‘Worst experience of my life’ says Palace fan wrongly detained

Posted on June 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

Shakedown: Adam Welch (beige jacket) waiting to be searched by police before the Palace v Wolves game at Selhurst Park. They found ‘no evidence’. Note the steward, wearing a cap and hoodie

EXCLUSIVE: Eagles fans looking forward to celebrating the club’s FA Cup final win at Selhurst Park last month were refused entry to the ground despite a search which, according to the Met Police, found ‘no evidence’

A Crystal Palace fan who was wrongfully detained outside Selhurst Park before the last Premier League game of the season, initially accused of carrying a Class A drug, was later told by a senior police officer that there was “no evidence” to support the allegation and he was free to leave.

Adam Welch and his father, David Welch, still missed the Wolverhampton Wanderers game on May 20, wrecking what they had hoped would be a celebration of Palace’s FA Cup victory. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Crystal Palace FC, Football, Inside Croydon, London-wide issues, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Podcast: Our Croydon Insider panel looks at council’s crisis

Posted on June 30, 2025 by insidecroydon
  • What will the appointment by government of Commissioners to run Croydon Council mean to you as a resident?
  • After five years of ever-increasing bail-outs for Croydon’s cash-stapped council, what alternative actions were there?
  • And is Mayor Jason Perry right to feel aggrieved?

Tired of paying more for less, after 27% Council Tax hikes in two years and the closure of four libraries, the axing of a vital youth outreach service and the end of the road for the borough’s lollipop ladies and men, our panel of Croydon residents – and Inside Croydon readers – discuss the latest developments at the Town Hall, the lack of progress over the Whitgift Centre with Westfield, and accuse the Mayor of “fucking the finances”. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Insider, Inside Croydon, Katherine Kerswell, Ken Towl, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Under The Flyover | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Boy With Wings takes flight at Wimbledon’s Polka Theatre

Posted on June 30, 2025 by insidecroydon

On stage: The Boy With Wings is now performing at the Polka Theatre until August

NAOMI TOWNSEND and her sister EMILY TOWNSEND travelled to Wimbledon to see the premiere of the musical based on Lenny Henry’s book, The Boy With Wings

Big day out: Naomi (left) and Emily Townsend arrive for their theatre visit

I had never been to the Polka Theatre before, and as I walked into the big building, I saw the café.

At first, I thought the entire building was a restaurant, until I saw the word theatre on the sign. I liked the look of the café because all of the windows were open, and it looked like a cool place eat.

My little sister and I often go to the theatre, but we had never seen The Boy With Wings before.

Emily and I thought it would just be about a little boy who used his wings to fly all over the world, which he kept a secret. To be honest, because we had never heard of Sir Lenny Henry, we were not sure what to expect, but we always enjoy going to the theatre and we knew that we would have a great time. Continue reading →

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Croydon cricketer who helped establish game in Melbourne

Posted on June 29, 2025 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: In the baptismal records in Croydon Minster’s archives, DAVID MORGAN has discovered another cricketer who was influential in the early years of the international game – except that Sam Cosstick was playing for the Australians

The entry in the scorebook read:

Lockyer: 2,1,1,2,1,1,1 ct Huddleston b Cosstick 9

Bowled over: Sam Cosstick emigrated to Australia in his 20s, and became a sought-after professional cricketer

This came from a cricket match, played at the Melbourne Cricket Club in January 1864 between an All-England XI and a Victoria state team. It was significant in several ways.

This England team predated the official Test team and this tour, the first to Australia, was arranged by George Parr. His initiative was an important one in helping the development of the game in Australia.

Before cricket stats became as well-kept as they are today, with Wisden and Playfair annuals keeping tabs on every detail of the top players’ lives and careers, the majority of the crowd in Melbourne 160-odd years ago probably didn’t realise that one member of the England team and one of the Victoria team were both born in Croydon.

In fact, the baptismal records of Croydon Parish Church, now Croydon Minster, show both Tom Lockyer and Samuel Cosstick were christened here.

Tom Lockyer, born November 1, 1826, and christened in Croydon on December 17, 1826, became one of England’s greatest cricketers of the 19th Century.

A Surrey player, he was a great batsman-wicketkeeper who was also able to bowl when the need arose. After he finished his playing days, he became the landlord of the Sheldon Arms in Croydon.

Samuel Cosstick was born January 1, 1836, and baptised on February 7 that year. His parents were Samuel and Mary. Continue reading →

Posted in Cricket, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, History, Jamie Smith, Sport, Surrey CCC | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Summer Jazz at Croydon Clocktower in July, every Thursday

Posted on June 29, 2025 by insidecroydon

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Morris in the Village, Honeywood Museum, Carshalton, July 24

Posted on June 29, 2025 by insidecroydon

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Rare flowers seem common on our Midsummer’s dream walk

Posted on June 28, 2025 by insidecroydon

Woolly munchers: the London Wildlife Trust uses a flock of sheep to help manage the grasslands at Hutchinson’s Bank (PS)

Our latest wildlife amble for Inside Croydon readers took place this week, with MOIRA O’DONNELL showing the way across a part of the North Downs with rare flora and fauna, and all just a tram ride away
Photos by AUSTEN COOPER and PHIL SWALLOW

Guided walk: the pathways across Hutchinson’s Bank now have QR codes to direct and inform walkers who don’t have the benefit of Moira O’Donnell to lead the way

It rained in Croydon on Thursday.

It was all so very brief, all over within just a few minutes, as the forecasters had forecast. It would not affect, nor deter, the interested ramblers who had signed up for one of iC’s occasional forays into the hills, woods and valleys around Croydon.

But the rain, or lack of it through this spring, would be noticed throughout our Midsummer’s dream walk, all wonderfully led by the marvellous Moira O’Donnell. Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Hutchinson's Bank, Inside Croydon, Moira O'Donnell, New Addington, Walks, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Croydon haunting was ghost-hunter Fodor’s biggest ever case

Posted on June 28, 2025 by insidecroydon

BERNARD WINCHESTER outlines a ghostly tale that includes Conan Doyle and Sigmund Freud, a talking mongoose from the Isle of Man, and the notorious Thornton Heath poltergeist

Coming to a cinema near you: Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose, at the David Lean next Saturday

Next Saturday, Croydon’s David Lean Cinema is screening a curious film, a little-known British comedy called Nandor Fodor and the Talking Mongoose.

Quite…

Nandor Fodor was a paranormal investigator during that period between the wars when such matters held a grip on the popular imagination. The Roaring Twenties may have been a time of high jinks and economic boom (until the Crash), but in Europe they were very much a time of mourning for all those who had “gone before” in the First World War and the Spanish flu pandemic that followed.

Consequently, there was a huge interest in the possibility of communicating with loved ones on “the other side”. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Cinema, David Lean Cinema Campaign, History, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon FC Annual Fun Day, Croydon Arena, from 1pm, July 26

Posted on June 28, 2025 by insidecroydon

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Raggio di Sole, handmade pizzas made to order, South Croydon

Posted on June 28, 2025 by insidecroydon

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

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Raffle prize donations request for Davidson Pre-school, SE25

Posted on June 28, 2025 by insidecroydon

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Fire Brigade issues urgent wild fires warning across London

Posted on June 27, 2025 by insidecroydon

Dry run: with drought-like conditions and soaring temperatures, the London Fire Brigade says that they have already had to deal with 14 wildfires this summer

The London Fire Brigade has issued an urgent warning to the public of a “severe risk of wildfires” ahead of this weekend’s heatwave.

London and the south-east of England have endured drought-like conditions with unusually low rainfall since March, while the Met Office is forecasting temperatures soaring to 35º over the next four days – a potent mix that threatens to cause significant destruction, the Brigade warns.

The LFB has issued its public advice to avoid fires starting in the first place, but has also called on landowners and local authorities, such as Croydon Council, to take action now to protect communities from wildfires. Continue reading →

Posted in City Commons, Croydon parks, Environment, London Fire Brigade | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Rail operators ‘pause’ the removal of East Croydon bike rack

Posted on June 27, 2025 by insidecroydon

On the rack: Southern have ‘paused’ plans to remove a bike strorage from East Croydon Station

Southern Rail is to “pause” on its removal of the bike rack on Billinton Hill.

The news comes barely a week after Inside Croydon broke the story of the train operators’ plan, which they claimed was necessary because of the risk of a “bomb threat” to East Croydon Station and the London to Brighton mainline.

Nearly 700 people have signed a petition against the removal of the bicycle storage facility, which is used by dozens of cycling commuters every day as they make their journey to work. The cyclists also complained about the short notice given and lack of any consultation by Southern.

Southern had said it intended to remove the bike racks next Tuesday, July 1.

Now, they say that work will not be going ahead. They have undertaken to meet with their customers and a local MP at East Croydon Station and that they will “continue to consider improvements to the bike storage facilities at the station”. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Commuting, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Croydon East, Croydon West, Cycling, East Croydon, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Imperial Way shooting: murder victim was attending a funeral

Posted on June 27, 2025 by insidecroydon

Shot: Anthony Morrison

Anthony Morrison, the man shot dead on Imperial Way last week, had been attending a wake following a funeral, it has emerged.

The Metropolitan Police has repeated its appeal for witnesses following the shooting outside CostCo at around 5pm on Thursday, June 19.

The police have already made an arrest. Byron Cole, aged 39, of Gleneldon Road, Streatham, has been charged with murder and possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, and appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court earlier this week.

But last night the police issued a new appeal for witnesses to the events that led to the fatal shooting. Morrison received emergency treatment from paramedics, but was declared dead at the scene. He was 41. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Nick Blackburn, Policing, Purley Way | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Poor Perry shuffles his papers but can’t find any answers

Posted on June 26, 2025 by insidecroydon

TOWN HALL SKETCH: At the first council cabinet meeting for three months, Croydon’s Tory Mayor stamped his feet and screamed in self-pity, and then admitted that he can’t fix the finances.
By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor

Jason Perry stood up, his face puce with rage.

He stamped his right foot once, twice, then a third time. And then he screamed across the Town Hall Chamber: “No fair!”

Well, alright, it perhaps didn’t happen quite like that, but Perry’s performance at last night’s council cabinet meeting had all the hallmarks of a Violet Elizabeth Bott spoilt brat tantrum. Just none of the charm.

Last night’s was the first meeting of Perry’s council cabinet in three months. Who said that Croydon’s Tory Mayor wasn’t dealing with the council’s financial crisis with sufficient urgency?

Having cancelled a cabinet meeting in May and having refused to hold an emergency meeting of full council to debate the government’s bombshell announcement that it wants to send in Commissioners because Perry has admitted that he is incapable of coping with his “runaway” budgets, last night’s performance in the Town Hall Chamber was all about self-pity.

Poor, poor Jason. Continue reading →

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

‘Solution to restoring sustainability lies outside our control’

Posted on June 26, 2025 by insidecroydon

Here is the full text of Mayor Jason Perry’s letter to Secretary of State Angela Rayner, in response to the announcement that the government is ‘minded’ to send in Commissioners to manage Croydon’s ‘runaway’ finances

I am writing in response to your department’s recent announcement that you are “minded to” appoint Commissioners to Croydon Council owing to our financial situation. Whilst we fully acknowledge the challenges the council has faced, I must express serious concern that this
announcement does not adequately take into consideration the substantial progress we have made, the difficult decisions we have already implemented, nor provide any solution for restoring financial sustainability.

Since 2020, Croydon Council has delivered savings of £167million, with an additional £50million planned for this financial year. We have generated over £210million in capital receipts, with a further £68million of sales planned. In 2023, we made the unprecedented and politically difficult decision to raise Council Tax by 14.99%, 10% above the cap, directly responding to the Improvement and Assurance Panel’s (IAP) recommendation to close the financial gap. Continue reading →

Posted in Commissioners, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Improvement Board, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Stabilisation Plan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Vote for these benefit cuts and you deserve to lose your seat

Posted on June 26, 2025 by insidecroydon

More than 22,000 people in Croydon claim PIP or the health element of Universal Credit. So why aren’t Croydon’s MPs opposing the government cuts?
ANDREW FISHER, right, looks at the storm gathering at Westminster for the Prime Minister

Politics is a grubby business, and little is more besmirched than the clandestine world of big votes in Parliament. In Blackadder III, Edmund Blackadder expounds his theory on the origin of the word “politics”: “Poly – meaning many. Tics – meaning blood-sucking parasites”.

House of horrors: Keir Starmer is trying to push through benefit cuts he once described as ‘unfair and unacceptable’

I first started working in Parliament in late 2003, not long after the Iraq War vote. There were still Labour MPs ruing the fact that they had been bullied, bribed and beaten down into voting for the still unfolding disaster.

In my many years working in the Palace of Westminster, by far the proudest moment I can recall was in 2016, when Labour defeated the then Conservative government’s proposals to cut £4.5billion from disabled people on Personal Independence Payments, or PIP.

Knowing you have played a small part in keeping money in the pockets of some of the poorest and often most vulnerable people is something to wear as a badge of honour. After years of austerity and cuts, the then Chancellor George Osborne was forced into an embarrassing U-turn and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Iain Duncan Smith, resigned claiming that even he had opposed the cuts which he had announced just a week before. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Fisher, Croydon East, Croydon West, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Croydon network to get 24 trams in deal worth at least £50m

Posted on June 25, 2025 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: After being stuck at a procurement red light for five years, Transport for London says it can now order a new fleet for the Tramlink system in south London. By JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent

Transport for London has confirmed that it is pressing ahead in ordering a £50million new fleet of trams for its south London network that runs between Croydon, Beckenham Junction and Wimbledon.

Back on track: TfL says it can now afford to buy new trams, perhaps like this Stadler model in Switzerland, to replace the ageing Croydon fleet

The decision has been made following the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Spending Review earlier this month, and ends a hiatus over funding for London’s transport that stretches back more than five years.

The original trams serving the Croydon network are all more than 25 years old.

A procurement and replacement process ought to have been underway by 2020 – but covid and lockdown put TfL’s finances into a tailspin from which they have barely recovered. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, TfL, Tramlink, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Minister rules out new mayors – but Croydon’s stuck with ours

Posted on June 25, 2025 by insidecroydon

Government proposals over the running of local councils will mean more ‘strong leaders’ across the country – like Tony Newman. Or Mike Fisher.
WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor, reports

New rules: Labour’s local government minister Jim McMahon

The Labour government wants to “standardise” local council governance so that most local authorities are run by “strong leaders” together with a cabinet of councillor colleagues, and it will block councils from making the move to a mayoral system, as Croydon residents voted for in 2021.

But while no new mayors will be created, Croydon is stuck with Mayor Perry, or his successors, at least until 2031.

Details have begun to emerge of exactly what Labour’s White Paper on English Devolution might look like in reality, following a statement to the House of Commons yesterday by local government minister Jim McMahon. Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Croydon Council, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Mayor of London, Mike Fisher, Reigate and Banstead Council, Sadiq Khan, Surrey, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

MPs join campaign to save East Croydon Station’s bike racks

Posted on June 25, 2025 by insidecroydon

Two Croydon MPs have added their support to a campaign to stop Southern Rail from removing bicycle racks from East Croydon Station.

Bomb threat: cycling activists have dismissed Southern’s explanation for removing the bike rack as ‘feeble’

Inside Croydon broke the news last week that the rail operators had given commuter cyclists just 11 days’ notice that they intended to remove the racks positioned close to Platform 6, on Billinton Hill.

At the weekend, it emerged that Southern claimed that the bike racks, which have been in place for more than a decade, are some kind of security threat, including the possibility of a car bomb attack on the London to Brighton mainline.

A spokesperson (geddit?) for the Croydon Cycling Campaign described Southern’s explanation as “feeble”, and “an insult to our intelligence”.

Southern has said it will remove the bike racks next Tuesday, July 1. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Commuting, Croydon Cycling Campaign, Croydon East, Croydon West, Cycling, East Croydon, Natasha Irons, Sarah Jones MP, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

‘The Stormzy Effect’: Local hero is awarded Cambridge degree

Posted on June 25, 2025 by insidecroydon

Mutual pride: Stormzy (right) at the University of Cambridge yesterday with Lord Simon Woolley

South Norwood’s local hero, world-famous rap star and football club-owner Stormzy, received an honorary degree from the University of Cambridge last night.

The award has been made in recognition of his philanthropic work in assisting black youngsters to study at Cambridge University.

Since Stormzy began his scholarship programme in 2018, initially covering tuition fees and maintenance costs for two students per year, 55 people have benefited from what Cambridge calls “The Stormzy Effect”.

This year will see the largest group of Stormzy students graduate to date, and Cambridge said that the musician’s generosity and foresight had contributed to an increase in applications to the university from black students across the country. Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Harris Academy South Norwood, Music, South Norwood, Thornton Heath | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Edinburgh Fringe and Croydonites festival previews, July 2 & 5

Posted on June 25, 2025 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Comedy, Croydonites Festival, The Front Room, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Anti-crime CCTV cameras nicked from Brick by Brick block

Posted on June 24, 2025 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: The winding up of Brick by Brick won’t see an end to the misery being suffered by those who bought homes or live as leaseholders in properties built by the Croydon Council-owned housing company.
By our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES

There’s a growing band of Croydon residents who have good cause to regret that their council ever dabbled with a property development business. The tinge of regret is not just when they receive their ballooning Council Tax bills, but nearly every day.

For these are the Croydon residents who have set up home in flats and houses built by Brick by Brick, the housing company that did much to bankrupt the borough.

Inside Croydon has reported before on the litany of issues residents have experienced since purchasing their properties, or part-purchasing them, from the council-owned developer. These include defects in the build, routine maintenance issues that have not been addressed, solar panels that have not provided any benefit to residents and concerns over fire risk assessments where recommendations made in 2022 have never been acted upon.

Some Brick by Brick houses were sold for close to half-a-million pounds. Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Labour deputy leaders Young and Collins to stand down in 2026

Posted on June 24, 2025 by insidecroydon

At least 15% of Croydon’s sitting councillors won’t be seeking election in 2026, while some are doing the ‘chicken run’ to stay on the council gravy train. EXCLUSIVE by WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor

Calling it a day: Callton Young OBE

Nearly a dozen of Croydon’s current 70 councillors will not be seeking re-election in this borough on polling day on May 7, 2026, Inside Croydon can reveal.

Among the Croydon Labour “big beasts” understood to be ready to stand down are the current deputy leader of the Town Hall opposition, Callton Young, and Tony Newman’s former deputy leader, Stuart Collins.

Tory Mario Creatura, the exceptionally ambitious and even more exceptionally untalented former parliamentary candidate, is also expected to bank his final allowances payment next April.

Decisions are being made ahead of the generally secretive selection processes run by the political parties for positions on the council which, in most cases, are assured four years of publicly-funded allowances worth tens of thousands of pounds per year.

Most of the departees have chosen to hang up their purple Croydon Council lanyards for a final time, although one or two are being forced out by circumstance (some of their own making), while other councillors, desperate to cling on to what passes for power, are embarking on the “chicken run”, seeking selection in wards deemed to be “safer” for their party’s re-election chances.

And that’s before any current Labour or Conservative councillors face the prospect of being deselected by their local selection process.

Croydon’s two Green councillors and its solitary LibDem have already been reselected by their parties. But more of that later… Continue reading →

Posted in 2026 council elections, 2026 Croydon Mayor election, Addiscombe West, Brigitte Graham, Broad Green, Callton Young, Chris Clark, Claire Bonham, Clive Fraser, Coulsdon Town, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Fairfield, Louis Carserides, Maria Gatland, Mario Creatura, Old Coulsdon, Patricia Hay-Justice, Paul Ainscough, Purley, Ria Patel, Richard Chatterjee, Rowenna Davis, Shirley North, Simon Brew, Simon Fox, South Croydon, South Norwood, Stuart Collins, Sue Bennett, Thornton Heath, Waddon, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Crystal Palace film festival under threat over council licences

Posted on June 24, 2025 by insidecroydon

Under threat: festival nights at the Everyman Cinema in Crystal Palace could end if Bromley and Lambeth councils get their way

The founder of one of the country’s most popular film festivals has branded Lambeth and Bromley councils “pathetic” and “short-sighted” over the threat to lumber his organisation with thousands of pounds of additional costs which could force the event to be discontinued.

The 2025 Crystal Palace International Film Festival held its special awards night, hosted by comedian Kerry Godliman, at the Stanley Halls in South Norwood. CPIFF has in the past attracted endorsements from celebrities including Paul Weller, Johnny Vegas and Mark Steel, as it screens dozens of new movies and shorts at the Everyman Cinema in Crystal Palace and the Picturehouse in West Norwood.

But founder Neill Roy says that Lambeth and Bromley councils, the local authorities for the cinemas, are ignoring “the bigger picture” that the CPIFF presents on those big screens, as they come after him demanding licensing fees for the first time since the festival was first staged in 2009. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bromley Council, Cinema, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Crystal Palace International Film Festival, Everyman Crystal Palace, Lambeth Council, Stanley Halls | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments