MP Reed joins criticism of overdevelopment by Brick by Brick

Posted on December 12, 2016 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE reports on the splits emerging between Croydon’s Progress politicians over the profiteering plans for thousands of new homes across the borough

Steve Reed OBE, the recently very reticent MP for Lambeth South/Croydon North [delete to taste], has raised “serious concerns” with his Progress mates who control Croydon Council over some of house-building firm Brick by Brick’s development schemes.

Steve Reed MP: crisis in our NHS

Steve Reed OBE: new homes will stretch services to the limit

Reed says that high-density housing proposed for his constituency will “stretch to the limit” local amenities and services, including GPs, schools and public transport.

Brick by Brick is owned by Croydon Council, as a business vehicle to develop thousands of new homes on council-owned property and land. It has been set up as a private entity so that the new homes will not automatically be subjected to Thatcherite “Right to Buy” rules, which have costs local authorities multi-billions in discounted property prices and contributed hugely to the housing crisis.

But by being a private company, Brick by Brick is also not subject to the levels of scrutiny usually associated with the disposal of millions of pounds of public assets.

And while Croydon Council’s chief executive, Jo Negrini, and the cabinet member for regeneration, Alison Butler, frequently boast of how Brick by Brick is to deliver 1,000 new homes by 2019, what they never state is that not a single one of those new homes will be a council house. Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Croydon North, Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, Housing, Jo Negrini, Planning, Property, Schools, Shirley North, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Boxing Day guided walk, Riddlesdown Common, Dec 26

Posted on December 12, 2016 by insidecroydon

boxing-day-walk-2016 Continue reading →

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

St Paul’s, Croham Road, Christmas services, Dec 24-25

Posted on December 12, 2016 by insidecroydon

st-pauls-church

Posted in Church and religions | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

South Beats Christmas Party, South Croydon, Dec 24

Posted on December 12, 2016 by insidecroydon

south-beats-party Continue reading →

Posted in Pubs | Tagged | Leave a comment

Christmas wreath making, Spring Park, Coulsdon, Dec 17

Posted on December 12, 2016 by insidecroydon

wreath-making Continue reading →

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

Scott of the arch tactic holds another meeting for select few

Posted on December 11, 2016 by insidecroydon

Paul Scott, the senior council figure who has so many roles within community groups that it is often difficult to keep up with exactly whose behalf he is acting, is also full of contradictions.

Bothered?? Paul Scott

Paul Scott: another meeting over the £5,000 grant

Take the “Community Economic Plan for South Norwood”, for instance, which has been reported on previously by Inside Croydon.

Scott is busy telling as many people as can be bothered to listen how “open” and “transparent” is the whole process. And yet on one Facebook page for a group over which Scott has some influence, the People for Portland Road, there appears to be a level of censorship in operation not seen since the Lord Chamberlain was handed his P45.

Those who have attended Scott’s meetings have been grilled over whether they’ve been providing information to Inside Croydon.

On at least three occasions, links to Inside Croydon‘s report of the last meeting staged by Scott at Stanley Halls, where important details about funding and the involvement of consultant Lorraine Hart were made public, have been posted to the PPR Facebook page. And on every occasion, someone who controls the page has deleted the links. It’s almost as if someone at PPR doesn’t want to know that Hart, from Community Land Use, is getting £2,500 to organise the application for a £5,000 grant.

Continue reading →

Posted in Paul Scott, South Norwood, Woodside | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Woolies thinking for Christmas party at TMRW, Dec 14

Posted on December 11, 2016 by insidecroydon

Help us celebrate our first Christmas, say the people managing TMRW.

Join the editor of Inside Croydon at TMRW on Wednesday in your best Christmas jumper

Join the editor of Inside Croydon at TMRW on Wednesday in your best Christmas jumper

This Wednesday, December 14, TMRW, the cafe at the council-funded “tech hub” (or what, in the olden days of at the start of the 21st century, was called “offices”) in Davis House is throwing open its doors from 6pm onwards.

“We’ll take care of the drinks, nibbles, a few classic games and (a selection of) great music,” the organisers say.

“The only thing you must take care of is: bring your Christmas jumper – prizes for the best and worst.”

Doors open at 6pm, TMRW Tech Hub, 75-77 High Street, Croydon CR01QQ

Please RSVP here
Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Croydon Council, Music | Tagged , | Leave a comment

McKenzie launches his leadership bid for English Democrats

Posted on December 10, 2016 by insidecroydon

Less than a year after joining the English Democrats from UKIP, Winston McKenzie, the failed politician who has never won an election in his life, now wants to challenge for the leadership of his latest party.

Robin Tilbrook signs up Winston McKenzie for the English Democrats in the same week they signed up a figure with links to the EDL

Robin Tilbrook signs up Winston McKenzie for the English Democrats just 12 months ago

But McKenzie will have to wait at least until March, because the English Democrats do not – as yet – have any procedure in place for a leadership challenge.

And Robin Tillbrook, the chairman of the English Democrats since the party was formed in 2002, says that he is “unconcerned” about the possibility of a challenge from the Croydon-based McKenzie, who has been dubbed locally as the “Chump from the Dump”.

And anyway, Tillbrook has seen McKenzie in “action” in an election. Continue reading →

Posted in Winston McKenzie | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Croydon pioneer Gee Bernard will be sorely missed

Posted on December 10, 2016 by insidecroydon

Tributes have been paid to Gee Bernard, Croydon’s first black councillor, who has died this week, aged 82.

Much-missed: Gee Bernard

Much-missed: Gee Bernard

Jamaican-born Bernard moved to London in her teens, where she qualified as and worked as a social worker; in 1986, she was elected to the council for West Thornton ward, which she served for 16 years.

She sat on a range of committees, including education (1986 to 2000), licensing and consumer services, housing, social services, community health, and grants and awards.

A committed member of the community, she also served as a governor of two local schools, and on the Croydon Citizens Advice Bureaux committee, Relate, Croydon Race Equality Council, Upper Norwood Association for Community Care, West Thornton Community Centre, Croydon Community Police Consultative Committee, and Croydon Juvenile Justice Liaison Committee, among others. Continue reading →

Posted in West Thornton | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Local charities carrying burden as NHS fails asylum seekers

Posted on December 10, 2016 by insidecroydon

Asylum seekers are being left behind in using health services, because their greatest need is just surviving the day, rather than health issues, according to a report from Healthwatch Croydon.

The Home Office's Lunar House makes Croydon a first point of entry to the UK for many asylum seekers

The Home Office’s Lunar House makes Croydon a first point of entry to the UK for many asylum seekers

The report – Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The health and wellbeing of those in Croydon – is based on the experiences of more than 100 asylum seekers in Croydon of all ages, as well as those working in organisations on the front line.

They have found that the experience of expectant and new mothers and children, who have social protection such as benefits and accommodation, can be very different from that of single adults who do not have such access. Without financial support or work visas, adults can find themselves homeless – desperate to work, but without official documentation, not able to secure legal employment. According to the report, this places them in a position of vulnerability and risk and many have said they have experienced exploitation, violence, malnutrition and constant tiredness.

Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, Health, Healthwatch Croydon | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Marketing is not so sweet for Cherry Orchard Road flats

Posted on December 9, 2016 by insidecroydon

Developers Menta Redrow are marketing £499,000 flats from a shed alongside East Croydon Station that doesn’t have planning permission, after the cheque to pay the application fee bounced. WALTER CRONXITE reports on the development’s latest controversy

An application for permission for a temporary sales office for the multi-million-pound luxury apartments development on Cherry Orchard Road goes before the council’s planning committee next week – months after the Portakabin-style shed was plonked down at the corner of the busy entrance to East Croydon Station.

The shed has drawn fierce criticism from one Addiscombe councillor, who describes it as “an eyesore, and an affront to local residents”, and who claims that it is proof that the existing granted planning application for the site is not sustainable.

The cheery trees which gave their name to the Addiscombe road have long ago been felled

The cherry trees which gave their name to the Addiscombe road where Menta Redrow are building their flats were felled long ago

Delay in the process has been caused by the cheque to accompany the planning application having bounced.

Or “was returned by the bank”, according to a source at Croydon Council’s offices.

Payment for the planning application is estimated will have cost just a few hundred pounds. It was not banked by the council until last week, around two months late. Despite the delays in making the application and the payment, Croydon Council has not taken any enforcement action against the site’s developers, Menta Redrow.

The lovingly landscaped shed, or “marketing suite”, as the developers prefer it to be known, is the base from which Menta Redrow are busy flogging the luxury apartments in their “Amarelle” block, where a one-bed flat will set you back a cool £370,000 for a mere 534 sq ft of real estate.

Three-bed flats in another part of the development nearby are on the market from the developers for a thousand short of half a million pounds.

Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Business, Cherry Orchard Gardens, Croydon Council, Housing, Menta Tower, Planning, Property, Sean Fitzsimons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Crystal Palace Foundation offers weight courses for 2017

Posted on December 9, 2016 by insidecroydon

Crystal Palace FC Foundation has teamed up with Weight Watchers to run “Move It Lose It”, to help women across Croydon, Sutton and Bromley to lose weight and get more active.

cpfc-foundation-logo“Move It Lose It” is funded by the Mayor of London and local councils and forms a part of a larger programme named Active Eagles which started in March 2016, and is targeted at men and women over 40 years old.

The first 12-week “Move it, Lose it” scheme began in August with 23 participants losing a combined total of 255lb. The initial group were a mixture of GP referrals and self-referrals who met the specific criteria required for the pilot.

Two more women-only and three male programmes are due to roll out in the New Year. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Crystal Palace FC, Football, Health | Tagged , | Leave a comment

St Giles’ takes the plaudits as Croydon’s very special school

Posted on December 9, 2016 by insidecroydon

St Giles’ School has been named “Croydon Special School of the Year” at Croydon Council’s civic awards.

St Giles' senior staff at the awards ceremony (from left): Caroline Horgan (deputy head), Virginia Marshall (head teacher), Fiona Bell (head of secondary)

St Giles’ senior staff at the awards ceremony (from left): Caroline Horgan (deputy head), Virginia Marshall (head teacher), Fiona Bell (head of secondary)

St Giles’ was nominated by the council’s education department, who praised the rich and varied curriculum provided to the pupils at the school on Pampisford Road in South Croydon.

St Giles’ is a local authority maintained community school for pupils aged from 4 to 19.

The profile of St Giles has changed over recent years, with more pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD) and very complex needs. The school has met the resulting challenges by adapting the environment to support access and care, training staff and curriculum-planning to support appropriate teaching and learning opportunities. Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Schools, St Giles' School | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Croydon score three in injury time in nine-goal derby thriller

Posted on December 9, 2016 by insidecroydon

Extraordinary scenes at the Mayfield Stadium this week.

Jeff Duah-Kessie: scored two penalties in Croydon's 6-3 win

Jeff Duah-Kessie: scored two penalties in Croydon’s 6-3 win

Well, probably, as the latest derby in the Southern Counties East Premier Division between Croydon Athletic and Croydon FC served up a six-goal thriller in 90 minutes – and then another three goals in a frantic period of injury time to leave the hosts stunned and empty-handed.

The score was 3-3 when Croydon’s Jeff Duah-Kessie was brought down in the penalty area at the start of more than four minutes of stoppage time. Duah-Kessie had already slotted one penalty in the first-half, and with the pressure on in injury time, he gave Croydon a 4-3 lead.

Things really began to unravel for Athletic, as Adam Allen and debutant Ben Tacon also got on to the scoresheet before the final whistle at 6-3 saw Croydon FC take the points. Continue reading →

Posted in AFC Croydon Athletic, Croydon FC, Football, Sport | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

It’s official: Sutton scrutiny chair does have conflict of interest

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

It’s official: The position of a Sutton councillor on a panel to distribute £1million-worth of “hush money” from incinerator operator Viridor does hold inherent conflicts of interest.

