Philp’s brown-nosing traits seem common among local Tories

Posted on June 5, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE reports on the latest dodgy leaflet from a Conservative candidate in Croydon, which tries to pass off a motley crew of party hacks as ordinary residents

Do politicians take us for fools ?

Chris Philp’s leaflet is less than honest in passing off as ‘local people’ a squad of loyal Tory party officials and activists

Chris Philp has a leaflet out on “Why local people are backing Chris Philp to be Croydon South’s MP”.

Sixteen supposedly ordinary Croydon South residents are pictured, and of course they all extol Philp’s merits. It’s the latest piece of Tory bumpf from a seemingly endless supply which would put Andrex to shame (though the end-use of the product is often the same). Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Chris Philp MP, Croydon South, Richard Ottaway MP | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

If you’re in a safe seat, here’s a way to make your vote count

Posted on June 5, 2017 by insidecroydon

ELECTION COMMENTARY: In Croydon, two of the three parliamentary seats being contested on Thursday are safe seats with combined majorities of 37,000 votes. Nothing seems likely to change the status quo in Croydon North or Croydon South.

But PETER UNDERWOOD, pictured left, a Green Party candidate, suggests a way for those who don’t support the incumbent to make their votes count

I believe in democracy and democracy only works well when people are actively involved. So, whatever party you support, please make sure you go out and vote on Thursday. We may not get another general election for five years, so don’t waste this chance to have your say about what you think is important.

As well as making sure you do vote, you also want to make sure that your vote has maximum impact. Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Catherine Shelley, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Greens, Croydon North, Croydon South, Environment, Peter Underwood, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Now Barwell refuses to answer questions on Croydon schools

Posted on June 5, 2017 by insidecroydon

Education correspondent GENE BRODIE reports on the questions on the borough’s schools which Croydon Central’s Tory candidate refuses to answer

Gavin Barwell is happy to take questions from school children, but he’s avoided facing their parents and teachers over Tory cuts

Tory Gavin Barwell is now so scared of facing Croydon’s teachers, he not only doesn’t show up for a hustings event that his own office set the date for, but he’s now also refused to answer questions from the group which represents the biggest number of teachers working in schools across the borough.

State schools in Croydon are facing swingeing cuts under Tory proposals which could see the borough’s state schools losing more than 500 teacher posts in the next two years. Almost £20million is to be taken out of Croydon state schools’ budgets by 2019 under Tory plans.

One school in Barwell’s constituency, Oasis Shirley Park, is facing the prospect under the Tories of having to lose 12 teaching posts. A typical primary school, such as Oval Primary, could have £141,000 less per year to spend by 2022 under a Tory government.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Croydon Central, Education, Gavin Barwell, Sarah Jones MP, Schools, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jones: ‘We must stop the £20m budget cuts to our schools’

Posted on June 5, 2017 by insidecroydon

Gavin Barwell may have been unable to come up with answers to the questions on education of local teachers and parents, but Labour candidate in Croydon Central Sarah Jones did. GENE BRODIE reports

Sarah Jones: offered answers to teachers’ and parents’ questions on education when Barwell refused

Yesterday, Croydon NUT’s secretary, Dave Harvey, emailed his group’s 2,000 members ahead of this Thursday’s General Election.

Harvey wrote: “Following the cancellation of our Education Question Time event last month, we contacted the two invited election candidates to allow them to answer a representative sample of your questions.

“Unfortunately despite a week-long window to reply, Conservative candidate Gavin Barwell chose not to respond. Labour candidate Sarah Jones did reply.” Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Croydon Central, Education, Gavin Barwell, Sarah Jones MP, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sadiq Khan: ‘This is our city. We will never let the cowards win’

Posted on June 5, 2017 by insidecroydon

There will be a vigil at Potters Fields Park, close to City Hall between Tower Bridge and London Bridge, from 6pm today to honour the victims of Saturday’s terrorist attack.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan: condemns barbaric cowards

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, invites all Londoners – and everyone visiting our city – to “come together in solidarity to remember those who have lost their lives, to express sympathy with their families and loved ones and to show the world that we stand united in the face of those who try to harm us and our way of life.

“We will never let these cowards win and we will never be cowed by terrorism.” Continue reading →

Posted in London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Policing, Sadiq Khan | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Riddlesdown Common free guided flower walk, Jun 17

Posted on June 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon parks, Environment, Sanderstead, Wildlife | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Shapers of Minds view, EJ Gallery, Portland Road, Jun 13

Posted on June 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, South Norwood | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Free guided walk at West Wickham Common, Jul 2

Posted on June 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in History, Outside Croydon, Walks | Tagged | Leave a comment

Coulsdon Common free guided flower walk, Jul 1

Posted on June 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Coulsdon, Croydon parks, Environment, Wildlife | Tagged , | Leave a comment

London unites against terrorism after seven killed in attack

Posted on June 4, 2017 by insidecroydon

Armed Police officers as London Bridge was on shutdown following a terrorist attack last night

London Bridge rail and Tube stations remain closed this morning after the latest terrorist atrocity last night.

Most political parties have suspended national campaigning for the second time in a fortnight.

It was not long after 10pm on a Saturday night, when tens of thousands of Londoners will have been out socialising, that three men drove a white van across the bridge, veering into pedestrians with intent to kill and maim. The van came to a halt outside the Barrowboy and Banker pub on the south side of the bridge, the attackers moving into Borough Market’s bar and restaurant area, brandishing foot-long knives, described by some as machetes, randomly stabbing people.

“It’s just like Westminster again,” one eye witness reported. Or Nice. Or Manchester. Or Berlin.

Within eight minutes, the attackers had been shot dead by rapid response armed police, the canisters taped around their bodies confirmed as being bogus, and not explosive devices – their purpose to terrify passers-by, or deter others from confronting them or, indeed, to invite their ultimate fate from the security forces. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, Crime, Policing, TfL | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Barwell bungles again with U-turn on social housing promise

Posted on June 3, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE reports on the latest Tory manifesto about-turn, this one delivered by Croydon’s very own gaffe-prone career politician

Nimby housing minister Gavin Barwell won’t be building any social homes

Gavin Barwell, the Nimby Tory housing minister who has campaigned against building homes in his Croydon Central constituency, yesterday delivered the latest U-turn on Conservative Party policy by pulling the plug on a flagship pledge to build “a new generation” of social housing announced in their manifesto just weeks ago.

Theresa Mayhem, the unelected Prime Minister, had promised her policy would deliver “a constant supply of new homes for social rent”. But yesterday Barwell admitted that the homes would in fact be significantly less affordable.

Barwell’s tenure as housing minister has been brief, and could come to an abrupt end next Thursday if latest opinion polls are confirmed at the ballot box, where Labour’s Sarah Jones is bidding to win the Croydon Central seat which she lost by 165 votes in 2015.

Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Sarah Jones MP | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon to get a quirky take on Jack and the Beanstalk panto

Posted on June 3, 2017 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s 2017 pantomime is to be Jack and the Beanstalk.

Putting the Twank into panto: last year’s Aladdin at the Waddon Leisure Centre

As in 2016, following the closure of the Fairfield Halls for refurbishment, this year’s panto will be staged by Q Productions at the Waddon Leisure Centre, in a 400-seater auditorium set-up in the sports hall.

The producers promise to announce over the coming months the star names and high-profile West End performers who will be joined on stage by local youth talent.

Open auditions will be held later in the year for young performers to join the juvenile ensemble, providing a fantastic opportunity to work alongside professional dancers and performers.

Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Dance, Music, Theatre, Waddon | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

‘I know which hospital is to close’ boasts rookie Tory candidate

Posted on June 2, 2017 by insidecroydon

The Tory Party does have plans to close one of south London’s large NHS hospitals if they win the General Election on June 8 – that’s according to the Conservatives’ candidate in Croydon North.

Tory Samuel Kasumu: Mayday Hospital’s not going to close. He assures us of that

Samuel Kasumu made the stunning admission – coming after months of denials from Tory figures including health minister Jeremy Hunt and his local Conservative colleagues – at a hustings event where he insisted that Croydon’s Mayday Hospital “isn’t going anywhere”.

It is the first time that 29-year-old entrepreneur from north London has run for public office, and the implications of what he said exposed his rookie status as a politician. The schoolboy error by the Tories’ work experience candidate came, suitably enough, in front of an audience of pupils at St Joseph’s College in Upper Norwood.

At the debate, attended by the candidates for the constituency including Steve Reed OBE, who has been MP for Croydon North since 2012, Kasumu told the audience, “Steve and I both know which hospital is to close.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Central, Croydon North, Gavin Barwell, Health, Matthew Maxwell Scott, Mayday Hospital, Paul Scully MP, Samuel Kasumu, Sarah Jones MP, St Helier Hospital, St Joseph's College, Steve Reed MP, Tom Brake MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Splitters! LibDems resort to panic appeal to ‘lend’ votes

Posted on June 2, 2017 by insidecroydon

KEN LEE reports from another battleground seat, where accusations over a ‘dirty’ campaign have been flying among the bluebottles around the unemptied bins of Sutton

Nick Mattey, centre, left, or right (it has never been entirely clear which), has been accused of being behind the Popular Front for the People of Hackbridge, Beddington and St Helier

It’s all gone a bit Monty Python in the Carshalton and Wallington marginal seat, where Nick Mattey, the independent candidate who has made it his mission to ensure that FibDem Tom Brake does not get re-elected as MP next week, has been accused of breaking strict rules ahead of the General Election.

Meanwhile, Brake seems to have been channelling Kenneth Williams in another British comedy, Carry On Cleo, with his desperate last-ditch plea to Labour and Green voters to “Lend me your votes”.

Stormzy’s Croydon election poster is not the only one to have stirred up some interest in south London voters, as a flyer has been doing the rounds in Sutton which is said to have been produced by a shady group calling itself the The People’s Liberation Front of St Helier, Hackbridge and Beddington – or TPLFSHHB for not-so-short; not to be confused with The Popular Front of Beddington, St Helier and Hackbridge.

It is understood that a complaint has been made to Sutton Council offices, home of the local returning officer, over the anonymous leaflets. Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Matthew Maxwell Scott, Nick Mattey, Ruth Dombey, Sutton Council, Tom Brake MP | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The taste of summer on Croydon High Street is Caribbean

Posted on June 2, 2017 by insidecroydon

BELLA BARTOCK, our culture correspondent, spent an evening with the dishes on Turtle Bay’s new menu, and it tasted fine

The jerk sirloin at Turtle Bay is one of the best dishes you’ll discover this summer

Summer’s here, and with it has arrived a new menu at what is fast becoming one of Croydon’s favourite restaurants.

Truth be told, every time I visit Turtle Bay, with its colourful decor amid the brown and the bland along the High Street, and its constantly welcoming staff, somehow I always seem to encounter the same couple at the bar.

“Seriously, I was using the place to do some work, out of the office,” one of them explained of a previous meeting, the last time our paths crossed over her favourite Tingwray cocktail, of which she may have already had a couple under the house’s two-for-one offer during Happy Hour.

“We just like it here because the food is always excellent, they cater for special dietary requirements, and it’s just… always good.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Restaurants, Turtle Bay | Tagged , | Leave a comment

7 days to go: YouGov poll predicts defeat for Barwell and Brake

Posted on June 1, 2017 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, on viral election posters and what the latest opinion polls suggest will be the outcome for this part of south London next Thursday

Might Stormzy win the election?

The Stormzy leaflet which has captured the attention of younger voters

The past week has seen Jeremy Corbyn judged to have overcome Paxman and win Channel 4’s Battle for No10, to have charmed and disarm more middle-of-the-road viewers at primetime on The One Show, and then trump the unelected Prime Minister by turning up at last night’s leaders’ debate, when Theresa Mayhem was nowhere to be seen.

And now Labour are within 3 per cent of the Tories according to the latest opinion poll published last night by YouGov.

We all know that opinion polls carry hefty health warnings, and at 39 per cent to the Tories’ 42 per cent, Labour still won’t win the election, but by any comparison the Corbyn-led party has made remarkable strides in closing what was a 21-point gap in the five weeks since Mayhem called her snap election – the one she’d always said that she wasn’t going to call.

YouGov’s polling suggests a hung parliament – with the Conservatives having more MPs than any other party, but not with the “working majority” that May sought when calling the election. And nor would Labour suffer the wipeout which many of the right, and in the Labour right-wing, seemed to want.

In this bit of south London, according to that polling, it could prove to be a case of win-some, lose-some for the Tories, with gaffe-prone Gavin Barwell set to lose Croydon Central to Labour’s Sarah Jones while the Conservatives are predicted to take Carshalton and Wallington from the FibDems’ Tom Brake. Perhaps Brake’ll end up with some cushty directorship at Viridor before the Beddington incinerator fires up next year.

Continue reading →

Posted in 2017 General Election, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Jennifer Brathwaite, Matthew Maxwell Scott, Sarah Jones MP, Steve Reed MP, Tom Brake MP, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is an answer to the housing crisis near New Addington?

Posted on June 1, 2017 by insidecroydon

The last road in London is the inspiration and the theme of much of Outskirts, the latest book from John Grindrod, who grew up in New Addington

STEVEN DOWNES reviews the latest book from an author with his roots firmly in the Green Belt outside Croydon

Patrick Abercrombie could be credited as the man who shaped modern Croydon.

It was Abercrombie who, in that wave of optimism as the union jack bunting was being unfurled after VE Day, had published The Greater London Plan, and within it enshrined the notion of a “green belt”. In a couple of thousand years’ of largely organic development of this city, there had never been much of a plan for London before except, perhaps, when Christopher Wren drew up a blueprint after the Great Fire. And even that was never wholly implemented. London had just, sort of, spread.

The old LCC had had a bash at a housing plan in the years after the First World War, suggesting zones for different trades and industries and ring roads and arterials that (mostly) never got built, but even that had few controls or what is now called planning guidance about it.

That’s how New Addington came about, and what prompted Abercrombie’s rant in his Plan. “Further development southwards from the built-up boundary of Croydon at Shirley must be stopped,” the soon-to-be Sir Patrick wrote. Continue reading →

Posted in Addington, Art, Environment, Housing, New Addington, Planning | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Viridor panel refuses grants to Beddington community groups

Posted on May 31, 2017 by insidecroydon

A £1million ‘hush fund’ announced for community groups by incinerator operators is being used to try to subdue local opposition, according to one activist. BELLE MONT reports

Viridor, which has a £1billion public contract to operate the incinerator at Beddington Lane, is freezing out local environmental groups from a grants scheme which they had promised would help “mitigate” the effects of their industrial-scale waste-burning operation being built on what was supposed to be a wildlife reserve.

The Viridor incinerator at Beddington Lane, under construction last month

That’s the suggestion of one leading environmentalist who spent a decade trying to get Viridor to honour its legal agreements to improve the local wildlife environment at Beddington Farmlands and around the site of the incinerator.

“Mitigation” is the weasel word used by local authorities and multi-national corporations when they know that what they are about to do, often for vast private profit, risks damaging the environment and the health of people for miles around.

“Viridor want the local community to jump through hoops and wants to treat them like dogs,” said Peter Alfrey, a professional environmentalist who lives close to Beddington Farmlands. “I suggest that the local community give them the dogs they don’t want – ones that bite back.” 

Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Environment, Nick Mattey, Refuse collection, Sutton Council, Tom Brake MP, Waste incinerator, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

#SouthernFail The Musical makes a song and dance over trains

Posted on May 31, 2017 by insidecroydon

The appalling poor service suffered by commuters who have to use Southern Rail is about to be turned into a stage musical. Reporting by JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent, and BELLA BARTOCK, arts editor

With A Song In His Heart: Mark Brailsford. Photo by Summer Dean

The possible musical numbers that could be included in a musical about the dysfunctional railway service offered by Govia Thameslink Railways on the Southern network are manifold.

For instance, there’s the old Squeeze favourite, Up The Junction, for rail users who know that their day’s been ruined, usually by delays near Clapham Junction.

There’s The Wheels On The (Replacement) Bus Go Round and Round, a real winner with younger members of the audience, less popular with their parents.

There’s the Beatles Ticket To Ride (just no train to take you).

And of course there’s the timeless Abba hit, Waterloo. Although we believe that might be cancelled.

In fact, none of those numbers are due to be in the book of a new musical being staged at the Brighton fringe festival and promoted by the Association of British Commuters, though they do promise that a version of the John Lennon classic Imagine (as in “Imagine there’s no Southern, It’s easy if you try”) will be in the show when it is premiered this weekend. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Comedy, Commuting, East Croydon, Music, Transport | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Tenants told to quit weeks before planning permission granted

Posted on May 31, 2017 by insidecroydon

BARRATT HOLMES reports on the latest tacky little twist from Croydon’s Labour-run council in its drive to build more than 500 homes for profit, regardless of the consequences for existing residents

Residents of the council-built Heathfield Gardens are the latest to have their homes blighted by Brick by Brick development

Further proof, if any further proof was necessary, that the council planning committee decisions on the council’s house-building company’s developments are a sham and a foregone conclusion came a fortnight before last week’s meeting.

Because that’s when residents in Heathfield Gardens, South Croydon, started to receive “notice to quit” letters from the council for the garages that they rent. Block by Block, the development machine owned by the council which avariciously aims to build hundreds of homes on pockets of green space or other council-owned land, wants to build a block of flats where the garages now stand.

The eviction notices were dated May 15. But Block by Block did not have planning permission for their scheme until May 24.

Continue reading →

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Environment, Fairfield, Housing, Paul Scott, Planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Comedy Night at the Lord Roberts on the Green, Purley, Jul 4

Posted on May 31, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Pubs, Purley | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Surrey Street Market set to re-open for business on Jun 5

Posted on May 30, 2017 by insidecroydon

Surrey Street Market is to re-open next Monday, June 5, stall-holders and shop-keepers have been told by Croydon Council.

The stalls will be returning to Surrey Street next week

London’s oldest street market was shut down at the end of March for what was supposed to be a 10-week road resurfacing project, costing £1.1million. The works, undertaken by the council’s default road contractors, Kier, have only over-run slightly, and traders were notified last week of the return of the stalls. A re-opening street party is also planned for June 17.

During the closure, some shops reported trading down by as much as 60 per cent, as without the fruit and veg stalls present, customers were shopping elsewhere.

Surrey Street has been steadily losing regular stall-holders in recent times, down from nearly 100 at the start of this decade to barely half that recently. Fewer than two dozen stalls, those holding a trading licence with the council, were displaced to North End for the duration of the works, where they enjoyed the improved footfall and better takings. Some have expressed a reluctance to return to Surrey Street, and some shops on North End have also liked having the bustle of a street market on their doorstep. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Mark Watson, Surrey Street, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Northern Soul Night at Stanley Halls, South Norwood, Jun 3

Posted on May 30, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Music, South Norwood, Stanley Halls | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Mitre Players present Curtains, Sanderstead, Jul 11-14

Posted on May 30, 2017 by insidecroydon

Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Comedy, Mitre Players, Music, Sanderstead, Theatre | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Garden’s less-than-rosy after AmicusHorizon’s been to work

Posted on May 30, 2017 by insidecroydon

Boundary disputes between neighbours are a common part of councillors’ casework, and form regular items in the postbag at Inside Croydon Towers. Poor workmanship by tradesmen is another frequent feature.

Workers for AmicusHorizon have trashed Alex Klaushofer’s garden, including an olive tree and rose bush, and encroached on her property

This week, though, Inside Croydon has received news of a form of legitimised vandalism by workmen in one reader’s back garden, carried out on behalf of a Croydon- based social housing association.

Alex Klaushofer, who rents out her one-bedroom flat in Crystal Palace, returned last month to find bare earth and weeds in place of the well-established plants that had grown along the garden’s north-facing fence. An olive tree in the corner was lying along the ground, while the rose bush in the far corner had been completely uprooted. Continue reading →

Posted in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments