A survey published this week shows that the Streatham and Croydon North MP is one of the least popular figures in the government – and that’s among his own party’s supporters. By WALTER CRONXITE, Political Editor
Not liked: in six months, Steve Reed OBE has managed to alienate the nation’s farmers and anyone who has a supply of water
Bad news for Steve Reed. The Streatham and Croydon North MP is less popular than Keir Starmer. And that’s just the opinion of Labour voters.
Labour List, the in-house online publication of the Labour Party, published the results of a nationwide survey of members and readers this week, including an intriguing little survey of who is “in” and who is “out” of favour among Prime Minister Starmer’s Downing Street cabinet.
The poll, conducted by Survation, comes little more than six months since Labour’s overwhelming victory at the General Election, and it seems to reflect the abject disappointment with their approach in government so far. Continue reading
A long-boarded-up site on Brighton Road in South Croydon has opened for business this week – as Sabores da Terra, a “traditional Portuguese coffee shop and deli”.
The Earl of Eldon pub, once a Greene King boozer, closed in 2018, and has stood vacant on the prominent corner site at 63 Brighton Road, on the corner with Junction Road, ever since.
What was once the pub’s beer garden has been built on (flats, natch), but the pub building has lain unused and unwanted ever since, despite Savill’s giving it a bit of a sales push last year.
Work started on the converting the ground floor premises into a coffee shop at the end of last month, and Sabores da Terra – “flavours of the earth” – opened for business this week.
Offering freshly baked produce every day, the new deli is open from 7am to 6pm Mondays to Saturdays, and 9am to 4pm on Sundays. Continue reading
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Poverty is one of the key drivers of stress and anxiety. EMMA TURNER says that getting people back into work requires sensitive support
As the head of an organisation that provides employment support for people with mental health problems, I know the benefits that work can bring.
But that is very different to work being a magical cure for mental health problems. From much of the coverage, commentary and announcements from government in recent days, you could have been mistaken for thinking it is.
Every day the team at Mind in Croydon is working to support some of the more than 66,000 people with mental health problems in the borough to take the first right step for them. For some this will be full-time work, for some it will be part-time, for others volunteering or education might be what’s needed to best support them and their mental health.
But for some people, work, or even the prospect of it, can be so debilitating it can be as destructive as the very symptoms they are managing.
When it comes to work, good-quality work can provide many things: connecting with people, providing routine, stability, and a sense of purpose, and increasing income, which can help reduce one of the key drivers of people’s stress and anxiety: poverty. Continue reading
Sutton could get its first public padel courts before Croydon following the announcement from the London Cancer Hub at Belmont.
Padel promise: the temporary ‘meanwhile’ use on land by the London Cancer Hub, could open this summer
Social Sports Society, the padel operator behind ventures like Wembley Park Padel, has resubmitted a planning application for a change of use.
“The four-court facility will transform a currently vacant space within the site and form part of Aviva and Socius’ vision for the development of the London Cancer Hub,” the developers say.
That scheme is liable to take longer to reach fruition, while the Belmont padel park is hoping to be open this summer. Continue reading
Cat owners are being offered microchipping for their pet at an event held by RSPCA South London branch.
Chipping in: the RSPCA is running its microchipping event on April 3
The event will take place on Thursday, April 3 at the RSPCA Tooting Charity shop, 71-73 Upper Tooting Road, London, SW17 7TW, between 11am and 3pm.
Microchipping is a simple, quick, and effective way to ensure your cat can always be identified and returned home if they go missing.
Since June 2024, microchipping has been a legal requirement for all pet cats in England. If your cat is not yet microchipped, this is the perfect opportunity to get it done at little-to-no cost by a trained RSPCA Animal Welfare Officer.
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell’s decision to make access to the council’s offices appointment-only may be in breach of the council’s legal responsibilities
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES
No access Croydon: the council’s offices have been closed to the public
Letters have landed on the desks of Mayor Jason Perry and CEO Katherine Kerswell today demanding the immediate re-opening of Access Croydon.
The letters are signed by officials from nearly 30 charities and voluntary groups who work in Croydon, often with the vulnerable and the homeless.
“We demand that you reopen Access Croydon to enable Croydon’s vulnerable homeless residents to access the services that they are entitled to by law,” the letter says. Continue reading
Traffic chaos: Croydon Council has delivered letters to residents on affected streets. They just haven’t bothered advising motorists who drive through Portland Road in South Norwood
By PETER GILLMAN
There’s been silence from the utility companies and there’s nothing to be found on Croydon Council’s website, nor provided by its official press department.
But Inside Croydon’s loyal readers have come up with some inside information about the multiple road closures that are to be imposed around South Norwood from Monday, when they are likely cause traffic chaos which could last the rest of this month and most of April. Continue reading
DODGY LEAFLETS: Local elections are still more than a year away, but the colourful flyers with carefully crafted weasel words are already beginning to appear on residents’ doormats. Not all are overtly from political parties, but as BELLE MONT reports, every paragraph of them needs to be checked
False information: far from there being a ‘steep rise in food waste recycling’, there’s been a steep fall overall in recycling rates
At least one local councillor has been busy, flagging up the wastefulness of his borough’s rubbish contractor, Veolia.
Nick Mattey, an independent councillor on Sutton Council for Beddington ward, has filed a complaint to his borough’s Monitoring Officer over what he says are deliberately misleading claims being made by the contractor, with the authority’s knowledge and approval, when the claims have no real basis in fact.
“They must think we are all stupid,” Mattey told Inside Sutton.
Mattey’s written complaint about the mass distribution of leaflets around the borough went to Monitoring Officer Tim Martin, the most senior legal official working at the council, under the provocative headline: “Sutton Council’s shameful and deceitful approach to waste and recycling.”
Barry “Basher” Lewis, the council leader, has also received a Mattey broadside. Continue reading
It is the middle of March, but such is the tinderbox nature of some of the capital’s open spaces, the London Fire Brigade has had to issue a special warning to the public to help avoid causing wildfires.
Tinder box: after a month of dry weather, the London Fire Brigade is asking the public to behave responsibly in parks and open spaces
The wildfire warning status has been raised to amber, because there is an increased risk of wildfires due to the low rainfall so far this month, alongside unseasonably high temperatures. Parts of London recorded temperatures of 21 degrees yesterday, on March 20.
The Brigade has provided a set of advice points to remind people how they can stay safe and act responsibly if they are out enjoying the sunshine.
“While London may not be experiencing the same high temperatures as the summer months, wildfires can still occur, especially as we’ve had a drier month than usual this March, and due to the possibility of windy conditions,” the LFB said. Continue reading
Andrew Clark, the man who was brutally attacked outside a Sainsbury’s in Bromley on Sunday, has died in hospital today.
Murder scene: police attended the site of the assault on Sunday. The victim, Andrew Clark, died today
Demiesh Williams, 29, of Fir Tree Gardens, Shirley, was arrested in relation to the attack and was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent at Bromley Magistrates Court on Tuesday, when he was remanded into custody.
Police were called to Upper Elmers End Road, Bromley at 8.24pm on Sunday. Officers attended the scene alongside the London Ambulance Service and treated a man for head injuries before taking him to hospital. Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE: In 2021, one councillor seeking to be chosen as her party’s candidate for elected Mayor ran a campaign with the slogan: ‘I can do more for the people I care about’. What might be her catchphrase be in 2025?
By STEVEN DOWNES
Newman and a Numpty: Manju Shahul-Hameed served in council cabinets under the discredited Tony Newman for almost three years
A Newman Numpty, former council cabinet member Manju Shahul-Hameed, could be among the hopefuls seeking selection to be Labour’s candidate for Croydon Mayor next May.
Six months late, the Labour Party has today announced to its members in Croydon that they can pick their mayoral candidate.
The process is likely to last at least four weeks, although even today’s announcement had suffered last-minute delays by the all-powerful National Executive Committee, which has been effectively overseeing the running of most of Croydon Labour’s activities for the past five years.
The delays in running its selection have automatically put any Labour candidate who is chosen at a disadvantage against Tory incumbent, Jason Perry, who has been drawing down the Mayor’s salary of £80,000-plus since 2022, and who was confirmed as the Conservative candidate in the Croydon Mayor elections in May 2026 almost six months ago. Continue reading
Essential, and in advance: one of the road closure signs, at the Manor Road junction with Portland Road
By PETER GILLMAN
South Norwood is soon to be hit with traffic chaos again – but neither Croydon Council nor the alternative possible culprits, Thames Water, have been able to provide more information about precisely which roads they intend to close, or when, or for how long.
In the past two weeks a rash of signs warning of closures have appeared around Portland Road and Norwood Junction. Continue reading
Bridge to Nowhere: the £22m public-funded infrastructure has been left hanging since it was installed in 2013. Now Network Rail want to wheedle out of their planning obligations
Angry residents are demanding that Network Rail delivers on its promises and drop a hare-brained scheme which would compromise the £22m piece of infrastructure at East Croydon Station permanently.
By JEREMY CLACKSON, transport correspondent
Network Rail has admitted that it is colluding with the council to dodge the planning conditions around the Bridge to Nowhere at East Croydon Station.
Poor practice: the platform link has been criticised for being poorly designed, as well as being embarrassingly incomplete
The £22million piece of public infrastructure has been without access from the Cherry Orchard Road side since it was installed across the rail tracks in 2013. The bridge was left incomplete due to cock-ups by the council’s planning and legal departments – at a time when Jason Perry, now Croydon’s Mayor, was the cabinet member responsible.
The admission from a Network Rail official comes as a public petition has been launched demanding proper, full access to the bridge and East Croydon Station platforms from the eastern, Addiscombe side of the bridge, including a free-of-charge pedestrian walkway to Dingwall Road and the town centre.
Following the decade-long legal stalemate with private landowners Menta which prevented the bridge’s completion in 2013, access has been all-but-complete for more than a year now. The latest delay has been caused because of Network Rail’s reluctance to pay to install ticket barriers at the eastern side of the bridge. Continue reading
Janet Nix, the pensioner accused of killing a five-year-old girl in Thornton Heath in 1978, has denied the charges.
Denied charges: Janice Nix appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday accused of killing a five-year-old girl 47 years ago
Nix, 66, appeared at the Old Bailey yesterday where she denied one count of manslaughter.
Nix had been charged last month over the death of Andrea Bernard, who was taken to hospital after she was scalded severely in a bath at her home at Ashley Road in June 1978.
The girl died from her injuries just more than a month later. Continue reading
Croydon man Demiesh Williams appeared in court on Tuesday charged with grievous bodily harm following an assault on another man in Bromley on Sunday which has left his victim, a man in his 40s, in hospital in what the police describe as a “life-threatening condition”.
Williams, 29, of Fir Tree Gardens, Shirley, appeared at Bromley Magistrates’ Court, after being arrested following an incident at Upper Elmers End Road just after 8pm on Sunday. Continue reading
Croydon Council was forced into yet another hugely embarrassing court room climbdown this morning, when a group of homelessness campaigners arrived at Croydon County Court following a summons for squatting in a long-disused children’s home in Reedham.
Court protest: demonstrators, including Green councillor Ria Patel (centre) this morning
The presiding judge was unimpressed when he was forced to defer the hearing to April 4 because, according to one eye-witness, “No one seemed to be able to find proof on paper that Croydon Council actually owns the building.”
The judge even asked why the council hadn’t issue an eviction notice back in November and had waited until now.
Such a costly delay in court proceedings over what should have been a routine property matter ought to be doubly embarrassing for the council’s most senior legal official, the hapless Borough Solicitor Stephen Lawrence-Orumwense: before he joined Croydon Council, his previous job was working as an estate agent.
Reclaim Croydon has been providing shelter and support in their Autonomous Winter Shelter on Reedham Park Avenue for the last four months, helping almost 60 people who would otherwise have been forced to sleep rough on the streets. Continue reading
CROYDON IN CRISIS: Decision to close four libraries was based on dodgy data that failed to measure use of public amenities for a range of activities, from private study for school pupils to yoga classes for the elderly.
By WALTER CRONXITE, political editor
‘Devastating’: regular library user Kiran Choda used Broad Green Library for a range of activities
“When we found out the library had closed, it was devastating. I feel isolated now.”
Those are the words of one Croydon resident who has been affected by Mayor Jason Perry’s decision to ignore a public consultation and go ahead with the closure of one-third of the borough’s public libraries.
Broad Green, Bradmore Green (in Old Coulsdon), Shirley and Sanderstead libraries closed at the end of last year in a move to save less than £500,000 per year, while opening up the possibility that the library sites could be part of the cash-strapped council’s asset disposal strategy.
The costly consultation to find excuses to close libraries was commissioned by Mayor Perry’s council during Croydon’s year as London’s Borough of Culture. Croydon Town Hall is an irony-free zone.
As Inside Croydon reported in 2023, “It seems highly likely that ‘reduced usage’ of the libraries will be used by Tory Mayor Jason Perry as one of the major excuses for closing a quarter of the borough’s libraries.”
We might have added: “Whether it is true or not.” Continue reading
By DAVID MORGAN
Croydon Minster was full on Monday night, those in the pews buzzing with expectancy about a very special concert they were about to enjoy.
Sound weave: The Sixteen performing at Croydon Minster on Monday
Croydon was the opening night venue by the internationally renowned choir, The Sixteen, for their 2025 Choral Pilgrimage, Angel of Peace.
Harry Christophers conducted the choir in his usual flamboyant and charismatic way. His expressive gestures coaxed and directed the singers, their voices becoming golden threads ready to be turned in a glorious tapestry.
Effortlessly, or so it appeared, the tapestry grew as Christophers developed each theme and thread. There were no loose ends. Syllables at the ends of words were neatly tucked in. Continue reading
CROYDON COMMENTARY: Businessman TIM WATES believes that even a small shift in engagement with each other can make a big difference to the borough’s future
Cut It Out: one event staged at Selhurst Park helped the Palace for Life Foundation get some at-risk young people into employment
Across Croydon, many community groups, volunteers and businesses are rolling up their sleeves to make a difference. From local youth initiatives tackling crime, to grassroots projects supporting those in need, the borough has people working together to create positive change.
Yet these efforts take place against a backdrop of real challenges. Local authority finance, unemployment, crime, and housing remain pressing issues. And while no single organisation, group or individual can solve everything on their own – the presence of existing community projects shows that there is no shortage of willing people, and there is an answer to getting things done that does not rely on vast spending. Continue reading
The government’s homelessness strategy must include plans for long-term funding of services and an Affordable Homes Programme which focuses on providing thousands more social housing.
That’s according to some of the leading charities in the sector, who have been expected to carry an ever-increasing burden to help those in need, as local councils, such as Croydon, have been brought to the financial brink by the demands of fulfilling legal responsibilities to the homeless.
No Access Croydon: rising costs of providing temporary accommodation has caused another financial crisis at the council
Homeless Link, St Mungo’s and Crisis have all emphasised the need to build more social homes as a way to tackle the significant homelessness pressures the country is facing.
Croydon is among dozens of councils who have appealed to Chancellor Rachel Reeves to take “immediate action” to stabilise their finances: 1-in-4 councils expect to apply for an emergency government bail-out over the next two years, in part because of the steeply rising costs of meeting their legal duties to provide homes for the homeless.
Last month, Croydon was granted a capitalisation direction of £136million for 2025-2026, required in part because of the pressures created by the homelessness crisis. This despite Mayor Jason Perry hiking Council Tax in Croydon by 27% since 2023.
The government is putting together a homelessness strategy, alongside a long-term plan for housing, as part of its plans to tackle the issue. Continue reading
A Coulsdon photo business owner has come up with a set of alternative, and inspired, ideas for presents for your mums this Mothering Sunday.
In the frame: prints of favourite photo moments can provide a more original Mother’s Day present than flowers or chocolates
Flowers and chocolates are safe options, but neither has the enduring impact of a personalised gift that mums can cherish for years to come.
Oscar Palmieri, the owner of The Photo Shop at 32 Chipstead Valley Road, said: “Mother’s Day is the perfect time to treat your mum – or mother figure – to something that she can treasure forever.”
Palmieri’s in-house photo printing service offers a wide range of personalised gifts, from small prints to giant posters. “Nothing beats the charm of receiving a printed photo – especially when it features a loving memory,” he said. Continue reading
Crystal Palace fans were today coming to terms with the news that Dougie Freedman is leaving the club.
Time to say goodbye: Dougie Freedman is the latest football figure lured to Saudi Arabia
Palace chairman Steve Parish said Freedman, as sporting director, had been “instrumental in everything we have done over the past eight years”, and that losing him is a blow for the Eagles.
Freedman, who scored 95 goals in two spells at the club as a player in an association with Selhurst Park that stretches back to 1995, is reported to be lined up for a role in Saudi Arabia.
In his sporting director role, Freedman has been behind some of the impressive signings made by the club that have helped cement Palace’s place in the Premier League, including Michael Olise (sold last summer to Bayern Munich for £50million), Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Adam Wharton and Dean Henderson. Continue reading
“We never imagined we’d reach this milestone, but here we are, still holding hands and making memories,” say Roger and Audrey Adcock after celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary at Purley Gardens Care Home, on Russell Hill Road.
Platinum anniversary: cake, champagne and a card from the King and Queen marked Audrey and Roger Adcock’s 70th anniversary
For the Adcocks, who are both now 98 years old and were wed in 1955, they say that their marriage has been filled with laughter, love, and cherished memories.
“Seventy years, and we still laugh every day,” Roger said on his platinum wedding anniversary.
Roger and Audrey were married on February 19, 1955, and 70 years later, Purley Gardens Care Home rolled out the red carpet to their residents’ family to honour Roger and Audrey’s incredible 70 years of marriage.
The special day was marked with cake, champagne and a congratulations card from King Charles III and Queen Camila, a family lunch and an celebration afternoon tea shared with fellow residents.
“Our journey together has been filled with love, laughter, and countless unforgettable moments,” said Roger. Continue reading
A community group is planning a protest outside the Town Hall tomorrow morning, to bring further attention to how Croydon Labour is backing the Tories over holding investments in companies that have been arming the Israeli military during its genocidal attacks on Gaza over the past 18 months.
Croydon Divest is a group of residents who want their council to divest its pension fund from the arms trade and other companies complicit in war crimes.
The group presented a petition to the council last December, asking the council to opt out of all such investments. Their arguments were rejected by the chair of the council’s pensions committee, Labour’s deputy leader Callton Young.
Croydon Divest has stepped up its campaign, including tomorrow’s demo ahead of the pensions committee.
David White, vice-president of the Croydon Trades Union Council and a member of the group, said, “Croydon Council invests nearly £16million in companies which we believe are complicit in war crimes. These crimes include Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. Continue reading
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