Shop workers’ union in call for £12 per hour minimum wage

Posted on August 10, 2022 by insidecroydon

Survey of low-paid retail staff has found 1-in-4 are skipping meals to be able to feed their children, while nearly half of them cannot afford to travel to work because of soaring fuel prices

Members of shop workers’ union USDAW will take to the streets of Croydon this weekend as they call on the government to take action to tackle the Tory cost of living crisis.

On the edge: a survey of USDAW members has found many of them struggling to make ends meet

USDAW will be running street stalls at London’s Olympic Park and opposite Primark in Croydon town centre, where they will be sharing the findings of a cost of living survey conducted among their members.

The Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers is the country’s fifth biggest trades union, with around 360,000 members. Most members work in the retail sector, but the union also has members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing, chemical industry and other trades. Continue reading →

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Man to appear in court charged with Norwood Junction murder

Posted on August 10, 2022 by insidecroydon

A man has been charged with murder following the discovery on Sunday morning of a body on Station Road, close to Norwood Junction Station.

The police have not yet named the dead man, who was said to be in his 40s.

But last night they announced that Agash Jeyanandam, 23, of Stonecroft Way, had been arrested and charged with murder.

He will appear at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on today. Continue reading →

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READER OFFER: Half-price fish and chips at For Cod’s Hake

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Another great Inside Croydon reader offer: half-price haddock and chips at For Cod’s Hake

Great fish and chips are a thing of beauty, and at For Cod’s Hake, Boxpark Croydon’s Aussie-influenced new seafood restaurant, they are truly delicious.

Now Inside Croydon readers can sample For Cod’s Hake’s haddock and chips for half price – just £6.50 per portion, instead of £13 – between now and the end of October.

The offer runs on Wednesdays only, from tomorrow, August 10, 2022, until October 31, 2022, during the restaurant’s day-time service, from noon to 6pm (while stocks last – so don’t hang around!).

Personal callers only at Unit 17 in Croydon’s Boxpark – this offer is not available on deliveries, sorry. Continue reading →

Posted in Boxpark, Business, East Croydon, For Cod's Hake | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Hosepipe ban ‘in weeks’ as second heat health warning issued

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Five more days of 30-degrees-plus temperatures, and with no sign of rain any time soon has seen Thames Water follow other companies in issuing drought notifications

Mercury rising: on the hot tarmac outside Croydon’s Fairfield Halls, the temperature topped 40 degrees last month

The summer-long drought and another heatwave with temperatures over 30 degrees for several days has prompted the authorities to issue a second set of health warnings just weeks after the previous one.

And Thames Water, the suppliers for most of the borough and the capital, are to follow the lead of other water companies in south-east England and impose a hosepipe ban “within weeks”.

The Met Office last night issued an amber warning for extreme heat covering four days from Thursday to Sunday for parts of England and Wales. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon parks, Environment, Gardening, Health, London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues, Nature Notes | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Kalashnikov conviction part of London’s criminal arms race

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Two men have been jailed after a Met police dog led officers to an AK-47 assault rifle.

Death on the streets: the AK-47 is the world’s most widely used assault rifle

Umar Pervez, 23, of Midhurst Avenue, Croydon, and Kyal Truong-Clarke, 25, from Beckenham, were both sentenced at Kingston Crown Court yesterday to eight years in prison.

The men had been found guilty of conspiracy to transfer a firearm, conspiracy to possess a prohibited firearm and conspiracy to possess ammunition. Truong-Clarke was also found guilty of possession with intent to supply cannabis.

The Soviet era AK-47 has been the weapon of choice of revolutionaries and terrorists around the world since the 1950s. That it is now being discovered in the back-yard armouries of south London crooks and drug dealers is a development that is causing increasing concern to the local police.

Continue reading →

Posted in Broad Green, Crime, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

‘Unexpected’ death at Norwood Junction under investigation

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

Police are investigating the “unexpected” death of a man whose body was found on Station Road, near Norwood Junction Station, shortly after dawn on Sunday morning.

‘Unexpected death’: police are investigating after a body was found on Station Road, South Norwood

Police and the London Ambulance Service were called just after 5.30am on Sunday, August 7, “after concerns were raised for the wellbeing of a person who had been found unresponsive,” a Scotland Yard spokeswoman told Inside Croydon.

The man, believed to be in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

There has been some speculation among locals that the dead man may have run a business in the area, though police refused to confirm or deny this. Continue reading →

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Moat housing upgrades heaters at Park Hill retirement flats

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

A housing association with properties across the borough has moved to upgrade the heating in some elderly tenants’ homes, which will save residents money on their heating bills while reducing their carbon footprint, too.

Eco-friendly: the new heaters are 25% more efficient, according to the landlords

The high-efficiency, eco-friendly electric heaters were installed into homes at Moat’s Regis Court, a retirement housing complex in Park Hill, built in 1989. The work was carried out by property services business Liberty, as part of the housing association’s retrofit programme.

After seeing the impact of rising fuel bills on their tenants, Moat hired Liberty to decommission inefficient storage heaters in a the 33-flat block and install new lower-carbon heating technology. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Environment, Housing, Park Hill and Whitgift | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Croydon FC Festival and league match, Croydon Arena, Sep 3

Posted on August 9, 2022 by insidecroydon

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Child dead at scene of massive explosion in Thornton Heath

Posted on August 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

Devastation: the scene on Galpins Road, Thornton Heath, shortly after the explosion

Local heroes rush in to devastated scene to pull children from the rubble, as emergency services evacuate 40 more homes

2.30pm UPDATE: A child was killed in the massive explosion at a house in Thornton Heath this morning, according to reports from the emergency services.

Four others were rescued from the property on Galpins Road, after the entire building collapsed following the blast. One was discharged at the scene, but three were taken to hospital where they were said to have potentially life-threatening injuries.

In a statement issued by the London Ambulance Service just after 2pm confirmed that “a child was pronounced dead at the scene”.

Ambulance crews have now been stood down.

Merton Council are treating the explosion as a “major incident”, and have established an emergency evacuation centre for the affected households.

The terraced house was reduced to rubble by the explosion, leaving a gap in the row of houses. Some neighbouring properties have also been damaged, according to the London Fire Brigade.

It was “the biggest bang you’ll ever hear”, according to one local.

Continue reading →

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Later life planning advice session, Chestnut Gardens, Aug 31

Posted on August 8, 2022 by insidecroydon

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Posted in Activities, Purley | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Police renew appeals one month after nurse’s disappearance

Posted on August 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

One month on from the last sighting of Owami Davies, detectives have renewed their appeal for information and announced a fifth arrest in connection with the student nurse’s disappearance in West Croydon.

Missing in Croydon: Owami Davies

The Metropolitan Police have today stated that three of the arrests have been made on suspicion of kidnap, with the others on suspicion of murder.

The most recent was a 33-year-old man, arrested on suspicion of kidnap yesterday. Four of those arrested have since been released on bail.

Owami Davies was last seen in the early hours of Thursday, July 7 as she walked along Derby Road, West Croydon.

She had left her family home in Grays, Essex three days earlier on Monday, July 4. Continue reading →

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Church career which led Quinn to the not-so-high and mighty

Posted on August 7, 2022 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Canon Arthur Quinn, for 32 years the vicar in Shirley, recently had his diamond anniversary of being a priest celebrated in a service at Croydon Minster. DAVID MORGAN spoke to him about Philip Larkin, Ronnie Corbett and the ideal length for a sermon

Diamond service: Canon Arthur Quinn

“I think I always knew I was going into the priesthood,” Canon Arthur Quinn said after 60 years’ service as a vicar.

As a boy, Quinn was taken by his father to morning and evening Sunday services in a church on the outskirts of Belfast. He attended the Sunday School, too. He remembers choosing to take Greek instead of German at school because he thought it would probably be more useful.

Quinn spent a year after school working in an insurance office before he went up to Trinity College Dublin to read Hebrew and Oriental Languages. He still holds a great affection for the university.

“There was a porter there who had worked at Trinity for many years,” said Quinn. “I asked him about the changes that he had seen over that time.” The porter laughed that “when he first started work there, everyone who went to Trinity was a gentleman”. Continue reading →

Posted in Church and religions, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Golf, Shirley North | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council arts fund ignites row 11 years after deadly night of riots

Posted on August 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

The decision by the Mayor of Croydon, Jason Perry, to call a Borough of Culture funding stream “The Ignite Fund” has been slammed for being crass, ill-judged and insensitive by victims of the Croydon Riots.

The symbol of Croydon 2011: but the council appears to have forgotten the impact of the riots on communities

The announcement of the Ignite Fund was made by the council’s propaganda unit yesterday.

This weekend marks the 11th anniversary of the Croydon Riots, the biggest civil disturbances ever seen in the borough, when police vehicles were fire-bombed, shops were looted and dozens of homes and businesses were destroyed through arson. A 26-year-old man, Trevor Ellis, was shot and killed on Warrington Road in South Croydon during the disturbances. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Boris Johnson, Borough of Culture 2023, Broad Green, Business, Community associations, Crime, Croydon 8/8, Croydon Council, Mayor Jason Perry, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

London bus drivers to take strike action on same day as Tube

Posted on August 6, 2022 by insidecroydon

Trades union Unite has called for a bus strike in London in two weeks’ time – including on the same day as a planned Tube and Overground strike.

Taken for a ride: London United bus drivers have been offered a 3.6% pay rise when inflation is over 11%

More than 1,600 bus drivers are set to join the take strike action on Friday August 19 and Saturday August 20, after their employer failed to make a reasonable pay offer.

But the depots affected do not include any Croydon or south London bus garages.

The strike action, which coincides with the Tube and Overground train drivers’ action on August 19, will affect the following depots operated by London United: Fulwell, Hounslow, Hounslow Heath, Park Royal, Shepherd’s Bush, Stamford Brook and Tolworth. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New boss, new squad, new hope as Trams approach kick-off

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Rising to new heights: Croydon centre back Marlon Agbolade in pre-season action. Will the South Norwood-based club secure promotion this season?

NON-LEAGUE NEWS: It’s been all-change for most of the area’s part-time players over the summer. ANDREW SINCLAIR gets you up to date with the latest news before the start of the season tomorrow

Club officials are hopeful that Croydon Arena will be buzzing tomorrow afternoon, with a bumper crowd boosted by Crystal Palace fans who will have watched their side open the Premier League season against Arsenal on Friday night all looking to catch a game with a 3pm Saturday kick-off, and perhaps also some families with daughters who are buoyed by the massive achievement at the Euros last week when the Lionesses won at Wembley.

Fresh approach: Tyler Chambers

But even for those close to the squad at Croydon FC, no one is yet quite sure what they might be getting from their new-look side as they take on Kent Football United in their opening fixture of the Southern Counties Eastern Football League Division One.

If Palace’s game in the Premier League was in Tier 1 of the English football pyramid, then Croydon’s match is in Tier 10, the lowest position in the club’s history and one that the Trams have had to endure for three seasons so far. Because of their low ranking, Croydon have been denied a place in the FA Cup for a second season running.

They go into 2022-2023 with a completely re-shaped squad which includes just three players who featured in last season’s league campaign.

After two seasons frustrated and disrupted by covid, 2021-2022 promised much for Croydon but ultimately fizzled out to an underwhelming eighth-placed finish. Now, as well as the much-changed squad, there’s a relatively new club chairman and board, and a new manager, who says that this is “a chance to take a well-supported club steeped in history back to where they belong”. Continue reading →

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, AFC Whyteleafe, Balham FC, Carshalton Athletic, Croydon FC, Crystal Palace FC, Football, South Norwood, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Purley’s new street market ‘postponed until further notice’

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Purley Market, which was due to be held outside the leisure centre and along the High Street tomorrow, has been cancelled.

Market daze: Purley’s efforts to establish a monthly street market has flopped

The monthly markets, an innovation from the Purley Business Improvement District, have been “postponed until further notice”.

Purley BID did not confirm the reason for the cancellation of the markets, which began earlier this year on the first Saturday of each month, but sources suggest that there has been a disappointing take-up by stall-holders.

The markets have been organised by Covent Garden-based company MSD Markets, who manage similar open air events in Tabard Street, SE1, in Forest Hill and in Yeovil. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Purley, Purley BID | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Perry’s PSPO will just move ‘problems’ out of town centre

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

Dressed up as a ‘war on anti-social behaviour’ and used as an excuse for clearing the streets of drinkers, the latest proposals will allow the cash-strapped council to issue money-making fines for often trivial offences. By our Town Hall reporter, KEN LEE

Street thinkers: part-time Mayor Perry was on North End with Borough Commander Dave Stringer (centre) within days of his election in May

The council has started a six-week consultation on what it misleadingly describes as a “new” Public Space Protection Order, or PSPO, for the area outside the Whitgift Centre, North End, Croydon High Street and bits of South Croydon, Broad Green and Waddon.

In fact, it’s just a re-boot of the old PSPO, with knobs on, as the council seeks to invest itself with additional powers to dish out money-spinning on-the-spot fines for a range of offences.

The consultation is a legal requirement to tick a few boxes, and has been made necessary because the previous PSPO was allowed to lapse, with council officials failing to fill out the necessary paperwork to ensure it was renewed – what happens when a local authority goes bust and then hands out redundancy notices to staff willy-nilly. Continue reading →

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Crime, Croydon BID, Croydon Council, Dave Stringer, East Croydon, Fairfield, Mayor Jason Perry, Policing, Pubs, Surrey Street, Waddon, West Croydon, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Opera House’s BME mentorship scheme is a ‘game changer’

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

The orchestra at the Royal Opera House has launched a groundbreaking pilot programme for young musicians from underrepresented backgrounds, to provide mentoring tailored to the participants’ needs whilst enhancing skill sets, insight and training in the classical music field.

The project, for people aged between 18 and 25, is being delivered in collaboration with Black Lives in Music, an organisation established to champion diversity in the classical music industry.

Tony Pappano, the music director of the ROH, said, “Working in any orchestra is a hugely collegiate experience and we believe it’s vital to assist and mentor young talent as they navigate the very beginnings of their career.

“Gaining access to organisations at the start of your career can feel daunting and overwhelming and we want to support, mentor and positively shape these very first experiences in a professional environment. This new pilot scheme will welcome young, diverse talent, helping them feel like they belong.” Continue reading →

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Coulsdon West RA asks for donations to its Defibrillator Appeal

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

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Posted in Charity, Community associations, Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Coulsdon West Residents' Association | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

August events at Barchester’s Chestnut Gardens home, Purley

Posted on August 5, 2022 by insidecroydon

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Fourth arrest made in investigation into missing student nurse

Posted on August 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

Detectives investigating the disappearance of Owami Davies in West Croydon last month have appealed for a driver of a white van to come forward to assist with their enquiries.

Missing: Owami Davies

Police last night released the CCTV video showing Derby Road, West Croydon, in the early hours of July 7, the last known sighting of Davies.

This morning, the Met announced that it had made a further arrest, a 22-year-old man from an address in Croydon, on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody.

Three other men, aged 27, 23 and 32, who were previously arrested on suspicion of murder as part of this investigation all remain in custody, and have had their detention period extended. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Policing, West Croydon | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Racism, bullying and factionalism: Labour needs to do better

Posted on August 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

Former Corbyn adviser ANDREW FISHER, pictured left, gives his assessment of the Forde Report, and how it reflects what has been happening in the party in Croydon

The Forde Report – the investigation into the culture of the Labour Party – has uncovered some unsavoury truths.

The Labour hierarchy would do well to reflect on them and improve. What I had walked in to was immediately apparent when I arrived to start my new job in the party in September 2015, but Forde lays it out in detail, with evidence: “By 2015, the majority of the party’s senior staff did not see their roles as requiring perfect neutrality, or even the appearance of it.” Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Andrew Pelling, Croydon Central, David White, Gavin Barwell, Jamie Audsley, Robert Canning, Stuart King, Waddon | 8 Comments

Shirley’s Wilderness garden banks on help from volunteers

Posted on August 4, 2022 by insidecroydon

The Wilderness: a special garden in Shirley

A Croydon care home that is surrounded by a notable and historic garden has been enjoying the benefits of some special care and attention from a big corporate team-bonding exercise.

Staff from Standard Chartered Bank picked The Wilderness, a seven-acre historic garden situated within MHA Hall Grange on Shirley Church Road, as the location for their volunteering initiative. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Charity, Croydon parks, Environment, Gardening, Shirley North, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Report: Axing rail staff undermines billions in investment

Posted on August 3, 2022 by insidecroydon

An influential disability accessibility group which advises the government has described the current staffing on some south London rail stations as ‘completely inadequate’.
By our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON

A confidential report on workforce “reforms” on the railways from government advisors says that reduced staffing, along the lines proposed by Tory Transport Minister Grant Shapps, risks undermining billions of pounds of public investment in making the rail network more accessible.

Access all areas: a confidential report stresses the continuing need for platform and station staff on our railways

The report also finds that de-staffing policies are creating “perverse incentives” for train operators and jeopardising further investment in station accessibility and step-free access.

The report was drafted earlier this year by the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee, or DPTAC, who are statutory advisors on accessibility to the Department for Transport.

DPTAC has been warning the government about the “toxic combination of driver-only operation and unstaffed stations” since 2016, insisting that railway destaffing breaches multiple areas of equality law.

DfT has not published DPTAC’s report, although the Association of British Commuters has obtained a copy and put it into the public domain. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Third Croydon man arrested in connection with missing nurse

Posted on August 3, 2022 by insidecroydon

The Met Police announced this morning that they had made a third arrest in connection with the disappearance of Owami Davies, a student nurse who was last seen in West Croydon a month ago.

The police said that a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of murder at an address in South Croydon yesterday, August 2, and he remains in custody.

“This remains a missing person investigation and our priority is finding Owami,” the police said.

Continue reading →

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