Metro Bank pulls out of move to £50m Ruskin Square offices

A multi-million-pound deal for Metro Bank to bring their global head offices and hundreds of staff to Croydon has collapsed.

Ruskin Square: construction cranes are busy on site, but there remains no anchor tenant for the proposed office blocks

Ruskin Square: construction cranes are busy on site, but there remains no anchor tenant for the proposed office blocks

It was only a few weeks ago that developers Stanhope and their financial backers Schroders, who own Ruskin Square alongside East Croydon Station, were eager to let it be known that they were “in advanced negotiations” with Britain’s newest high street bank for it to become the anchor tenant for 150,000 sq ft of office space in the first commercial block to be built on the prestigious gateway site.

Today, asked for a progress report, the bank and the property fund-manager responsible at Schroders would issue only a tight-lipped “no comment”, refusing to deny that the deal was in trouble.

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Posted in Boxpark, Business, Croydon Council, East Croydon, Gavin Barwell, Housing, Jo Negrini, Planning, Property, Ruskin Square, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Crocus farm seeks volunteers for the Big Pot Up, Sep 19

Volunteers are needed to pot up 21,000 Crocus Sativus corms in the centre of Croydon next week to ensure an autumn harvest of their precious saffron crop – which is worth its weight in gold, and then some.

Crocus SativusLast month, gardening enthusiast Ally McKinley staged a successful crowd-funding exercise, raising more than £4,000 in less than a week to pay for the corms – they are most definitely not “bulbs” – and the soil and other materials for a project which aims to scatter a little bit of saffron colour, and wealth, all around Croydon. The council has given McKinley permission to utilise the Taberner House site for the duration of the project, which will be completed before building works start early next year.

The site of the former Croydon Council offices will be home to a pop-up saffron farm for the remainder of the year. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Education, Environment, Fairfield, Gardening, Taberner House | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Indian charity has councillor ready to take on the long run

Addiscombe councillor Mark Watson is embarking on a 12-hour ultramarathon this Saturday to raise funds for a human rights and environmental cause in Alleppey, India.

Ready for the long run: charity runner Mark Watson

Ready for the long run: charity runner Mark Watson

Watson is attempting to run 100 kilometres – about 62 miles – along the Thames towpath from Putney to Henley.

“Every penny raised will go towards the project,” Watson said.

“Petrol-flavoured fish. Sewage in the water. In the backwaters of Alleppey, India, this is what people have to put up with every day just to survive. Why? Because some unscrupulous businesses are cashing in on the British tourists who arrive in their thousands – and are destroying this treasured landscape.

“What’s needed is a strong code of conduct for barge holiday operators in the region to make sure everyone’s doing what they can to protect the waterways of Alleppey. Local people are starting to create this together, but they need our support to make it work. Continue reading

Posted in Addiscombe West, Charity, Mark Watson | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Triniboi Joocie gets Thornton Heath Festival on its feet

Thornton Heath 1

Organisers estimated around 6,000 people attended last Sunday’s Thornton Heath Festival, a community event over the weekend which rounded off the summer. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Dance, Music, Pat Clouder, Thornton Heath, Thornton Heath Community Action Team | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Donation drop for refugees at Stanley Halls, Sep 12

Calais collection Continue reading

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Boxpark announced food plan after getting £3m council loan

Croydon Council’s £3 million loan of public cash to persuade Boxpark to set up a pop-up shopping mall alongside East Croydon Station was made in the expectation that the retail outlet would be a mixed development of trend-setting fashion stores just like the Shoreditch original.

Boxpark in Shoreditch: work on a similar pop-up retail development next to East Croydon is expected to start in the summer

Boxpark in Shoreditch: East Croydon’s version is not going to include fashion stores

But according to senior sources at the Town Hall, it was not until a meeting with council officials on the day of the launch in July that Boxpark’s founder, Roger Wade, announced that Croydon’s mall would be made up exclusively of food stores, bars and restaurants.

“Jo Negrini was not very happy at all,” our source said of the reaction of the council’s planning director, who had brokered the multi-million-pound loan deal to lure Boxpark to occupy part of the Ruskin Square gateway site.

“Jo was clearly expecting another version of Boxpark Shoreditch, with all the designer label fashion stores in the old shipping containers. The idea that Croydon’s Boxpark would be food-only was never discussed in advance.”

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Posted in Addiscombe West, Boxpark, Business, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Jo Negrini, Julie Belvir, Menta Tower, Property, Pubs, Restaurants, Ruskin Square | Tagged , , , , | 10 Comments

Holy smoke: Sutton to investigate Viridor ‘gift’ to church

From the site of the Beddington Lane incinerator, Croydon is a lot closer than many might realise, as the landmark Ikea chimneys and Saffron Square tower demonstrate

From the site of the Beddington Lane incinerator, Croydon is a lot closer than many might realise, as the landmark Ikea chimneys and Saffron Square tower demonstrate

Sutton Council has bowed to public pressure and is to look into the controversial £275,000 donation from the charitable arm of Viridor, the industrialists who were granted permission by the local authority to build and operate a massive waste incinerator at Beddington Lane, close to the border with Croydon.

Meanwhile, Nick Mattey, the councillor for Beddington North who bravely blew the whistle on the “gift” from Viridor to a church hall frequently used for LibDem political meetings, faces a disciplinary meeting with the Liberal Democrats tomorrow, where he is expected to be expelled for daring to put the interests of local residents ahead of the party. 

The Standards Committee of the Liberal Democrat-controlled Sutton Council will discuss the Viridor Credits’ generous donation to Holy Trinity church in Wallington at its meeting on September 16, it was announced yesterday. Continue reading

Posted in Business, Church and religions, Croydon Greens, Environment, London-wide issues, Nick Mattey, Outside Croydon, Refuse collection, Shasha Khan, Sutton Council, Tom Brake MP, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Well Versed poetry night, S&CRFC Brigstock Rd, Sep 24

Well Versed Continue reading

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Ice hockey season underway at Streatham on Sunday

Streatham ice hockeyThe ice hockey season gets underway in earnest this weekend, with south London’s team, at Streatham, playing their first home fixture against Bracknell Hornets on Sunday, face-off at 6.45pm. Continue reading

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Croydon MP offers to house refugees in his 4-bed home

53 Shirley Church RoadIf you owned this sumptuous, near-£1 million property, pictured above, in “sexy” Shirley (copyright Will Self, 2015), would you open your doors to house Syrian refugees?

Steve Reed OBE, the MP for Lambeth South/Croydon North (delete to taste), has been reported as saying that he would.

The Croydon Guardian ran the eye-catching headline of: “I’d open my home to refugees” this week, suggesting that the Progress MP would do just that. Oddly, no where in the accompanying article does Reed actually say such a thing.

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Posted in Chris Philp MP, Croydon Central, Croydon North, Croydon South, Gavin Barwell, Property, Shirley North, Steve Reed MP | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Heineken refreshes the parts that MP rules could not reach

Politics in Croydon may never be the same again.

Cheers: Tory councillor Mario Creatura manages to enjoy a day at the races despite holding down two publicly funded jobs

Smug much? Tory councillor Mario Creatura

Councillor Mario Creatura is giving up one of his publicly funded positions and “moving to pastures new”, according to the man whose bags he has been carrying for the past three years, Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell.

There’s good news, and then there’s bad news.

The MP’s parliamentary assistant announced to the world yesterday, “I’m going to join Heineken as their Public Affairs Manager.” Poor old Heineken, we can sense our loyal reader thinking.

But Creatura also added: “Will still be a Councillor!” Poor old Croydon, we sense everyone saying.

Having previously stood for election in Selhurst, and lost, Creatura was handed the cushy safe Tory council seat of Coulsdon West last year, adding around £12,000 in Town Hall “allowances” to the Commons salary of up to £43,272 he has been paid for working as one of Barwell’s six-strong staff. Continue reading

Posted in Coulsdon, Coulsdon Town, Croydon Central, Gavin Barwell, Mario Creatura | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Bruce Springsteen Night at The Oval Tavern, Oct 17

Oval Tavern Springsteen night Continue reading

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Warlingham’s rugby players take to a new stage

My Life as a Hooker Continue reading

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‘I don’t come from round here. I am a migrant, too’

CROYDON COMMENTARY: After watching the news, PETER UNDERWOOD has a confession to make

Independent front pageThe BNP has decided to parade its ignorance in the centre of Croydon tomorrow.

When I see their members’ nasty, hate-filled, anti-immigration stance – echoed by too much of our national media and by too many politicians – then I feel it’s about time I made a public confession.

I am a migrant.

I don’t come from round here. I wasn’t born in the local hospital, I didn’t go to the local school and none of my family have ever lived anywhere near here.

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Posted in Charity, Community associations | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Author Will Self declares Croydon to be a ‘sexy suburb’

For an area which was described dismissively as “having an image problem” by one of its own MPs, the perception of Croydon must be set for a thorough overhaul after the novelist, Will Self, described ours and other London suburbs as being “inherently sexual, they heave and pullulate with sexiness”. Ooo, missus.

Sexy suburbs: Will Self has been full of praise for Croydon

Sexy suburbs: Will Self has lavished praise on Croydon

Self was speaking to the Evening Boris, ahead of Doughnut: The Outer London Festival, a day of music, food, film and debate to celebrate outer London which is being staged this Saturday at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich.