Sutton logoThat’s the view of Jessica Crowe, one of Sutton Council’s most senior public servants.

Crowe’s advice contradicts entirely the public position originally aired by the council, and ought to cause further extreme embarrassment for the usually shameless LibDems who control Sutton Council.

Pathumal Ali is a Liberal Democrat councillor for Beddington North ward who was recently promoted to chair Sutton Council’s influential scrutiny committee.  Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, Jessica Crowe, Sutton Council, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How a rural market town was transformed in Victorian age

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

Croydon might be undergoing drastic changes in the next few years, but they are nothing to the transformation which happened in the mid 19th century. In an extract from his book, historian JOHN GENT charts how Croydon was shaped in the Victorian era

Crystal Palace drawing

The Crystal Palace was, girder by girder, pane by pane, dismantled in Hyde Park and re-assembled close to the Croydon boundary

The year 1851 saw the Great Exhibition of Science and Industry take place in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park. As an exhibition it was undoubtedly a great success but it failed to succeed in its aims of fostering trade and international relations. No doubt many Croydonians visited the exhibition and were captivated by the great glass edifice which has somehow come to symbolise the Victorian age. Only three years later the building was re-erected in a much enlarged form on the Norwood heights, just across the road from the Croydon boundary. Its presence attracted much building development in the adjacent areas. Large detached villas in spacious grounds soon spread through Upper Norwood as wealthy Londoners made their homes near the Palace.

The town of Croydon now had a Local Board of Health, a good water supply, and a drainage and sewage disposal system which was held up as a model for other towns to follow. It was poised to develop at a faster rate than almost any other town in the land, the population growing from 20,343 in 1851, to 30,240 in 1861, and to 134,037 by 1901. But it was still a largely self-contained town, surrounded by open country, and remained so until beyond the end of the century. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Natural History and Scientific Society, Education, History | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Something stinks at Croydon Arena after building works end

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

Something stinks at Croydon Arena.

The scene at a smelly Croydon Arena earlier today

The scene at a smelly Croydon Arena earlier today

There’s a very earthy nature to the whiffs that have been detected on the cold winter winds. It seems that one of the sewers under the car park which is used by the sports arena and the nearby school may have been broken.

Barely had the tarmac on the Arena’s car park dried than workmen appeared on site to dig it all up again.

The relaid and reconfigured car park has been annexed as part of the development of the 1,200-pupil Oasis Academy Arena school, which was imposed on locals and Metropolitan Open Land by the Town Hall Tories and barely opposed by the Labour ward councillors from South Norwood or Woodside.

The workmanship and the lack of care for the properties of neighbours and the Metropolitan Open Land by building contractors Willmott Dixon has been questioned throughout the £22 million, publicly funded project, which started in 2013.

And now, apparently as a final gesture of contempt for the people living in this part of South Norwood, the contractors appear to have left an open sewer. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon parks, Environment, Oasis Academy, Schools, South Norwood, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2001 – A Space Oddity has arrived on Platforms 5 and 6

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

Whimsy appears to be taking over at East Croydon Station. It already has its Bridge to Nowhere, a £22 million edifice which, almost four years after “completion”, remains unfinished with no access on the Addiscombe side of the station.

Kubrick's mysterious monolith from the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey

The mysterious monolith from the movie 2001 A Space Odyssey

Now, bemused and harassed commuters have noticed that the station appears to be trying to rival Hollywood movie director Stanley Kubrick with its own version of the mysterious monolith that appeared in 2001 – A Space Odyssey.

Never mind the concerns of regular rail travellers who want some accurate and timely information about the latest delays or cancellations to their wretched Southern Rail “services”. Don’t worry about providing passengers with seating to while away the lost hours they are forced to spend on the platforms. What the station operators have come up with on Platforms 5 and 6 this week is what appears to be a matt black piece of modern art… Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe West, Commuting, East Croydon, Transport | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Youth Games cricket trials, Thornton Heath, Dec 9-16

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

cricket-trials Continue reading →

Posted in Cricket, Sport, Thornton Heath | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Surrey Street late-night Christmas Market, Dec 8 and 15

Posted on December 8, 2016 by insidecroydon

surrey-street-santa Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Surrey Street | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Rosie Barnes is guest speaker at Photography Forum, Dec 13

Posted on December 7, 2016 by insidecroydon

lenses-flyer Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Croydon Photography Forum | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Powerful performances from Adams highlight cinema choices

Posted on December 7, 2016 by insidecroydon

Tickets for the David Lean Cinema’s January programme go on sale tomorrow. Here, the cinema’s volunteer programmer, PHILIP HOWARD, runs through some of the many highlights

Once upon a time, Academy Awards for acting were given for outstanding work throughout the year – if that were still true, Amy Adams would be guaranteed this year’s Best Actress Oscar.

nocturnal-animalsIn our first two films of 2017, she shines in two contrasting roles: as unhappy art dealer Susan in Tom Ford’s Nocturnal Animals, and determined, brilliant linguist Louise in Denis Villeneuve’s stunning sci-fi Arrival.

Two other highly praised female lead performances follow: Adele Haenel is captivating as a guilt-ridden doctor turned detective in The Unknown Girl, and Marion Cotillard shimmers in WWII spy thriller Allied. Continue reading →

Posted in Cinema, David Lean Cinema Campaign | Tagged | Leave a comment

Homelessness crisis sees council invest extra £15m in fund

Posted on December 7, 2016 by insidecroydon

Caught between a rock and a hard place, of London’s ever-spiralling private rents and the Tory government’s ruthless reductions in benefits, Croydon Council is to invest an extra £15million into helping people at risk of homelessness to get secure private rented properties.

Local charities are reporting an increase in homeless people, particularly women

Local charities are reporting an increase in homeless people, particularly women

Since 2013, Croydon Council has already put £30 million into the Real Lettings Fund, a property scheme with charity St Mungo’s that now manages long-term housing for 151 households in the borough who would otherwise be in short-term, emergency accommodation.

The fund works by offering low-income households access to a rental market that they would otherwise struggle to be able to afford.

By funding these properties, ranging from studio flats to three-bedroom homes, the scheme also cuts the amount of money the council needs to spend on emergency bed and breakfasts. Continue reading →

Posted in Charity, Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

New author in fairies book signing at Masonic Halls, Dec 8

Posted on December 7, 2016 by insidecroydon

Sally MacIntyre: signing copies of her book in Croydon tomorrow

Sally MacIntyre, the author and illustrator of a new children’s book, Earth, Wind and Fairies, will be signing copies at the Croydon and District Masonic Halls on Oakfield Road, tomorrow, Thursday, December 8.

“Since I have been a child, I have been fascinated that fairies might exist. Now as an adult, I thought to write a story about them,” MacIntyre said.

MacIntyre was a costumer for the Showboat Theatre, the Starlight Theatre and the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles before she turned to art and writing.

“My aim in writing this book was to create an exciting, alternative world of magic. I wish to make my characters and their world real and believable.” Continue reading →

Posted in Activities | Tagged | Leave a comment

Norwood Society rounds off the year with social event

Posted on December 7, 2016 by insidecroydon

Norwood Society logoThe Norwood Society’s final meeting of 2016, being held as usual at Upper Norwood Library, takes place on Thursday, December 15 from 7.30pm, and will be a social event.

The Society, which stages talks and lectures about the social history of the area on the second Thursday of each month, will next week have David Moore showing a few slides of the damage to All Saints, Upper Norwood, from The Great Storm of October 1987. Continue reading →

Posted in Crystal Palace and Upper Norwood, History, Norwood Society | Tagged , , | Leave a comment