From the Wandle to the Hudson, Carr campaigns on pollution

Posted on November 5, 2021 by insidecroydon

Lizzie Carr, the environmentalist from Purley who in 2016 paddled the length of England’s waterways to check how much waste plastic was polluting the country’s rivers and canals, is still battling against the toxic polluting of the nation’s rivers and streams.

Long journey ahead: Purley’s Lizzie Carr sets off down the mighty Hudson this week. Photo: Andy Hargraves

While the COP26 conference is taking place in Glasgow, ostensibly for Britain to “lead the world” over the climate emergency and mankind’s damage to the planet, Carr has this year been forced to cancel journeys along waterways in England because of the dangerous levels of toxic pollution being pumped into our rivers, streams and canals.

In July this year, Carr’s charity, Planet Patrol, had to abandon a paddleboarding clean up on one English river because the water was toxic – a recent heavy rainfall meant the local water companies storm drain had overflowed and raw sewage was released into the river. Continue reading →

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Ali offered £3.1m lifeline to help reduce cuts to services

Posted on November 4, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: One Labour councillor has provided an idea which could help to reduce some of the drastic cuts in the Town Hall budget. But so far, they’ve not received a reply. By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor

Number-crunching: a buoyant pension fund could help save services

It’s a little known fact that one area in which Croydon’s cash-strapped council has demonstrated considerable financial excellence over the past five years is the civic pension fund.

The fund, which is used to pay the pensions of former council employees, has almost doubled in value, from £863.2million in March 2016 to £1.6billion by June this year.

According to an official report from the Government Actuary’s Department, Croydon’s pension fund has performed better than many similar local authority funds, having previously been a very poorly funded scheme, trailing most other authorities.

The government actuaries, by nature very cautious souls, say that Croydon had reached 98per cent fully funded by 2019. The fund has made further significant gains since then  and is now considered to be over-funded. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Latest Tory sleaze scandal shows that rules are for other people

Posted on November 4, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: The backlash against the Tory government’s vote to let one of their MPs escape penalties for breaking the rules over lobbying has today brought the suggestion of a U-turn. But why is it one rule for them and another rule for the rest of us, asks OLGA FITZROY

Sleaze: Owen Paterson

Yesterday, the Conservative government applied a three-line whip to change the parliamentary rules on transparency and corruption so that one of their MP colleagues who had broken them didn’t get punished.

This morning’s latest Westminster drama means it is still unclear whether these changes will now be implemented, but the fact remains that 244 Tory MPs, including Croydon South’s Chris Philp, Sutton and Cheam’s Paul Scully, and Carshalton and Wallington’s Elliot Colburn, all voted to abolish the independent body tasked with upholding the parliamentary standards on lobbying and corruption so that their mate could avoid a miserably short one month’s suspension.

Philp, Scully (who appears on tonight’s edition of BBC Question Time, so get the popcorn in) and Colburn have all been challenged by this website to explain why their party whip was more important to them yesterday than the right or moral thing to do. Don’t hold your breath… Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Elliot Colburn, Olga Fitzroy, Paul Scully MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Newman backers say they want to be Labour’s Mayor candidate

Posted on November 4, 2021 by insidecroydon

Next week marks one year since the council was forced to declare itself effectively bankrupt. For some senior Labour councillors, it’s almost as if they played no part in the borough’s financial collapse.
By STEVEN DOWNES

Mayor candidate: Manju Shahul-Hameed, here with her former mentor, Tony Newman

Three members of Tony Newman’s council cabinet that bankrupted the borough now think that they could become the first executive Mayor of Croydon.

Councillors Callton Young, Manju Shahul-Hameed and Alisa Flemming all submitted applications to be selected as the Labour Party candidate for the mayoral election being held next May, senior sources within the local party have confirmed.

Others known to have applied for Labour mayoral candidate selection are Val Shawcross, the former London Assembly Member and Deputy Mayor, Donna Murray-Turner, a minority rights activist, and Jamie Audsley, another councillor who served under Newman in a minor position. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, 2022 Croydon Mayor election, Alisa Flemming, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Jamie Audsley, Jason Perry, Manju Shahul Hameed, Sarah Jones MP, Section 114 notice, Steve Reed MP, Val Shawcross | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Winning Women, free dance and sport sessions, Centrale

Posted on November 4, 2021 by insidecroydon

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Talk Money Week at Whitgift Square, Nov 11 to 12

Posted on November 4, 2021 by insidecroydon

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Posted in Activities, Charity, South West London Law Centres, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Waddon business waits year for action on dangerous parking

Posted on November 3, 2021 by insidecroydon

A local business owner claims that inaction by the council’s roads department is putting lives at risk on busy Stafford Road, as officials treat elected councillors with undisguised contempt. Report by our transport correspondent, JEREMY CLACKSON

Danger spot: poorly maintained road markings are leading to dangerous parking on Stafford Road

How difficult can it be to repaint a road marking so that a parking restriction can be enforced?

In this case, on a short stretch of single yellow line on Stafford Road, next to the notoriously congested and dangerous Fiveways junction in Waddon, for Croydon Council it appears to be an impossible task.

“I’ve been asking the council to do this for a year, to tackle a dangerous parking problem but no progress has been made,” Tony Kerr told Inside Croydon.

Kerr is the managing director of Optilabs, based on Stafford Road, which has been providing services to residents for more than 50 years. Now, after months of inaction from his local council, he hopes that sharing his tale of woe with Inside Croydon might shame the authority into actually doing its job. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Robert Canning, Steve Iles, Stuart King, Waddon, West Thornton | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Brick by Brick ‘sweetheart’ sale could have cost another £45m

Posted on November 3, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The latest report from government-appointed inspectors assigned to check on the council finances reveals that a sweetheart deal to sell failed house-builders Brick by Brick to a Manchester developer could have cost the bankrupt borough another £45m.
By STEVEN DOWNES

Going cheap: details of the deal to sell Brick by Brick raise suspicions over whose interests were being served

Tony McArdle and his colleagues on the Whitehall-appointed improvement panel were clearly unimpressed by the suspiciously generous terms being considered earlier this year by Croydon Council for the sale of Brick by Brick.

Brick by Brick is the council-owned, loss-making housing company that played a significant role in bankrupting the borough.

According to the report, which was made public yesterday, the only bidders for the company, Urban Splash, had submitted an “unsolicited offer” which will have seen them take on the failing business with little, if any, up-front payments, and benefit from cost write-offs of up to £45million. Cushty! Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Planning, Section 114 notice, Tom Bloxham, Tony McArdle, Urban Splash | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Parlour Players present Nell Gwynn, Sanderstead, Nov 11-13

Posted on November 3, 2021 by insidecroydon

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Shirley Scarecrow Festival, supporting Demelza, Nov 6-14

Posted on November 3, 2021 by insidecroydon

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Multi-million-pound loss on hotel ‘not ideal’ says panel

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Whitehall-appointed inspectors raise serious doubts over the council’s property sales. By STEVEN DOWNES

Going cheap: the council has sold the Croydon Park Hotel at a loss of perhaps as much as £14m

The council’s sale of the Croydon Park Hotel at a loss of as much as £10million has been condemned by government-appointed officials.

Such a multi-million-pound loss for the bankrupt borough on the amount paid out of Council Tax-payers’ money just four years ago could yet prompt an investigation into the role of lobbying firms in the seemingly rushed-through deal.

“Disposing of a hotel in the current climate is not ideal,” according to the measured tone adopted in the latest report from the improvement panel, who suggested that the asset could be made to generate income for the cash-strapped council until a better offer came along.

The report, written by improvement panel chair Tony McArdle, was submitted to Whitehall at the end of August, when some haggling over the sale of the property was still ongoing. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Callton Young, Chris Buss, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Planning, Section 114 notice, Stuart King, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

There’s mushrooming interest in wildlife on local commons

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

NATURE NOTES: Winter visitors are eagerly awaited, while City Commons’ guided walks made some fascinating discoveries

Coming to a common near you soon: the redwing

Winter birds, including redwing and fieldfare, are expected to start arriving on the green spaces in and around Farthing Downs, Coulsdon.

These visitors fly in the north and east to overwinter in southern England, where the weather is milder and food is easier to find.

Hawthorn, holly and yew are among the trees that provide an important food source for these birds, which are commonly found across the open downland and woodlands of the Coulsdon Commons. Continue reading →

Posted in City Commons, Environment, Nature Notes | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Police looking for man in connection with two bus arsons

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

Burn out: the bus was severely damaged after a fire when the 154 was on route, travelling from Croydon to Morden.No one was hurt

The Metropolitan Police has released a photograph of a man they want to question in relation to two arson attacks on buses in south London, one of which gutted the entire top deck, causing more than £200,000-worth of damage.

That offence, the police say, happened at around 8pm on Friday, 8 October.

The top floor of the 154 bus from Croydon to Morden was set alight while it was travelling down Mollison Drive, South Beddington. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Policing, TfL, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Cash-strapped council still going over-budget, report finds

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Government commissioners say that there’s been ‘an opportunity missed’ because of the slow pace of change under council CEO. By STEVEN DOWNES

Katherine Kerswell, the chief executive of the cash-strapped council, has been subjected to overt criticism for the slow pace of change at Fisher’s Folly in the latest report from the government-appointed improvement panel.

Slow change: council leader Hamida Ali (left) and chief exec Kathrine Kerswell remain under close scrutiny

The first anniversary of the council issuing a Section 114 Notice, effectively declaring the borough bankrupt, is next week.

A clear-out of the executive floor of the council headquarters was conducted by Kerswell in February, resulting in four directors leaving Croydon.

Yet today, Kerswell is one of only two members of the eight-strong “executive leadership team” that is not described as “interim” or “acting”.

“Some priority actions are taking longer than we believe they should,” the report states. They criticise “excessive churn” among middle-ranking and senior management at the crisis-hit council. They describe the situation as “disappointing” and “an opportunity missed”.

The panel say that they “are of the view that this is a priority exercise that has not been prioritised”.

The improvement panel’s latest report was released this morning by the Department for Levelling Down. It is the third update from panel chair Tony McArdle and his colleagues since they were installed to oversee the work of Kerswell at the start of this year. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Ennis, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Addington residents respond en bloc to save Green Belt

Posted on November 2, 2021 by insidecroydon

Block action: Addington villagers with the concrete slabs that were placed at Flaconwood last week to try to prevent further unauthorised road works on the Green Belt

Members of the Addington Residents’ Association took matters into their own hands last week, getting massive concrete blocks, looking like giant Lego bricks, installed at the top end of a once grassy lane to halt further unauthorised road works in the Green Belt. Continue reading →

Posted in Addington, Addington Residents' Association, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Planning, Selsdon and Addington Village | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Council rehomes families from overcrowded Regina Road flats

Posted on November 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: New heaters have been promised by the middle of this month, as officials finally start to make changes for those living in ‘appalling’ conditions in South Norwood council flats. By STEVEN DOWNES

Families with more than two children living in overcrowded one- and two-bed council flats in Regina Road are to be moved to more suitable accommodation, in a major success for the campaigning work of local residents.

Getting the message across: Regina Road residents have achieved significant successes

The “appalling” conditions of leaks and mould in the council-owned blocks in South Norwood caused a national scandal when exposed on ITV News in March.

The council has confirmed to Inside Croydon that the decision to rehome another 10 tenants has been agreed, in addition to the eight households who were found alternative accommodation earlier this year, soon after the TV news programme shamed Croydon Council into action.

The council has also undertaken to replace the inadequate storage heaters in all three blocks of Regina Road flats, works that it hopes to complete before the middle of this month, according to a Katharine Street source. The new heaters follow criticism from tenants that their homes are poorly insulated, and that they faced a winter of soaring heating bills. Continue reading →

Posted in Clive Fraser, Community associations, Croydon Council, Hamida Ali, Health, Housing, Patricia Hay-Justice, Patsy Cummings, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, South Norwood | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Purley home offers care advice for elderly over fireworks

Posted on November 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

A care home in Purley has shared its top tips for supporting those living with dementia ahead of Bonfire Night and Diwali, which are both taking place later this week.

Going off with a bang: not everyone enjoys Bonfire Night

While a fun tradition for many, the sound of fireworks has the potential to be distressing for those living with the condition, which is why the team at Care UK’s Amberley Lodge, on Downlands Road, have shared their expert advice on keeping loved ones safe and comfortable this year.

“Fireworks are a large and noisy part of the November celebrations, and although they might be enjoyed by some people living with dementia, others might find them distressing,” said Suzanne Mumford of Care UK. Continue reading →

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Help the Commons rangers plan for 10 more years of care

Posted on November 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

City Commons, the organisation operated by the City of London which manages a selection of green spaces in and around Croydon, is preparing its 10-year management plans, and is seeking input from the public which might influence how it approaches its tasks between now and 2031.

The plans, City Commons say, “will guide our work on Riddlesdown and Farthing Downs from 2021 to 2031. We’d like to hear what you think about the main actions of these plans and any aspect of our proposed work.” Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, City Commons, Croydon parks, Environment, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Isolation Exhibition, Croydon Art Space, until Nov 20

Posted on November 1, 2021 by insidecroydon

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Wartime tragedy that devastated one Croydon family

Posted on October 31, 2021 by insidecroydon

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM: Records at Croydon Minster and beyond reveal many stories of service and sacrifice.
Ahead of Remembrance Day, in the first of a series of articles, DAVID MORGAN unravels the tragic history of one Croydon family in the First World War

On the Croydon Minster Roll of Honour for those who lost their lives in the Great War is an entry that reads:

Polhill Herbert William, Gunner, Australian Trench Mortar Battery, date of death 23/08/1917

With the Australian Imperial Force records now digitised, it is straightforward from a desk in south London to look up the record of an old soldier who signed up more than a century ago, half a world away.

But what is revealed in this case is a deeply tragic story. Continue reading →

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

Boycotts and resignations in rows over Labour selections

Posted on October 30, 2021 by insidecroydon

‘The conduct of Labour Party affairs locally does seem to be almost tailored to create continuing unease and disaffection’. WALTER CRONXITE,  political editor, with the latest round-up of shenanigans

Desperate duo: councillors Patsy Cummings and Clive Fraser are in a scramble to get selected

“Croydon North’s in meltdown” was how one angry Labour member put it this week, as they regarded the unseemly scramble for selection among sitting councillors following the de-selection of two of them in South Norwood ward and the sudden resignation en masse of party officials in Norbury Park.

Councillors Clive “Thirsty” Fraser and Patsy Cummings have spent the past week trying to get shortlisted in another ward… any other ward, as a consequence of the vote of members in South Norwood last Saturday.

Cummings, who just six months ago was her party’s candidate in the London Assembly elections, was last night shortlisted for Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood ward. Continue reading →

Posted in 2022 council elections, Addiscombe West, Callton Young, Catherine Wilson, Clive Fraser, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Elliott-Jay Munroop, Felicity Flynn, John Wentworth, Karen Jewitt, Louis Carserides, Mohammed Islam, New Addington, New Addington North, Nina Degrads, Norbury, Norbury Park, Pat Ryan, Patsy Cummings, Selhurst, South Norwood, Stella Nabukeera, Stephen Mann, Steve Reed MP, Tamar Barrett (was Nwafor), Thornton Heath, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Old Coulsdon village to fight against planning ‘intensification’

Posted on October 30, 2021 by insidecroydon

A residents’ association in the south of the borough is organising to defend what it calls its “leafy suburban character” against unbridled overdevelopment allowed by Croydon Council.

Village fate: residents’ associations are pushing back against council development plans

“About eight out of 10 emails in my inbox relate to planning,” says Michael Seabrook, the chair of the Old Coulsdon Residents’ Association, OCRA.

“We are worried, if seems, that unfettered and large out-of-character developments are heading this way in the same manner as Coulsdon, Purley and Kenley.”

Seabrook and the OCRA committee have produced a planning questionnaire which they are asking their members and other residents to complete. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Coulsdon, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, HADRA, Old Coulsdon, Old Coulsdon Residents' Association, Planning | Tagged , , , , | 7 Comments

Spooky! Ghost of council’s past returns in time for Halloween

Posted on October 29, 2021 by insidecroydon

It must be Halloween. A ghost of Croydon Council’s past has turned up to haunt a mayoral event.

Haunting presence: (from left) Tony Newman together with Humayun Kabir and Rahena Chowdhury Kabir and Stuart Collins

A year since Croydon Council went bankrupt, and nine months since he was forced to resign as a councillor after having been suspended from the Labour Party, Tony Newman, the discredited former council leader, was spotted last night at a fund-raising event for the charities supported by Sherwan Chowdhury, the ceremonial Mayor of Croydon.

One of Chowdhury’s predecessors as mayor, Humayun Kabir, helpfully included a photograph of himself alongside his former Town Hall boss on his social media. It represents a rare sighting of Newman, who looked as if he’s never really gone away. Continue reading →

Posted in Humayun Kabir, Sherwan Chowdhury, Stuart Collins, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Covid emergency road changes set to be made permanent

Posted on October 29, 2021 by insidecroydon

Croydon Council, a local authority that pays £10million per year to burn the borough’s rubbish in an environmentally harmful incinerator, is trying to jump on the COP26 bandwagon by announcing that it is making permanent what it describes as “successful walking and cycling schemes” in the town centre and along London Road.

Slow lane: Croydon remains a long way behind other boroughs in implementing safer cycling routes

COP26 is the UN climate conference, being staged in Glasgow and which begins on Sunday. Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough would probably take a look at Croydon’s feeble efforts and ask why it took a global pandemic for the council to just begin to introduce the kind of cycling infrastructure which was commonplace in other parts of London 20 years earlier.

The announcement from the council’s propaganda bunker said, without a hint of shame, “Announced ahead of the COP26 climate change summit, the proposals are a significant step toward [sic] Croydon achieving its target of a 34 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025, encouraging more people to leave the car at home for more journeys.” Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Cycling, Environment, Muhammad Ali, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chance to tell the council how you feel about benefit cuts

Posted on October 29, 2021 by insidecroydon

A council consultation has begun to get the public’s response to plans to withdraw Council Tax Support from around 20,000 households in the borough, costing some as much as £29 per week in lost benefits.

Cutbacks: beancounters at Fisher’s Folly are cutting Council Tax discounts for 20,000 households

You can just imagine the responses to the consultation question, “How do you fancy us taking, say, £1,000 off you next year, so that we can fix the finances of the borough we managed to bankrupt?”

The cuts to Council Tax Support won’t be much of a laughing matter for those who will be worst affected. Campaigners have warned that the Labour-run council’s cuts to the benefits will have “devastating consequences and plunge people impacted into deeper poverty”.

Next month will see the one-year anniversary of Croydon issuing a Section 114 notice, the formal procedure to announce that the council was bankrupt. The authority has since received a £120million bailout from the government, with strings attached such as the demand for wide-ranging cuts.

The Council Tax Support move is an attempt to save the cash-strapped council about £5.7million per year, part of its efforts to reduce its annual budget by £38.4million in 2022-2023.

Senior figures at the council, such as council deputy leader Stuart King, have determined to push through these benefit cuts, while at the same time campaigning against the government’s own benefit cuts, the removal of the £20 per week Universal Credit uplift. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment