liz Truss, ANDREW FISHER looks at what’s next for MP Chris Philp and his potentially ‘marginal’ seat of Croydon South
Architects of chaos: Croydon MP Chris Philp (left) didn’t spend long on the government front bench alongside Thick Lizzy Truss (second left) and the short-lived Chancellor, KamiKwasi Kwarteng (second right)
The Conservative Party is disintegrating before our eyes, with the Tory government increasingly resembling a group of toddlers playing musical chairs with the Benny Hill theme tune as the musical accompaniment.
As the Liz Truss economic experiment implodes after just 44 days of her in office as Prime Minister, it looks, too, as if 12 years of Conservative rule will soon be coming to an end.
This isn’t just hubris by a Labour member, but an analysis of the cold, hard data – with some polls putting Labour as much as 36 percentage points ahead of the shambolic Conservatives.
One eye-catching data release was an MRP poll by pollster Opinium that predicted the Conservatives would be reduced to just 137 MPs – losing 228 seats at the next General Election. Continue reading
Barwell tells the Tory Party: It’s time to make up your mind
Britain stands on the brink of a national breakdown, after Liz Truss resigned as Prime Minister this lunchtime, following a turbulent 44 days in office during which her Mini-Budget crashed the markets, she sacked both her Chancellor and Home Secretary and she lost the confidence of most Tory MPs.
GAVIN BARWELL, right, the former Conservative MP for Croydon Central, this morning posted a Twitter thread with his advice for his erstwhile colleagues
Everyone I’ve spoken to from all wings of the party agrees the Truss government is finished, but there is no consensus on who should take over. The rows over Brexit and the removal of Boris have left deep scars.
If we are agreed that the Truss government has been a disaster, can we also agree that it should not be someone who supported Liz’s campaign and served in her Cabinet when it agreed the “Mini-Budget”?
There are some good people in the current Cabinet who should play important roles in what comes next – Penny Mordaunt and Ben Wallace being obvious examples – but they are implicated in what has just gone so wrong.
We need someone who was on the right side of the argument.
Posted in Gavin Barwell
Tagged #ThickLizzy, Barwell, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, Jeremy Hunt, Liz Truss, Michael Gove, Rishi Sunak, Thick Lizzy Truss, Tory
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Squaring the rubbish circle on Oval Road was never easy
CROYDON COMMENTARY: In answer to a public question at last night’s Town Hall meeting about the terrible state of Oval Road since rubbish contractors Veolia started a bin bags trial in 2020, Cllr Scott Roche said ‘a review of the effectiveness of the trial has been completed, and the council is considering what option will be taken forwards. This will be done in conjunction with local residents.’
Here, JERRY FITZPATRICK, pictured right, a former Labour councillor for Addiscombe West ward, responds to the complaints made by a resident about the long-term lack of action on behalf of locals
For those who don’t know Oval Road, the context is that the road has a specific issue in that there are a significant number of properties which are divided into flats, these properties having insufficient curtilage to accommodate the number of bins which are required for a waste management system using four types of container, or indeed five for those properties which have a bin for garden waste.
State of that: a typical morning scene on Oval Road since Veolia’s bin bags trial
The waste management problems are not unique to Oval Road but are complicated by the fact that the majority of properties are multi-occupied, with steps leading to upper flats and basement flats, and many properties are rented with a quick turnover of tenants, not all of whom know and understand the waste protocols.
Councillors had several walkabouts with senior officers before the consultation which took place with residents in the summer of 2019. The streetscape was deplorable, and hazardous to pedestrians (particularly those pushing buggies) and wheelchair users. Bear in mind that Oval Road is a busy thoroughfare to and from East Croydon and Addiscombe.
Councillors met and received correspondence from residents who expressed their concerns in no uncertain terms. Continue reading
Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, ECCO, Fly tipping, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Patricia Hay-Justice, Refuse collection, Tom Lawrence, Veolia
Tagged #Binmageddon, Addiscombe, Addiscombe West, East Croydon, East Croydon Community Organisation, ECCO, Jerry Fitzpatrick, Oval Road
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MP secures Commons debate on Galpins Road gas explosion
Siobhain McDonagh, the Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden, has secured a House of Commons debate tomorrow over the gas explosion on Galpins Road in August that caused the tragic death of four-year-old Sahara Salman and led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents.
Devastation: the scene on Galpins Road shortly after the explosion in August
The MP has organised for a coach to bring residents who were evacuated from Galpins Road to watch the debate from the public gallery.
The explosion occurred shortly after 7am on Monday August 8. An investigation is ongoing.
In the aftermath, hundreds of residents were housed in hotel accommodation by Merton Council. They had to leave with no notice, no belongings and no idea of when they would return. Many residents have not yet been able to return to their homes. Continue reading
Viridor incinerator breaks its toxic VOC permit for 40th time
MARK GALE reports on how the Environment Agency’s ‘strict limits’ on polluting emissions are not so strict after all
Something stinks: Viridor has broken its pollution permit 40 times in 42 months
The latest emission data for the polluting incinerator on Beddington Lane has just been released and yet again, operators Viridor have breached their Environment Agency-set limits.
The reports that used to be published fortnightly have become less reliably regular since a change of personnel at the facility earlier this year, making it less straightforward to keep a check on which part of their permit Viridor has broken most recently.
But the data made available this week shows that on September 15, the levels of volatile organic compounds, or “VOCs”, exceeded the “strict limits” by more than 10per cent.
For Viridor, the limits don’t seem to be too “strict” as this is the 40th time the Beddington incinerator has gone over those limits since the data started being publicly shared 42 months ago. Continue reading
Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Environment, Health, Kingston, Merton, Old Palace, Sutton Council, Wandle Park, Waste incinerator
Tagged #MuckyMerton, Beddington Lane, Beddington Lane incinerator, Kingston Council, Mark Gale, Merton Council, SLWP, South London Waste Partnership, Sutton, Sutton Council, Viridor
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Saturday Coffee mornings at St Matthew’s, Chichester Road
Posted in Church and religions, Community associations
Tagged Chichester Road, St Matthew's Church
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Ukraine’s national orchestra to play Croydon’s Fairfield Halls
Coming to Croydon: the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine on stage in Kyiv at the Lysenko Column Concert Hall
The Fairfield Halls will stage one of the gala concerts in next year’s UK tour by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, it has been announced.
Croydon’s arts centre will be one of 17 venues in the tour, the first visit to this country by NSOU in 20 years. The Fairfield Halls will host the second concert, on Wednesday October 18 2023. Ticket prices start from £45.50 and have gone on sale today.
The tour is the biggest in the history of the orchestra, which dates back to 1918, and is intended to reflect audiences’ new-found interest in Ukrainian culture since the Russian invasion in February this year. Other venues on the tour include Cadogan Hall, Symphony Hall in Birmingham, St David’s Hall in Cardiff, Usher Hall in Edinburgh and Liverpool Philharmonic Hall.
Tory Mayor considering 11% increase for council rents
CROYDON IN CRISIS: There’s no mention of it on the agenda for tonight’s meeting of the full council. But official council reports show that the borough’s Housing Revenue Account has debts of £322.5m.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
£2bn of debt: the council’s debts are nearly 20% higher than previously suggested
It is a single line, the very last line, on the fifth page of a five-page presentation made by council officials this month.
The Housing Revenue Account, the ring-fenced council fund that pays for repairs and maintenance and new council homes, the official report states, “currently has borrowing of £322.5million”.
No further explanation is offered.
That’s another one-third of a billion pounds of debt at Croydon Council, in addition to the £1.6billion that the authority under Tony Newman and Alison Butler managed to accrue in their six years in charge from 2014.
The bombshell £322.5million figure comes at the end of a council report which was delivered earlier this month, attempting to explain “How is money being spent” in the HRA. The report was delivered alongside a second presentation that consider the real possibility that Croydon’s council tenants could face rent hikes of as much as 11per cent from next April.
The HRA report shows that the council’s housing fund operates on a balanced budget projected to be £91.24million of spending in 2023-2024, funded mostly by the £81million of income it receives from tenants’ rents. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Tony Newman
Tagged Alison Butler, Conservative, Council rents, Croydon, Croydon Council, Housing Benefit, Housing Revenue Account, HRA, Labour, Liz Truss, London Borough of Croydon, Mayor Jason Perry, Thick Lizzy Truss, Tony Newman, Tory
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‘Don’t make a tough job even harder’ say London’s firefighters
Fire Brigade staff have been facing an increase in abuse and even attacks when dealing with life-threatening situations, including two assaults at incidents in Thornton Heath
Under attack: firefighters in London faced a busy month of grassfires in July – yet got abused for their efforts
The London Fire Brigade is calling for an end to abuse towards its staff, after figures released today – Emergency Services Day – show that last year there were 353 incidents of abuse towards firefighters and control staff.
Among the abuse and attacks were two occasions when firefighters were dealing with life-threatening incidents in Thornton Heath.
Last month, firefighters were assaulted and threatened by a man after being called to a bonfire in Thornton Heath. None were injured but the crew had to call police for backup as the situation escalated. Continue reading
Shocking findings on Croydon’s GCSEs and infant death rates
Research published by the Trust for London shows that Croydon is trailing badly behind other boroughs in the capital on some important measures of poverty.
This includes data which shows that Croydon has among the lowest GCSE attainment across the whole of London.
Croydon is also shown as having one of the higher levels of infant mortality.
And at 6.1per cent, Croydon’s unemployment rate is significantly worse than the 4.3per cent average across the rest of England.
The Trust for London is a charitable foundation with stated aims of tackling poverty and inequality by funding voluntary and charity groups. It makes grants totalling around £10million a year, supporting up to 300 organisations. Continue reading
Wallington 10-year-old is face of campaign to get us dancing
A 10-year-old from Wallington has been chosen as one of the faces of a national campaign, backed by some of the stars of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, to get the whole of the country dancing.
Queen of Latin: Strictly’s head judge Shirley Ballas is backing the campaign
Elijah Caraccio is one of the young people fronting the Find Your Dance Space campaign, launched this week by the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, and supported Strictly judges Shirley Ballas and Oti Mabuse.
The campaign aims to show that dance is for everyone, regardless of age, gender, ability, fitness level or circumstance, and Elijah demonstrates how it helps him to deal with the symptoms of dyspraxia and attention deficit disorder. Continue reading
Postal ballot switch puts by-election candidates in a rush
Political editor WALTER CRONXITE on a schedule change that probably won’t do anything to increase turn-out in Selsdon Vale and Forestdale
Election candidates for the Selsdon Vale and Forestdale ward by-election, their agents and supporters, had their carefully planned campaign schedules thrown into disarray yesterday when the council decided to bring forward deadlines for postal ballots.
Voting by post became much more popular during the covid lockdown, avoiding the need to visit the polling station on election day. The political parties try to time their campaigning so that their messaging reaches votes likely to vote by post at the same time as their ballot papers arrive.
The long haul: with only two polling stations in the ward, the walk along Old Farleigh Road is ‘a turnout destroyer’
But all those plans were wrecked yesterday lunchtime when the candidates and their agents were told by the council’s electoral services department that, to avoid any adverse impact from planned strike action at Royal Mail, the despatch of the postal votes was being brought forward by 48 hours – with ballot papers being sent out by first-class post today.
“No bloody consultation with the candidates’ agents,” one seriously unimpressed local politician told Inside Croydon.
The email from the council’s electoral services said, “You may be aware that the postal service is due to be affected by industrial action in the coming weeks, with strikes due to take place on Thursday 20 and Tuesday 25 October. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Katherine Kerswell, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale
Tagged Andrew Pelling, Chris Philp MP, Conservative, Croydon, Croydon Central, Croydon Council, Croydon South, Green Party, Katherine Kerswell, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Tory
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Coding teen scoops £5,000 prize from National Lottery Awards
A teen from south London has scooped the Young Hero title at the National Lottery Awards for her project that runs workshops teaching disadvantaged young women skills to improve their confidence and opportunities.
Award-winner: Avye Couloute, with one of the projects that helped her win the £5,000 National Lottery prize
Avye Couloute, 15, from Wimbledon, started coding when, at seven years old, she attended a computing club. She loved how she could use code to move things on the screen or to control electronic components, and began to actively research and learn more skills in her spare time.
When Avye noticed that most of the attendees at these digital workshops were boys, she founded Girls Into Coding, working with girls aged 10 to 14. Through a combination of workshops and talks delivered by trailblazing women and girls in the tech sector, GIC not only improves the girls’ digital-making abilities, it also develops their skills in problem-solving, teamwork and resilience, building their confidence and opening their eyes to new pathways. The activities help the girls become aware of new possibilities beyond their current horizons, opening them up to careers and further activities in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, sector. Continue reading
Posted in Activities, Education, Merton
Tagged Avye Couloute, National Lottery, National Lottery Awards, Wimbledon
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Tories pose real threat to Selsdon Vale with ‘attack on nature’
Under threat from Tory proposals: Selsdon Vale and Forestdale’s leafy aspects could be destroyed by Conservative moves to scrap environmental protections
CROYDON COMMENTARY: The Prime Minister may have sacked her Chancellor and his replacement might have scrapped almost all of the Trussonomic financial policies announced just three weeks ago.
But, says PETER UNDERWOOD, pictured right, there’s no sign that the Tories will abandon their ‘assault on nature’
Under the cover of their disastrous Mini-Budget, the Conservatives also announced that they want to rip up the planning protections that prevent overdevelopment and, alongside a raft of other harmful measures, allow developers to build on our green spaces.
And while Prime Minister Liz Truss has performed some of the quickest U-turns in political history to help the financial markets, the Conservatives are still pushing ahead with their attack on nature.
When I say “attack on nature”, those aren’t my words.
That is the verdict of the RSPB: “Make no mistake, we are angry. This Government has today launched an attack on nature. We don’t use the words that follow lightly. We are entering uncharted territory. Continue reading
Boxpark uses England star Grealish to cash in on World Cup
Come on!: Jack Grealish is more likely to be in action in Qatar than in Croydon
Boozepark, next to East Croydon Station, is looking to cash in on England’s World Cup heroes next month, selling tickets at up to £40 a time to enter the food and booze venue on the days when Gareth Southgate’s side is in action in Qatar.
The venue’s publicists have got so carried away with their promotional schtick that they have even hinted that there could be an appearance during the World Cup by England player Jack Grealish, when Manchester City’s £100million man ought to be 4,000 miles away playing in some of the biggest matches of his career. Continue reading
Posted in Boxpark, Business, East Croydon, Football, Pubs, Sport
Tagged Boozepark, Boxpark, Croydon, East Croydon station, Gareth Southgate, Jack Grealish, Qatar, Qatar World Cup, Stormzy, World Cup
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