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Cassandra Centre kids’ photography competition, Aug 10-17
Posted in Activities, Art, Charity, Community associations, Norbury
Tagged Cassandra Centre, Norbury
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Triangle will be ‘decimated’ by road closures, warns councillor
A road closure trial in Upper Norwood has caused bitter divisions among residents, and within the Labour-controlled council
The Labour group at the Town Hall, already riven with fault lines on a number of contentious issues, is facing another split, this time over road closures in Upper Norwood that have been introduced today under coronavirus emergency powers.
The latest chasm between the party line and what people really think was exposed last week by councillor Pat Ryan, who broke the usual omerta required of the Labour group on all matters of public policy when he criticised the road closures saying that the area will be “decimated” (yes, he misused that word), and claiming, “Crystal Palace will lose its identity and character.” Continue reading
Posted in Angela Wilkins, Bromley Council, Commuting, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Cycling, Environment, London-wide issues, Pat Ryan, South Norwood, Stuart King, TfL, Transport
Tagged Anglea Wilkins, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace Triangle, Labour, Pat Ryan, road closures, STUART KING
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Brick by Brick claim building on green space is ‘sustainable’
If there was any doubt of the contempt in which the residents of this borough are held by the six-figure salaried executives at Brick by Brick and their paymasters at Croydon Council, then one need only look at the back-slapping guff which Colm Lacey, the chief executive of the loss-making housing developer, spewed forth on Friday, within hours of the latest Town Hall planning meeting.
Colm Lacey: building on public green spaces is ‘sustainable’ according to the BxB CEO
Since Brick by Brick was formed as a company wholly-owned by Croydon Council in 2015, it has a 100 per cent record of its applications being granted permission by the local planning authority – which just happens to be Croydon Council. This, of course, arouses no suspicions whatsoever…
So it was that on Thursday, the council’s planning committee duly waved through a scheme to build a four-storey block of nine flats on public open space in Covington Way, Norbury. This is despite legal covenants, signed by the council and going back nearly a century, which specifically forbid building anything on this green space. Continue reading
Croydon Photography Forum: Beverley Rhoden-Nelson, Aug 4
Posted in Activities, Art, Community associations
Tagged Croydon Photography Forum, Lenses of Croydon
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True Taste of the Caribbean at Patty Palace, Thornton Heath
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Football club forced to play games away over Arena uncertainty
The borough’s longest-established non-league football club go into the new season forced into a nomadic existence, uncertain of when their home ground at Croydon Arena will be available to stage home games.
Olympic athlete Donna Fraser: Arena is a lifeline
The council-owned Arena, the home ground of Croydon Football Club and the athletics training and competition base for Croydon Harriers, was closed for the covid-19 lockdown in March. But while other open air sports venues around south London have been opening up since May, there has been no date given for when the Arena will be covid-ready for a resumption.
Fraser tweeted, “No, no, no… this cannot happen! This is a lifeline for many in the area!” Continue reading
Posted in Athletics, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Football, GLL - Better, Sport
Tagged Croydon Arena, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Donna Fraser
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Comedian Brigstocke added to Crystal Palace Festival line-up
With just two weeks to go, the Crystal Palace Festival has announced its special guest acts for the live-streamed show from Upper Norwood Library.
Marcus Brigstocke: on the bill at the virtual Crystal Palace Festival
Top-flight comedians Marcus Brigstocke and Rob Deering have been added to the roster of performers who will be appearing over the weekend of August 15 and 16 in a studio specially arranged for the festival to go ahead in these coronavirus times.
Comedian, writer and broadcaster Brigstocke is a regular at the Edinburgh Festival, where his shows have included Planet Corduroy, The Museum Of Everything, and The Award-Winning Show. Continue reading
Covid outbreak takes seven Surrey fire engines out of service
The fire brigade in neighbouring Surrey has been hit by an outbreak of coronavirus which has placed nearly one-third of the county’s full-time fire engines out of service.
Surrey’s firefighters have been protesting against cuts to their service, and now have been hit by a covid-19 outbreak. Photo: Jess Hurd
According to the Fire Brigades Union, the outbreak has occurred after Surrey Fire and Rescue Service failed to implement properly health and safety measures for the pandemic, leaving firefighters struggling to maintain emergency cover. As many as seven fire engines have been unavailable at any one time from the outbreak.
A Surrey firefighter tested positive for covid-19 on July 25 after undergoing two days of training exercises without proper infection prevention and control measures, according to the FBU. This caused 20 more personnel to be removed from duty for self-isolation. Continue reading
Council planning decisions ‘open to corruption’, says research
Recommendations from an independent think tank, if they were applied in Croydon, could force cabinet member Paul Scott to stand down from all planning responsibilities. KEN LEE reports
Planning decisions are open to corruption from secretive lobbying, council officials’ conflicts of interest and even bold-as-brass bribery, according to research by Transparency International UK.
This sort of thing would never happen in Croydon, obviously…
In the report, published yesterday and entitled Permission Accomplished, they say that councils across England lack essential safeguards to prevent corruption in planning decisions. The report looks into the shady role of lobbyists, the “revolving door” between public officials and developers, and the problems caused by conflicts of personal and public interests.
The report’s findings will appear familiar with the many residents in Kenley who have been battling for more than a year to get Croydon Council to provide evidence that one of its senior planning officials, Ross Gentry, ever properly declared that he is married to a director of Macar, a development company which has been granted permissions for multi-million-pound flat-building schemes in their neighbourhood. Continue reading
Newman is ‘running scared’ from ballot for borough mayor
With a referendum for a democratically-elected mayor now inevitable, Croydon’s council leader is behaving increasingly like a small-town Donald Trump. Our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE, reports
Tony Newman: increasingly Trump-like
In a remarkable piece of transatlantic coincidence, just as the President of the United States was making moves to delay November’s election in a desperate bid to cling on to power for just a little bit longer, so in Croydon, our very own Tammany Hall Trump was also working hard to defer democracy and the termination of his own political career.
Council leader Tony Newman yesterday morning announced to his Labour councillor colleagues that any borough-wide referendum on the issue of Croydon having a democratically-elected mayor would “not even be looked at before May 2021”.
Newman cited coronavirus legislation. “Therefore no referendum in May, or any time soon after that,” Croydon’s increasingly Trump-like leader wrote to the Labour councillors’ WhatsApp group. Continue reading
Tea rooms want to stage ‘thank you’ party for NHS staff
A café at the heart of the community in Sanderstead is calling on its customers and neighbours to help to raise funds for a special “Thank You” party for the Critical Care Team at Mayday Hospital.
Priscilla’s Tea Room in Sanderstead wants to stage a Thank You night for NHS staff
During the covid -19 lockdown Priscilla’s Tea Room, next to the Sanderstead recreation ground, have been working with their customers to provide support for NHS staff. Customers raised funds to help buy personal protective equipment for the hospital including masks, sanitisers and hand creams for staff.
The donations also included treats including doughnuts and drinks to help the hospital staff through their shifts.
Now Pricilla’s Tea Room, run by Tim and Mandy Ashton, is helping with a second fundraising project. Continue reading
Posted in Business, Charity, Health, Mayday Hospital, Restaurants, Sanderstead
Tagged coronavirus, Covid-19, Mayday Hospital, Priscilla's Tea Room, Sanderstead
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Woman assaulted by Labour councillor: I want to reopen case
The woman who was subjected to vicious domestic violence by a sitting Croydon Labour councillor has spoken out publicly for the first time since her ordeal.
This image of Elly Snåll was taken shortly after her assault last September. Photo used with permission
The violent attack, which took place last September, led to the resignation of Niro Sirisena as a councillor for Fairfield ward.
But despite her suffering what she calls “an unforgivable violent crime”, Ellinor Snåll says that now Sirisena is seeking to make a return to politics, perhaps even with ambitions of becoming elected once again.
And she says that he is being actively helped in his cause by one of council leader Tony Newman’s most trusted colleagues at the Town Hall.
Snåll has spoken about her long-running ordeal of physical and mental abuse during her tempestuous relationship with Sirisena, and she says that she has continued to be the subject of abuse from the ex-councillor since the New Year, including a distressing encounter with her former partner last week.
“He gaslighted me, lied to me and manipulated me continuously our whole relationship to the point I attempted suicide,” Snåll said.
“If I still have any power to prevent him from ever doing this to anyone else, I will use it.” Continue reading
Posted in Chris Clark, Fairfield, Niro Sirisena, Tony Newman
Tagged Chris Clark, Fairfield, Labour, Niro Sirisena, Tony Newman
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Threat to Croydon’s green spaces is of council’s own making
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Croydon is the only local authority in the whole country that had all of its open space protections rejected by the Planning Inspectorate. So if you hear certain councillors talking up their green credentials, says SEBASTIAN TILLINGER, don’t believe them
Paul Scott: coming to a front door near you, soon
Councillor Paul Scott is the gift to Croydon that just keeps on taking.
The council cabinet member for planning is the primary reason Croydon’s protection of green spaces is the worst in the UK. Yes, the very worst in the whole country.
Scott has long been shaping our local planning policies to ignore the community and social importance of shared community green spaces.
And when Croydon Council’s professional planners, micro-controlled by Scott, finally submitted their list of green spaces to be protected to HM Planning Inspectorate, every single submission was rejected. Continue reading
Posted in 2022 council elections, Croydon parks, Environment, Paul Scott, Planning
Tagged Croydon Council, London Borough of Croydon, Paul Scott
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After setting bad example, council now asks public to stay safe
Three weeks after the ceremonial Mayor of Croydon – after having admitted that she may have had the virus – turned up for a couple of ribbon-cuttings without a face mask or even the pretence of practising any social distancing, now Croydon Council is calling on the borough’s residents “to protect themselves and their loved ones” from coronavirus. Staying clear of their Mayor might be a start…
How not to do it: Croydon Mayor Maddie Henson’s first engagement paid little heed to covid-19 precautions
As the national government starts getting its excuses ready for a second wave of covid-19 infections, so our local authority has now woken up to the continuing threat to the health of large numbers of the people supposedly in its care.
“Coronavirus has not gone away, and here in Croydon keeping our residents safe from this remains a top council priority,” said Tony Newman, the council leader with dwindling credibility.
Inside Croydon reported WHO figures at the start of July which showed that the rate of infection from covid-19 in the United Kingdom was already on the rise again then.
The council issued its press release last night, asking the public “to get aware” (this was apparently written by a paid communication professional) “of how to access the NHS Test and Trace service if they are showing covid-19 symptoms”. Continue reading
Posted in Croydon Council, Health, Maddie Henson, Tony Newman
Tagged coronavirus, Covid-19, Croydon, Croydon Council, London Borough of Croydon, Maddie Henson, Tony Newman
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Council planners forced into U-turn over Hawthorn Crescent
The open space in front of 20 family homes in Hawthorn Crescent that Brick by Brick wants to build on. It has been given a reprieve, for now, at least
EXCLUSIVE: Brick by Brick scheme to build eight houses for private sale on open green space in Selsdon gets pulled from the planning committee agenda. By BARRATT HOLMES
Brick by Brick’s application to build on green space at Hawthorn Crescent in Selsdon has been dropped from this week’s planning committee meeting.
The decision was announced by Croydon Council within minutes of Inside Croydon’s report last night that highlighted the council-owned builders’ latest proposals to concrete over the borough’s open spaces.
Brick by Brick wants to build eight three-bed houses for private sale on a patch of green space, which with its hawthorn hedgerow and mature trees offers a buffer space for 20 existing houses from the speeding traffic on Old Farleigh Road. Continue reading
Posted in Andrew Stranack, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Environment, Planning, Selsdon Residents' Association, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale
Tagged Andy Stranack, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Hawthorn Crescent, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Selsdon, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale
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Councillor claims: We can’t afford to reopen Arena stadium
Track where Olympic stars Donna Fraser, Martyn Rooney and Lawrence Okoye began their track and field careers is under threat after covid-19, as senior council figure claims it could cost £200,000 to reopen
Oliver Lewis, the council cabinet member, last night broke his two-month silence over the status of Croydon Arena to admit he has no idea when the venue might reopen after the covid-19 lockdown, and blame the borough’s financial meltdown on the delays.
Off-track: the council has no idea when Croydon Arena might reopen
Lewis even suggested that it could cost at least £200,000 to reopen the council-owned athletics track and football stadium – at a time when Croydon Council is axing hundreds of jobs and slashing all spending after a £65million overspend during the coronavirus emergency.
Croydon Arena, close to South Norwood Country Park, sits in the Woodside ward of council leader Tony Newman.
Sports clubs in the borough had been seeking guidance from Lewis, council officials and venue managers GLL since the end of May, when other athletics tracks and open-air sports venues were first allowed to reopen after the lockdown. Answers there came none.
Only after Inside Croydon reported on the situation yesterday and an open letter from Croydon Harriers did Lewis, the council cabinet member for arts and sport, finally break cover. Continue reading
Posted in Athletics, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Cycling, Football, Lawrence Okoye, Martyn Rooney, Oliver Lewis, Sport, Tony Newman, Uncategorized, Woodside
Tagged Croydon Arena, Croydon Council, Croydon Harriers, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Oliver Lewis, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Woodside
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70 households set out their stalls for first Shirley Jumble Trail
More than 70 houses in and around Shirley will be hosting stalls in their front gardens this Sunday, August 2, on the first Shirley Jumble Trail.
The trail is the idea of local residents Sandra Pound and Natalie La, who floated it on a residents’ Facebook page and were amazed at the response.
Items on sale will include clothes, toys and games, bags, books, bric a brac and plants.
Some houses are supporting charities like Demelza Chiclrens’ Hospice or Spring Park Girlguiding. Others are raising money for themselves.
Participants will be expected to practice covid-19 safety measures, including social distancing, regular hand-washing and wearing masks as appropriate. Continue reading
Posted in Community associations, Shirley North
Tagged Shirley, Shirley Jumble Trail
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Green spaces under threat as Scott seeks to ignore covenants
Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the latest Brick by Brick schemes which will concrete over green space, destroy mature trees and even tear up a legal covenant that dates back to the 19th century
Families and children have been holding picnics on the green at Covington Way for decades
Thursday’s virtual planning meeting will see the council trying to push through its latest two Brick by Brick schemes, despite strong local opposition.
These latest schemes from the council-owned house-builders will not only concrete over more of the borough’s green open space and destroy mature trees, but it will also rip up the conditions of legally-binding covenants which specifically precludes using the land for development.
The Brick by Brick proposals are for Covington Way in Norbury Park ward in the north of the borough, and at Hawthorn Crescent in Selsdon Vale and Forestdale to the south. Nowhere, it seems, is safe from Croydon’s concrete councillor, Paul Scott, the cabinet member for planning. Continue reading
Posted in Alisa Flemming, Andrew Stranack, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Environment, Housing, Norbury Park, Paul Scott, Planning, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale, Sherwan Chowdhury
Tagged Andy Stranack, Brick by Brick, Covington Way, Croydon Council, Hawthorn Crescent, Labour, London Borough of Croydon, Norbury, Norbury Park, Paul Scott, Selsdon Vale and Forestdale
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Shut Arena has Croydon trailing in national fitness campaign
With the government launching a £10million health awareness campaign to encourage the public to take more exercise and lead active and fitter lifestyles, it appears Croydon has made a false start.
Croydon Harriers are just one sports group left waiting for any information about the opening of Croydon Arena
There’s mounting concern among some of the borough’s biggest amateur sports clubs over the unexplained delay in reopening Croydon Arena following the pandemic lockdown.
“What is perplexing is that we can all go to the pub and get annihilated, and yet can’t use our local track. Very odd,” according to a local sports club source.
And there’s a growing fear that the real reason in the delay in reopening Croydon Arena is that the cash-strapped council doesn’t have the money to pay for the under-resourced venue to be made covid-19 compliant.
Posted in Athletics, Croydon Council, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Cycling, Football, GLL - Better, Leisure services, South Norwood, Sport
Tagged Better, Croydon Arena, Croydon FC, GLL, Greenwich Leisure, South Norwood
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Negrini reshuffles executive pack to cope with Henderson exit
Town Hall reporter KEN LEE on the latest changes in the executive suites at Fisher’s Folly
The council could be looking to shave £150,000 or more per year from its on-going costs by not replacing Robert Henderson as the exec director of its children, families and education division.
Doubling up: Croydon’s adult care exec director Guy Van Dichele now has more work to do
As exclusively revealed by Inside Croydon last week, Henderson has stunned his colleagues at the council by announcing he is leaving, just weeks after having managed to drag the children’s services department out of special measures with its first “Good” rating from Ofsted in three years.
With a job lined up at another local authority, Henderson is leaving Croydon in September, suggesting he is serving less than a three-month notice period.
Despite the large scale of Henderson’s job, his boss, council chief exec Jo Negrini, is not planning immediately to recruit a replacement or even promote from within.
With the council facing 15 per cent cuts across the board, and more than 400 jobs being axed from the Fisher’s Folly roster to deal with the council’s covid-19 overspend, Negrini announced yesterday that she wants to split Henderson’s work between two existing senior managers: Guy Van Dichele and Nick Pendry.
Croydon Night of Dance sets a world’s first – with bells on
The Croydon Night of Dance will take place this year, despite the coronavirus pandemic, with the Morris groups and folk dancers taking to the streets virtually for “MorrisoVision” (geddit?), all in aid of Rotary charities.
Croydon’s Night of Dance will involve a variety of dancers and Morris styles – online
The event, being held on Tuesday, August 18, is thought to be the world’s first online traditional dance contest.
“For 2020, we are going online with a Zoom meet with bells on,” the organisers say.
Since first being staged in 2003, the Croydon Night of Dance has delighted large crowds of spectators, traditional dance fans and beer-drinkers as groups have made a tour of three or four pubs in Addiscombe and East Croydon. Continue reading
Thank you! Readers pay Shirley women’s fine within hours
Inside Croydon readers come to the rescue of two young women hit with a harsh council fine – as Town Hall’s deputy leader claims he is powerless to intervene against decisions made by council officials and that he has lost the war against fly-tippers
Farhana Shefa and Gladis Bela, the young women from the Shrublands Estate who were fined by the council for putting their recycling out for collection, were today sending a huge thank you to generous readers of Inside Croydon for contributing to their crowdfund.
Just fine: Farhana Shefa (right) and Gladis Bela are grateful for the prompt and generous help of Inside Croydon readers
Part-time shopworker Shefa and student nurse Bela could not afford the possible £300 fixed penalties charged against them in two fines, which the council imposed on the young women for the single offence of putting a cardboard box out for a Veolia recycling collection.
But just a few hours after Inside Croydon reported the Shirley women’s plight and the “job’s worth” response from the council, this website’s readers had taken part in a virtual whip-round and raised enough to pay-off the fine, and with enough left over to meet the crowdfunding platform’s admin fees.
Today, Shefa said, “Thank you so much. Continue reading
Leaderless LibDems now lose their London Mayor candidate
The Liberal Democrats, without a party leader for more than six months, have now lost their London Mayoral candidate, too, after Siobhan Benita withdrew from the contest this morning.
Siobhan Benita: couldn’t continue campaigning for another year
What is often regarded as a “two-horse race” between Labour and the Tories looks like it might soon be just that – provided London’s worried Conservatives don’t pull the plug on their hapless candidate, Shaun Bailey.
Benita is the second candidate to leave the contest, following Rory Stewart, the former Conservative minister standing as an independent, who dropped out in May.
The elections were due to take place this year, but were postponed until May 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. Like Stewart, Benita cited the campaign extension as being too much of a burden. Continue reading
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