“I grew up in the London suburbs and of course I found them ineffably dull when I was a child but now I understand their excitement and their promise,” Self said.

“This last summer solstice I walked to the high point on the North Downs overnight, an astonishing walk through the outer London suburbs of Shirley and Croydon, really strange, beautiful and poetic places at night. There is such a lot there and I think people are unaware of it.”

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Posted in 2016 London elections, Christian Wolmar, London-wide issues, Mayor of London, Shirley North | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Oval Tavern beer festival launches with O’Hooley and Tidow

As part of their “Summat’s Brewin” beer tour, award-winning folk duo O’Hooley & Tidow are visiting the The Oval Tavern, Croydon, on Thursday, October 8.

Folk duo O'Hooley and Tidow are performing at the opening night of The Oval Tavern's beer festival

Folk duo O’Hooley and Tidow are performing at the opening night of The Oval Tavern’s beer festival

The performance by the BBC Folk Awards 2015 finalists will mark The Oval Tavern’s beer festival launch night.

The ticket price – £10 – includes a free pint.

The Yorkshire folk duo, Belinda O’Hooley and Heidi Tidow are travelling the land in Birgitte, their trusty old camper van, to play 30 micro gigs in 30 real ale venues.

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Council lets builders turn Arena parkland into a car park

Education correspondent GENE BRODIE avoids saying “we told you so” about what promises to be a disappointing start to life at big school for the bright-eyed new Year 7s at the Oasis Academy alongside Croydon Arena

Parents of children excitedly looking forward to starting in Year 7 of the Oasis Academy Arena might want to spend this weekend adding a couple of other items to their school starters’ shopping list. Alongside the smart new blazer (at least one size too big, to let the little ‘un grow into it) and school tie, we recommend that they also get a pair of steel toe-capped boots and a construction worker’s hard hat.

The scene yesterday outside Oasis Academy Arena: a building site, not a school playing field

The scene yesterday outside Oasis Academy Arena: a building site, not a school playing field

Today, as expected, some families have turned up to “recce” the school chosen for their child. This is supposed to be the school where their children will begin the most significant, possibly the most important time of their educational lives.

The families have been forced to wander around what remains a building site, as they look for the way in. Despite reassurances on the Oasis website, the school looks far from ready.

But like the football fans attending matches at Croydon Arena and club athletes negotiating the building site when they turn up for track training nights, the parents checking out the school have had to ask construction workers how to get in to Oasis Academy Arena. Continue reading

Posted in Commuting, Croydon FC, Croydon Harriers, Cycling, Education, Environment, Hamida Ali, Jane Avis, Kathy Bee, Oasis Academy, Paul Scott, Schools, South Norwood, Tony Newman, Tramlink, Transport, Wayne Lawlor, Wildlife, Woodside | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Magical Garden Event, Streatham Common Rookery, Sep 12

Streatham Common Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Environment, Gardening, Lambeth Council, Outside Croydon, Walks | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon NHS Public Involvement Forum, Fairfield Halls, Sep 23

Croydon NHSEveryone needs urgent care and fast treatment when they feel really unwell, or have a serious illness.

Croydon Clinical Commissioning Group is developing proposals to improve health services in Croydon which deliver this important care such as the Walk In Centre, Minor Injury Units and Croydon Hospital.

The next Patient and Public Involvement Forum, at Fairfield Halls on September 23, is a special event for local residents to provide feedback on our proposals, suggest new ideas and talk to the healthcare professionals involved.

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Posted in Community associations, Fairfield Halls, Health, Healthwatch Croydon, Mayday Hospital | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s official: Thornton Heath is a property market hot-spot

Croydon’s going through a boom time. Hadn’t you noticed?

For Sale and To Let signsWhile the number of people having to work on low-rates, no guarantees, no-rights Zero Hours contracts is reported to have risen by 19 per cent in the past year – making 744,000 people working under such conditions, according to the Office of National Statistics; handy to get them all off the unemployment statistics, eh? – the property market in this south London borough is heating up to boiling point.

House prices in Croydon rose more quickly than all but four other London boroughs in the past year. Property prices in Croydon rose 12.7 per cent in the last 12 months, according to today’s Evening Boris, with the average property price in Croydon now £339,830.

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Posted in Bernard Weatherill House, Business, Chris Philp MP, Croydon Council, Environment, Gavin Barwell, Housing, London-wide issues, Planning, Property, Steve Reed MP, Stiles Harold Williams, Thornton Heath, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Stanley Halls film club re-launches with screening of Amy

Amy Winehouse: documentary recounts story of a great lyricist

Amy Winehouse: documentary recounts story of a great lyricist

The cinema club at Stanley Halls is ready to go with a new season of movies – and a new brand – starting this autumn with a screening of the widely acclaimed Amy Winehouse biopic.

The organisers say, “We want film lovers around South Norwood to rediscover the magic of a night at the cinema, so, inspired by the man who built Stanley Halls, we’ve renamed ourselves Stanley’s Film Club. Continue reading

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Charity is seeking Master Gardeners to dig for victory

Have you got two years or more food-growing experience and a passion to share your knowledge with others?

Gardeners' quation time: have you got what it takes to volunteer?

Gardeners’ question time: have you got what it takes to volunteer?

Garden Organic, a national charity, is looking for lively volunteers to join Croydon Master Gardeners.

The Master Gardener programme is a volunteer network that supports local people and communities to grow fruit and vegetables in community gardens. Volunteers are invited to apply now for a two-day foundation course taking place on the October 10 and 11.

The charity is working with Croydon Council as part of the Food Flagship project. Continue reading

Posted in Activities, Charity, Community associations, Croydon Council, Education, Environment, Gardening | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Croydon’s Riot Squad defy broken bones to reach play-offs

Croydon’s Riot Squad is rolling into action again this month.

Croydon Roller Derby's President Garfield (left, with star on her helmet) takes on Portsmouth's Malibash Stacey in the recent Eastbourne Extreme. Photograph by Vicky Walters

Croydon Roller Derby in bone-crunching action. The play-offs beckon Photograph by Vicky Walters

No, not the Met’s riot squad, but Croydon Roller Derby’s Riot Squad, who are travelling to Birmingham on September 26 to undertake one of its biggest challenges, the Tier 3 Play-offs of the UK Roller Derby Association championships.

Croydon is the newest and smallest of London’s roller derby teams.

It has already earned a reputation in the roller derby world as a force to be reckoned with. Ranked 26th in Europe and 17th in Britain, Croydon’s A-team has lost only one game in the past 12 months. But the Playoffs may just prove to be their greatest challenge yet. Continue reading

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Tory councillor aids roads lobbyist expelled from UKIP

JEREMY CLACKSON, Inside Croydon’s Motoring Correspondent, has uncovered evidence that one of the borough’s most senior Tory councillors has been busily assisting a roads lobbyist to undermine efforts to make the borough’s streets safer for all

When the Labour group on Croydon Council finally got round to implementing its manifesto commitment to introduce 20mph zones, albeit in the most timid of manners, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Conservative opposition at the Town Hall.

The 20mph proposal in the north of the borough got "a very clear mandate": 52 per cent of the vote

The 20mph proposal in the north of the borough got 52 per cent of the vote

The Tories’ stance on road safety in Croydon is proving to be very contradictory.

MP Gavin Barwell has been keen to claim a central role in getting legislation to make it an offence for those using illegal drugs to drive when under the influence. Barwell used endorsements from the bereaved parents of Lillian Groves, the 14-year-old killed by a dangerous driver in New Addington, to bolster his campaign in the General Election.

But when it comes to implementing a safer speed limit across the borough, in the hope of avoiding further tragic deaths, Croydon Conservatives have been less enthusiastic.

Mario Creatura is Barwell’s “gobby factotum” in his Westminster office, who now pockets a councillor’s allowances on top of his parliamentary salary. In March this year – that is, when still hoping to win people’s votes in the election – Creatura proclaimed on behalf of the local Tories that they were not against 20mph.

Yet when it came to the crunch, Croydon’s Conservative councillors spoke against the motion and then abstained.

And Inside Croydon has discovered that Phil “Two Permits” Thomas has been liaising closely with Peter “More Faces than the Town Hall Clock” Morgan over the 20mph proposals. Continue reading

Posted in 2014 council elections, Community associations, Commuting, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Cycling, Environment, Gavin Barwell, Mario Creatura, Parking, Peter Staveley, Phil Thomas, Planning, Selsdon & Ballards, Tramlink, Transport, Winston McKenzie | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Horror night could have ’em shaking in Stanley Halls aisles

Are you missing Wes Craven already? Then an evening of Horror and SciFi in South Norwood might be just for you.

Wes Craven, the movie director who died at the weekend, inspired many other film-makers

Wes Craven, the movie director who died at the weekend, inspired many other film-makers

The Crystal Palace International Film Festival is screening its Best of Horror and SciFi night at the Stanley Halls, South Norwood, on September 19.

The movies being shown include the most awarded short horror of all time, An Evening with my Comatose Mother.

Other delights include 40 Years, Nostalgic Z, Silence and On/Off.

Trailers of the movies being screened can be seen by clicking here. Continue reading

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