A future for the Fairfield Halls? Public meeting tonight

Posted on May 2, 2013 by insidecroydon

Interesting times for Croydon’s major arts centre, the Fairfield Halls, with the Conservatives who control the council pushing through a £27 million capital works project and announcing this week that they effectively want to “re-nationalise” the struggling centre.

Fairfield Halls: can the management see the wood for the trees?

Fairfield Halls: can the management see the wood for the trees?

Tonight, the public get a chance to have a say on its future, with a meeting of the South Croydon Community Association.

This is the second such meeting and is open to all – contrary to claims from the Croydon Establishment, who tried to make out that figures from the board and management of the Fairfield Halls were in some way excluded from the previous event.

Tonight’s meeting begins at 7pm at St Michael’s Church Hall, Poplar Walk, Croydon. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Community associations, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, South Croydon Community Association, Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Have you been hit by benefits cap? The BBC wants to know

Posted on May 1, 2013 by insidecroydon

Benefits changesDo you live in Croydon and are affected by the changes in social security payments, specifically the benefits cap?

Nina Robinson is a BBC journalist making a radio documentary for World Service and she wants to speak to anyone who is being affected by the benefit cap. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Housing, London-wide issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Addiscombe charity runner beats her marathon target

Posted on May 1, 2013 by insidecroydon

Tamsin Carelse, the Addiscombe charity runner who was featured in Inside Croydon as she was looking to raise funds for her baby cousin, Ellis, who was born with hyproplastic heart syndrome, finished last month’s Paris Marathon – having raised £3,167.47.

Marathon winner: Addiscombe's Tamsin Carelse

Marathon winner: Addiscombe’s Tamsin Carelse

Carelse, who trains with Croydon Striders, completed the 26-mile 385-yard course in 3hr 44min.

But the real figures that matter were the pounds and pennies raised, as the generosity of Carelse’s friends, family and even Inside Croydon readers saw her exceed her £2,000 charity target for Little Hearts Matter.

“It was a great result,” Carelse said. “Thank you so much to everyone who supported me, and Ellis.”

Posted in Addiscombe West, Athletics, Charity, Sport | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lions omit Robshaw “unluckiest man in the British Isles”

Posted on April 30, 2013 by insidecroydon

Chris Robshaw had seen it coming over the past month, but today the Harlequins and England captain had it confirmed: not only would the former Warlingham junior player not be captaining the British Lions on their tour to Australia, but he did not even make it into the 37-man squad.

Chris Robshaw: misses out on Lions tour

Chris Robshaw: misses out on Lions tour

The back-row forwards department is one of the strongest available to head coach Warren Gatland, and he opted to go with Wales’s captain, Sam Warburton.

With New Zealander Gatland having already forged a highly successful partnership with Warburton and the Wales team, it was perhaps an obvious choice.

Yet until barely a month ago, Robshaw looked to be a shoo-in, not just for his first Lions flanker jersey, but also for the captaincy. Robshaw had led England to a stunning victory over the world champion All Blacks last November, and four victories in the Home Nations championship had seen him take England to the brink of a Grand Slam.

But then came that game at Cardiff, where Wales overwhelmed Robshaw’s England. Continue reading →

Posted in Chris Robshaw, Rugby Union, Sport, Warlingham RFC | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Red Deer locals look north for help to rebuff Morrisons

Posted on April 30, 2013 by insidecroydon

Another landmark Croydon pub is under threat of takeover from a supermarket chain. And our local councillors’ response – where they have bothered to respond – is effectively to shrug their shoulders and say there’s nothing that they can, or will, do.

The perfect site for (yet another) supermarket? The under threat Red Deer in South Croydon

The perfect site for (yet another) supermarket? The under threat Red Deer in South Croydon

But evidence from further up the A23 suggests that if councillors help to organise the community, the pillaging of key property sites in our community can be deterred, and even rebuffed.

The Red Deer, on the Brighton Road in South Croydon – not so long ago the star of a national television advert – is the latest target for a supermarket chain (in this case Morrisons). No matter that there’s already several other “express” supermarkets along a short stretch of this road, nor that Morrisons is building a large new store at Fiveways.

In the past year or so, Lidl has bought the Good Companions at Hamsey Green, while barely half a mile up the road from the Red Deer, Tesco has desecrated the Swan and Sugarloaf. That notable Victorian pub interior was ripped out by Tesco before they opened, and since they started trading they have begun the long, slow and painful process of ripping the guts out of the businesses of many local independent traders. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community associations, Maria Gatland, Planning, Property, Pubs, Sanderstead, South Croydon, South Croydon Community Association, Steve O'Connell, Tim Pollard, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Plan Bee: things you can do to help local hives thrive

Posted on April 29, 2013 by insidecroydon

Britain’s bees need your help. And even in built-up Croydon, you can put a buzz into your garden or window box, writes SUSAN OLIVER

Keeping busy: We need bees to pollenate crops, and bees need our help

Keeping busy: We need bees to pollenate crops, and bees need our help

Spring can be a difficult time for bee-keepers. This is when, for the first time in months, we are able to look into the hives to see which colonies survived the winter.

Bees don’t hibernate. Instead they huddle into a ball, reduce their activity to next to nothing and feed off the stored honey they accumulated the summer before. Most bee-keepers leave enough honey so that bees have enough to eat in the winter. Some even put in candy (baker’s fondant) to supplement the honey.

But even if we left 100 pounds of honey in the hive, it doesn’t guarantee a hive will make it. Sadly, nothing does. A number of things can happen: the bees don’t find the honey or the colony is too small to survive, and sometimes it’s just a mystery why a colony dies. To be honest, at times bee-keeping is a pernickety hobby and winter losses are probably the worst aspect of this otherwise amazing activity.

Fortunately, public awareness of the importance of bees has grown and many people want to help the bees so let’s go over how you can help bees in Croydon. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Community associations, Susan Oliver | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Council announces plans for takeover of Fairfield Halls

Posted on April 29, 2013 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s Conservative-run Council wants to put professional wrestling and Roy “Chubby” Brown on the rates.

Dudley Mead: plans to bail out the Fairfield Halls are worthy of low comedy

Dudley Mead: plans to bail out the Fairfield Halls are no laughing matter

At a meeting of the ruling Tory group’s cabinet tonight, proposals to take over the Fairfield Halls and the London Mozart Players will be discussed. And, no doubt, approved.

It is not yet known whether these plans include re-naming the orchestra the Croydon Mozart Players, and after 50 years re-titling the venue as the Dudley Mead Empire.

Croydon’s Tories, despite cutting arts funding for most other activities in the borough, closing the David Lean Cinema, axing the modest grant to the Warehouse Theatre and cancelling the annual Mela music festival, have continued to pump more than £1 million a year of public cash into the Fairfield Halls’ and Mozart Players’ running costs.

They have also agreed to spend £27 million (the latest published figure) on a redevelopment for the struggling arts centre.

The takeover proposals have no public mandate, Croydon’s residents have never been consulted, and the council paperwork ahead of tonight’s Town Hall meeting was not revealed until late last week. But the Fairfield Halls and LMP have eagerly agreed to the council taking over a 75 per cent controlling stake of the organisations.

This could all be indicative of how deep the Fairfield Halls’ financial crisis has become. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Charity, David Lean Cinema Campaign, Dudley Mead, Fairfield Halls, London Mozart Players, Music, Planning, Property, Warehouse Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Tory calls for de-selection of “contemptible” councillor Arram

Posted on April 28, 2013 by insidecroydon

Local Conservatives’ new recruit John Cartwright has called for the de-selection of Croydon Mayor Eddy Arram ahead of next year’s council elections, alleging that the Ashburton councillor bullied a member of the public at last Monday’s Town Hall meeting.

Ashburton ward, in red, part of Croydon Central

Ashburton ward, in red, part of Croydon Central constituency

Arram’s one-year term as Croydon mayor has been controversial from the beginning. Arram failed to attend the traditional annual service at Croydon Minster, apparently he was “too busy”, and was accused of having many conflicts of interest and of abusing his position as a supposedly impartial chairman of meetings.

Arram’s blustering and heavy-handed style even prompted a walk-out of the entire Labour group at one heated meeting.

Throughout his term as mayor, Arram continued to work as a constituency assistant to Croydon Central MP Gavin “I’m just a bag carrier” Barwell.

Last Monday’s full council meeting was the final one over which Arram is due to preside as mayor. Continue reading →

Posted in Ashburton, Eddy Arram | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Green Dragon offers real ale, good food and all that jazz

Posted on April 28, 2013 by insidecroydon
The Green Dragon pub, on the junction of Surrey Street and the High Street, a cultural oasis in a desert, and the beer's good, too

The Green Dragon pub, on the junction of Surrey Street and the High Street, a cultural oasis in a desert. And the beer’s good, too

Good beer and free music performances continue to make the Green Dragon, on the High Street, probably the best pub in the centre of Croydon.

With jazz groups performing at the Green Dragon every Sunday, the pub also has some special acts lined up for the coming week, with saxophone player Vasilis Xenopoulos’s quartet performing this Tuesday, April 30, from 1pm.

Next Sunday, May 5, the star turn will be the Gabriel Garrick Quintet.

And on Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, performing will be the Art Themem Quartet. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Music, Pubs | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Adonis” Okoye signs NFL deal with San Francisco 49ers

Posted on April 28, 2013 by insidecroydon
On trial: Lawrence Okoye undergoing physical tests with the NFL

On trial: Lawrence Okoye undergoing physical tests with the NFL

From Croydon Arena to Candlestick Park: Waddon’s Olympic discus thrower Lawrence Okoye announced last night that he has been signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers NFL team.

“Proud to announce that I will be signing with the San Francisco @49ers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Tweeted the 21-year-old.

Okoye’s decision to pursue a career in American football is a massive blow to British athletics, where former chief coach Charles van Commenee identified the Croydon Harrier as a potential international medal-winner for Britain for the next decade.

But his multi-million dollar three-year NFL contract represents a success in yet another sport for former Whitgift schoolboys – Okoye is of the same generation of pupils from the South Croydon school as England rugby squad player Elliot Daly, Surrey cricketer Freddie van der Bergh, and Chelsea winger Victor Moses. Continue reading →

Posted in 2012 Olympics, Athletics, Lawrence Okoye, Sport, Waddon | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are you Croydon’s Rory McIlroy? Find out at Addington Court

Posted on April 28, 2013 by insidecroydon

Addington Court is offering a round of golf on its Falconwood course for less than a tenner, in a price-cutting innovation that could help to discover Croydon’s own Rory McIlroy or Tiger Woods, or Laura Davies.

A long walk spoiled? Not if you keep your ball on the wide fairways at Addington Court

A long walk spoiled? Not if you keep your ball on the wide fairways at Addington Court

The £9.99 offer applies to rounds played after 1pm each day, including weekends, on its Falconwood course, the 18 holes laid out across Featherbed Lane from the centre’s main clubhouse and which stretch up towards Lodge Lane and New Addington.

Addington Court claims to be England’s original purpose-built “pay and play” public golf course, having broken the golf convention of strict club membership, which often required joining fees and annual subscriptions that run into hundreds of pounds, putting the game beyond the reach of ordinary working people and youngsters. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Golf, New Addington, Sport | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Council deputy leader has “serious concerns” over Lidl plans

Posted on April 27, 2013 by insidecroydon
Tim Pollard: referred Lidl plans to the planning committee

Tim Pollard: referred Lidl plans to the planning committee

Lidl’s latest scheme to build a steel shed on the site of the old Good Companions at Hamsey Green has been referred to Croydon Council’s planning committee by a senior Croydon councillor who says he has “serious concerns” over the development.

Tim Pollard, the deputy leader of the Tory group which controls Croydon Council, said of the latest proposed designs, “The fundamental problems around access and safety remain unresolved and for this reason I still have serious concerns.”

Referral to the planning committee means that the council planning staff no longer have the authority to grant permission to the scheme; that power now sits solely with the planning committee. Continue reading →

Posted in Planning, Sanderstead, Tim Pollard | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Playwriting Festival lives on after Warehouse closure

Posted on April 27, 2013 by insidecroydon

The International Playwriting Festival which for the past 26 years has been staged at the Warehouse Theatre has found a new producer and a new home.

Warehouse PhoenixWarehouse Phoenix, a company formed by members and friends of the Warehouse Theatre in order to continue its work and tradition, will produce the 27th IPF on the weekend of June 29-30 at the Fairfield Halls.

The Arnhem Gallery will be converted to a theatre for the occasion and will play host to the best plays selected from last year’s competition.

The winning play from the BRIT School’s annual Strawberry Picking season will also be presented and winning plays from the IPF’s International partners – Extra Candoni in Italy and Theatro Ena from Cyprus.

Ted Craig, the director of Warehouse Phoenix, said, “We will also be hosting a top UK touring company for a special guest performance.”

The two days will be arranged into four programmes, at 5pm and 7pm, with a supper interval each day. More information about the programmes will be available on the Warehouse Phoenix website www.warehousephoenix.co.uk at the beginning of June, once the judges have made their selections. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Cinema, Comedy, Fairfield Halls, Theatre, Warehouse Theatre | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s ordinary people who pay for council’s £43m incompetence

Posted on April 27, 2013 by insidecroydon

The Sage of Waddon, ARFUR TOWCRATE, on the injustices created by Croydon Council as its allows its mountain of uncollected Council Tax to grow ever larger

Council Tax form 1A few years ago I received a court summons from Croydon Council for not paying my Council Tax. It wasn’t that I was skint or unwilling – it was down to a muck up with the standing order. Despite a 20-year track record of paying on time I had to cough up something like £60 to get their legal hounds off my back.

Funny how I got that treatment, yet such huge debts – more than £43 million – have been amassed collectively through non-payment by others.

Had the council tackled these debtors with the same vigour as they did with me, then maybe the David Lean Cinema would still be open, I could visit the Katharine Street library on a Sunday, watch a show at the Braithwaite Hall or see a play at the Warehouse Theatre. And that’s just me. Loads of less fortunate, more vulnerable people have had their lives turned upside down because of this crap council and its cuts.

How can this be? Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, John Laing Integrated Services, Nathan Elvery | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Attention-seeking mayor deserves the Advertiser’s criticism

Posted on April 26, 2013 by insidecroydon

CROYDON COMMENTARY: Eddy Arram, presiding over a full council meeting for the last time, this week managed to do something which many believed was impossible: getting the editors of Inside Croydon and the Croydon Sadvertiser to agree, at least on one topic.

Arram being called “dopey” and “irrelevant”, though, are mild when it comes to describing the council’s conduct, says DAVID CALLAM

Croydon Mayor: Eddy Arram: so unimportant, even the Croydon Advertiser does not bother to report his activities. How dare they!

Eddy Arram: so unimportant, even the Croydon Advertiser does not bother to report his activities. How dare they!

The Croydon Advertiser damages the town.

That, apparently, is the view of the mayor, Councillor Eddy Arram.

And it’s twaddle.

The mayor’s view is the latest in a long line of utterances from people at Croydon Council who should know better, but whose solution to the problem of the town’s dreadful public image is always to shoot the messenger.

In my time at the Advertiser, it was publicity given to weekend punch-ups or worse that fuelled the council’s ire. And yet, it was the council that had created the circumstances that made such random violence more likely.

Senior council officers developed a policy to encourage a night-time economy. They wanted a wide range of evening activities to ensure that the town didn’t close for the day when shop and office workers went home.

Many local authorities wanted something similar, but others hedged their enthusiasm with licensing restrictions to create a balance, even though it took more time to achieve.

Unfortunately, Croydon adopted the line of least resistance: allowing lots of vertical drinking establishments, places where you were encouraged just to stand and imbibe, each vying with others for custom on the basis of price – Happy Hours, 2-4-1 and other forms of promotion.

The result was inevitable: if you mix testosterone-filled young men with aggressive dance music, copious amounts of alcohol and scantily-clad young women, then violence will follow as surely as night follows day.

When that happened, and the Advertiser reported it, the council blamed the newspaper for bad-mouthing the town. Inside Croydon has received similar treatment from the council’s press office and members of the town’s Glee Club tendency for taking the authority to task over various issues. Continue reading →

Posted in David Callam, Eddy Arram, Local media | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Inside Croydon’s Hero of the Week: Marzia Nicodemi-Ehikioya

Posted on April 26, 2013 by insidecroydon

Marzia Nicodemi-Ehikioya won’t like this. Like that’s ever stopped us in the past.

Heroic, in a modest manner: Marzia Nicodemi-Ehikioya

But the Shirley resident is Inside Croydon’s “Hero of the Week”, because she took a stand – or rather a seat – against a jumped-up little tyrant.

Monday’s full council meeting at the Town Hall was started by the mayor of Croydon, Eddy Arram, with a call for those gathered to stand for a minute’s silence in memory of Baroness Thatcher.

Fair enough. The mayor is at liberty to abuse his position to further. After all, why change the habit of the past year?

The conduct of Arram, the Ashburton councillor with a day job as Gavin’s Gofer, has been so disgraceful that it prompted a number of former mayors to submit a formal letter of complaint. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Eddy Arram, Shirley Community Centre Association, Shirley North | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Full of the joys of spring: Shabden Park farm open day

Posted on April 26, 2013 by insidecroydon

This Saturday, April 27, Shabden Park Farm, just outside Chipstead, south of Coulsdon, is staging its spring open day, when frolicking lambs will be the centre of attention.

spring lambVisitors can talk to farmer Mark, and our sabbatical student Marie, who will be in the lambing shed so that children can get up close to the baby lambs.

The farm will be running a “name the lambs” competition – this year with separate categories for adults and children, and kids can do a quiz sheet to help them remember what they’ve learnt, then claim a small prize at the end.

There will be refreshments available including hand-made Sussex beef burgers (“no horse, in a round”), teas, coffees and kids’ drinks and you are welcome to bring your own camping chairs to sit in the food area.

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Environment, Health, Outside Croydon, Walks | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hamsey Green shops and schools under threat from Lidl plans

Posted on April 26, 2013 by insidecroydon

To absolutely no one’s surprise – largely because they have paid top-dollar for the landmark site and need to make the £2 million investment work for them commercially – Lidl has submitted a renewed planning application for a supermarket where the Good Companions pub used to be at Hamsey Green.

Lidl's new plan is little different from the original big grey steel shed

Lidl’s new plan is little different from the original big grey steel shed

Even less surprisingly, the locals do not like it one bit.

“It’s still a steel shed,” local resident Paul Reddington told Inside Croydon.

Residents reckon that having forced Lidl to withdraw its previous planning application on the Limpsfield Road, the “gateway” from Surrey into Croydon, the latest supermarket scheme is little improved.

And locals’ fears that another supermarket in the area will kill off the local independent shops appear well-founded, as some shopkeepers are already shutting up and cutting their loses before the German giant moves into the area.

“The new design also misses the point about residents’ main objections,” Reddington said. “These centre on the traffic this store will generate on already congested roads – particularly at school drop-off and pick-up times,” our source said.

There are two schools, one primary, one secondary, just up the road from where Lidl expect their customers to drive into their supermarket car park. It is an issue which nothing Lidl can do will ever resolve, and with the area already well-served by nearby superstores and traffic levels never diminishing, the opposition to another massive convenience shop is unlikely to go away. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Community associations, Parking, Planning, Pubs, Sanderstead, Yvette Hopley | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Council accused of broken promise to disabled children

Posted on April 25, 2013 by insidecroydon
Paying to read: Seven-year-old Lauren Kennedy, with her father, Tony, who faces a £2,000 a year bill for his daughter to attend reading lessons

Paying to read: Seven-year-old Lauren Kennedy, with her father, Tony, who faces a £2,000 a year bill for his daughter to attend reading lessons

A father from South Croydon has accused Croydon Council of acting unlawfully and immorally over the decision in 2011 to stop providing transport to disabled children attending the Purley Oaks literacy centre.

The centre is run by Croydon Council and provides specialist teaching to disabled children and those having problems learning to read. But for the past 18 months, any children from other schools needing to attend the centre during school hours have had to have taxis booked and paid for by their parents – or miss out on the vital lessons.

Now, Tony Kennedy has asked Julie Belvir, the borough solicitor, to investigate whether the council’s policy is illegal under the Education Act 1996 which says that local education authorities cannot charge parents for state education.

Kennedy also claims that Croydon’s policy discriminates against those with a disability and breaches Croydon’s duty to safeguard pupils. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Croydon South, Education, Purley Oaks, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Croydon is officially the worst English borough on Council Tax

Posted on April 25, 2013 by insidecroydon

It is official, because according to Eric Pickles, the Conservative Cabinet minister in charge of local government, Conservative-run Croydon has the worst record among boroughs in England for managing its own Council Tax.

Council tax form 4There are 326 local authority councils in England, and only three cities – Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester, all with larger populations than our town – have amassed more uncollected Council Tax than Croydon’s

£43.563 million.

In a parliamentary answer given this week by Pickles’ department, presumably intended to hurt the Labour party campaigns ahead next week’s local council elections being held outside London, the Conservatives in charge of Croydon Council have found themselves highlighted again as the financial incompetents of local government. Continue reading →

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Mike Fisher, Sara Bashford | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who has the Balls in the BBC’s The Politician’s Husband?

Posted on April 25, 2013 by insidecroydon

So who is it supposed to be based on then, tonight’s new BBC drama series The Politician’s Husband, starring David Tennant and Emily Watson?

Power in the Cabinet, or in the bedroom? David Tennant and Emily Watson star in the BBC's new political drama, in which the technical advice has come from someone in Croydon politics

Power in the Cabinet, or in the bedroom? David Tennant and Emily Watson star in the BBC’s new political drama, in which the technical advice has come from someone in Croydon politics

Is it Maggie and Dennis?

Or is it Mr and Mrs Speaker Bercow?

Could it be Chris Huhne and Vicky Pryce perhaps? Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper?

Or is it someone closer to home? How about Croydon Council’s very own Terry and June, Dudley and Margaret Mead?

Take a close look at the end credits, and there is a name that has a close connection with Croydon politics, with Andy Bagnall listed as a technical adviser on the drama, which has been written by Paula Milne. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Croydon South | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Burnt: incinerator scheme fails to get planning permission

Posted on April 25, 2013 by insidecroydon

A Sutton Council planning meeting last night refused to approve plans to build a waste incinerator on its border with Croydon, at Beddington Lane, a stunning reversal for the powers of big business.

Sutton logoAhead of the meeting, with the Sutton Council officers recommending that the Viridor proposals be accepted, the decision seemed likely to be a foregone conclusion.

“It feels like we were up on the gallows and all out of the blue someone has shot the rope and set us free,” said Shasha Khan, the local Green party activist who may have seen one-too-many John Wayne movies.

But we know what he means. There was an immense sense of stunned relief among the residents attending the packed meeting, staged in the library at the Sutton civic centre. Continue reading →

Posted in Broad Green, Business, Community associations, Croydon Greens, East Coulsdon Residents' Association, Environment, Health, London-wide issues, Outside Croydon, Planning, Shasha Khan, Stuart Collins, Sutton Council, Tony Newman, Waste incinerator, Wildlife | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Newman calls on Merton to honour Ken’s incinerator pledge

Posted on April 24, 2013 by insidecroydon

Tony Newman, the leader of the opposition Labour group on Croydon Council, has called on his counterpart at Merton, Stephen Alambritis, to do the decent thing and get his council to withdraw its approval of the south London incinerator planned for Beddington Lane.

Tony Newman: a good deal for Merton is a blow to the health of hundreds of thousands of fellow Londoners

Tony Newman: a good deal for Merton is a blow to the health of hundreds of thousands of fellow Londoners

Commercial waste burners Viridor have a 25-year, £1 billion contract on the table to build and manage the incinerator on behalf of the South London Waste Partnership – the Tory-controlled boroughs of Kingston and Croydon, plus Sutton, which is under the less-than-environmentally friendly LibDems, and Merton, where Alambritis’s Labour group has a majority.

The Conservatives in Croydon were elected in 2010 on a manifesto pledge to oppose the incinerator, which they promptly broke.

Tonight sees the final planning meeting for approval of Viridor’s scheme at Sutton Council – the Beddington Lane site is just over the borough boundary from Croydon in Sutton – with a recommendation from that borough’s  officials for approval. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Greens, Environment, Health, Ken Livingstone, London-wide issues, Outside Croydon, Sutton Council, Tony Newman, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Benched: Council still can’t get borough’s greats’ names right

Posted on April 24, 2013 by insidecroydon
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: or, if you are Croydon Council, Samuel Taylor-Coleridge

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: or, if you are Croydon Council, Samuel Taylor-Coleridge

It is almost a year since Inside Croydon highlighted another botched PR effort by our council, the staging of a “public vote” on leading figures from Croydon’s past (and present), to provide three subjects for a “portrait bench” on a walking and cycling path near the centre of the town.

This week, Croydon Council finally, if somewhat reluctantly, named who has been chosen to be the subjects for the portrait bench – and revealed that they managed to pick a Scotsman among Croydon’s greats, while getting the name of one of the borough’s most famous sons wrong. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Cinema, Comedy, Croydon Council, Cycling, David Lean Cinema Campaign, Environment, Fairfield Halls, History, Jason Perry, Music, Transport, Waddon, Walks | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Roke Primary victim of “overzealous” Gove, says Tory MP

Posted on April 23, 2013 by insidecroydon

Readers of a nervous disposition should look away now. The following article contains flashing lights and some robust English language and may not be suitable for those under the age of about 12. Or Michael Gove.

Michael Gove: your child's future in this Murdoch hack's hands

Education minister Michael Gove: your child’s future in this former Murdoch newspaper hack’s hands

If further proof were needed that the sham “consultation” on the academisation of Kenley’s Roke Primary was an utter crock of shit, it appeared on page 54 of Friday’s edition of the Times Education Supplement.

Friday was the deadline for submissions in the consultation process set up by Michael Gove’s Department for Education. To any fair-minded person, a public consultation on a matter of public interest, especially something as important as children’s futures, ought ordinarily to be run by a dispassionate, unconnected third-party.

This DfE consultation is being run by the Harris Federation.

Harris is the academy operation, set up by one of the Tory party’s biggest donors. Harris is the organisation which the DfE nominated – long before any consultation and against the wishes of the vast majority of Roke Primary parents, governors and staff – as its “preferred” sponsor of an academy at Roke.

Roke, it is worth repeating, is a primary school with a decade of exemplary achievement by its pupils, and staff, and just one blot on its Ofsted report copybook.

But on Friday, the deadline day for the consultation being run by Harris, there, in black and white in the TES, was an advertisement for a new head teacher at Roke. The ad was placed by the Harris Federation. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon South, Education, Kenley, Richard Ottaway MP, Roke Primary | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments