Perry presides over late-running, unapologetic leaders meet

Posted on September 25, 2024 by insidecroydon

Shallow talent pool: Croydon Mayor Jason Perry presiding over Monday night’s Tory leadership hustings with (from left) Robert Jenrick, Tom Tugendhat and Kemi BadEnoch

While Labour members were drooling/raging (delete to taste) over their rapidly discredited leadership’s performances at their annual conference in Liverpool this week, Croydon’s Conservatives were gathering to hear from their wannabe new leader.

And it is fair to say that some left the event underwhelmed.

One candidate didn’t bother to show up at all for the south London Conservative leadership hustings held at Clapham Junction (had James Cleverley got wind that the session was to be chaired by Croydon’s very own piss-poor Jason Perry?), while another arrived so late that she alienated many potential supporters. Continue reading →

Posted in Alasdair Stewart, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Samir Dwesar | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Charity’s move against cancer in starting blocks at Lloyd Park

Posted on September 25, 2024 by insidecroydon

People living with and beyond cancer are being encouraged to move more as part of an initiative called 5k Your Way.

The initiative, delivered by the Move Against Cancer charity, is coming to Croydon this weekend, as those living with and beyond cancer, their families, friends and those working in cancer services are going to walk, jog, run, cheer or volunteer at the Lloyd Park Parkrun on Saturday morning, September 28, and then on the last Saturday of every month. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Croydon parks, Health, Lloyd Park | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Club Soda adds functionality fizz to their relaunched website

Posted on September 25, 2024 by insidecroydon

Croydon-based disability-led arts organisation Club Soda is re-launching its website on October 1.

The revamped site has been designed to be easier to navigate and “stylistically reflective of who they are as a community”.

The updated site, at www.clubsoda.org.uk features a fresh, modern look and improved functionality, “making it simpler for people with learning disabilities, their families, and supporters to stay informed and engage with Club Soda’s offerings”. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Charity, Music | Tagged | Leave a comment

Perry allows Westfield to spend £6m ‘fine’ on own interests

Posted on September 24, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Glacially slow progress, more delays and a secretive land deal to flog-off council-owned car parks to multi-national developers are buried in an official report. By KEN LEE, our Town Hall reporter

Decline and fall: Westfield’s delays over the Whitgift Centre have had a serious impact on the town centre

The council’s propaganda department’s devious approach to information and only fleeting acquaintance with the truth has been laid bare yet again with issuing of its latest press release under a heading: “North End to get over £6m investment as part of town centre regeneration”.

The reality, as always, is somewhat different, as the council attempts to dress up the spending of £6million raised by fining Westfield for the non-delivery of the promised supermall in the town centre .

The fine – or “remedy payment”, as it is described in official council reports ahead of tomorrow night’s cabinet meeting – was triggered when Westfield, now part of the Paris-based Unibail Rodamco Westfield, had failed to deliver on its promises after 10 years. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Allders, Business, Centrale, Croydon Council, Growth Zone, Housing, Mayor Jason Perry, Parking, Planning, Property, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Floods on the Wandle as Environment Agency issues warning

Posted on September 24, 2024 by insidecroydon

Perry’s Purley Pool: flooding in the underpass at Purley Cross has become familiar sight every time there is heavy rainfall. But at least the Croydon Mayor has delivered on one of his election promises

The impact of Sunday night’s heavy rain, when a month’s average rainfall was deposited over parts of London and the south-east in little more than a couple of hours, is still being felt across the area, with a forecast of more rain to come this week.

At the weekend, the Met Office was predicting the heaviest downpours in the Midlands and to the north of the capital, but the deluge came sufficiently far south that the River Wandle has flooded in several places, including causing damage to at least a dozen homes in Hackbridge. Continue reading →

Posted in Environment, London-wide issues, Merton, Purley, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

After 12 years of blight, Westfield offers groups £1,000 grants

Posted on September 24, 2024 by insidecroydon

Crumbs from the table.

Begging bowl: how Croydon Voluntary Action and Westfield chose to illustrate their very small grants programme

After more than 12 years of development blight in Croydon town centre, at unmeasurable cost to residents, local business owners and even the local authority, Westfield have coughed up a grand total of £100,000 for a “Community Grants Fund”.

It’s called “a small grants programme with a difference”. The emphasis probably needs to be placed on the word “small”.

The £100,000 total in the pot doled out to Croydon community groups by Paris-based multi-national Unibail Rodamco Westfield represents less than one-hundredth of 1% of the £1.4billion that the company pledged to “invest” in their proposed land grab and regeneration of Croydon town centre in 2012. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Centrale, Charity, Community associations, CVA, Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lenny Henry’s book takes to the stage at south London theatre

Posted on September 24, 2024 by insidecroydon

The Polka Theatre’s summer 2025 season will feature the world premiere of The Boy With Wings, a stage adaptation of Lenny Henry’s best-selling children’s book.

Stage struck: comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry is about to have his first book adapted for the theatre

A co-production with Birmingham Rep, The Boy With Wings has been written for the stage by Arvind Ethan David and is to be directed by the Bush Theatre’s associate artistic director, Daniel Bailey.

“Wow! I am absolutely chuffed to little meatballs to have my first ever children’s book The Boy With Wings adapted by Polka Theatre and Birmingham Rep,” Sir Lenny said.

“What an honour! It’s going to be a brilliant show with diverse talent on and offstage. I can’t wait to see the magic of Arvind Ethan David’s adaption and the visionary direction of Daniel Bailey brought to glorious life on these amazing stages. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Theatre | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Suited and booted: Norbury Alli’s donations and No10 access

Posted on September 23, 2024 by insidecroydon

WALTER CRONXITE, political editor, profiles the former Stanley Tech pupil who has risen to become a millionaire media mogul and the Labour Party’s biggest donor

Generous to a fault: Lord Waheed Alli of Norbury, in the borough of Croydon, is said to be worth £200m

The clue is in his Lordship’s title. But the “Free Gear Keir” cronyism storm was made right here in Croydon, thanks in large part to the largesse of Labour’s biggest donor, Lord Alli of Norbury.

Now worth a reputed £200million, thanks to hard work and inspired decisions in a stellar career in banking and the media, Waheed Alli was born in Croydon almost 60 years ago.

The son of Trinidadian and Guyanese immigrants, young Waheed went to school at Stanley Tech, leaving at 16 with nine O-levels.

Today, much of the new Labour government’s front bench, and some of their friends and relations, are suited and booted thanks to some very generous gifts provided by Alli. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Harris Academy South Norwood, Norbury, Schools, Steve Reed MP, Streatham and Croydon North | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Evans’ farewell speech to Labour calls for them to goose step

Posted on September 23, 2024 by insidecroydon

So, farewell then, David Evans – soon, no doubt, to be Lord Evans of Penge.

Completely quackers: David Evans wants Labour Party activists to be more like geese

The Croydon-based political consultant and fixer in Liverpool yesterday gave a final speech to the Labour Party Conference after four years as their General Secretary.

And in what was supposed to be a morale-boosting rallying call for local party activists up and down the country, Evans – long known for his disdain for Constituency Labour Party organisations – opted for a bizarre metaphor, as he goosed volunteers and chided them to be better organised.

This from the man who oversaw widespread factionalism in the party, hundreds of members suspended, often on flimsy and fabricated charges, and under whom membership nose-dived from 532,000 in 2019 to 366,604 by March this year. Continue reading →

Posted in David Evans | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Rowley’s police set out plan to become anti-racist organisation

Posted on September 23, 2024 by insidecroydon

The Metropolitan Police, repeatedly and officially criticised over the past quarter century for being institutionally racist, has today launched what it calls its “London Race Action Plan”, which it says is “the next steps in becoming an anti-racist police service”.

Taking time: Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley

“To achieve this critical change once and for all will take time, but I am determined that we will continue to strengthen our relationship with black Londoners – whether that be members of the public or our own colleagues – and renew the principle of policing by consent,” Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, said in releasing the plan.

The London Race Action Plan is an effort to rebuild trust with London’s black communities which the Met says have been “let down” over a number of years. Continue reading →

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Fire Brigade issues safety warnings ahead of further flooding

Posted on September 23, 2024 by insidecroydon

The London Fire Brigade has issued warnings about keeping safe during flooding after downpours saw roads and properties affected across the capital throughout the night.

Under water: large parts of Morden Hall Park were flooded this morning

Further heavy rainfall has been forecast for the next 24 to 36 hours.

Morden Hall Park, the National Trust-managed property along the River Wandle from Croydon, was today closed to the public because of flooding. “Due to heavy rain, some paths and areas of the park are not accessible today due to flooding,” the park managers said in a warning message. “Please, find alternative routes for your journey.”

In Wallington, a car became trapped in deep flood water on the High Street, needing the driver to be rescued.

The LFB’s 999 control took around 350 calls to flooding across London as firefighters attended incidents in areas such as Ruislip, Uxbridge, Wimbledon and Carshalton. Continue reading →

Posted in London Fire Brigade, London-wide issues, Merton | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gordon family’s service that stretched through the generations

Posted on September 22, 2024 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: Among the thousands of young men who passed through the gates of the East India Company’s Addiscombe academy in the 19th Century, one Scot rose through the ranks in a career that has been carefully traced by DAVID MORGAN  

Family service: Elizabeth Gordon, who died when a volunteer nurse in World War I, was one of generations of her family who served

An entry in the marriage registers of Croydon Minster has opened a window into the life of a family who served their country in various parts of the world, and in quite different ways.

Tuesday April 9 1907 saw the wedding of Dora Gordon to Frederick Hill. The officiating minister for the wedding was Henry Mainamara and the couple were married not by the reading of banns but by special licence.

The groom, a solicitor, was living in Great Finches Park, Crawley Down, Sussex and the bride at 9, Tavistock Road, Croydon. The most interesting part of the information in the register is to do with Dora’s father, William Gordon. He was recorded as General, Indian Army CIE – Commander of the Indian Empire.

General William Gordon’s house in Tavistock Road was named “Arradoul”, to reflect his Scottish heritage. Continue reading →

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Croydon Vision Open Day, Wellesley Road, Sep 27

Posted on September 22, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Orienteering in Beddington Park, Wandle Fortnight, to Sep 29

Posted on September 22, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Pirates sail close to the wind to lift national AAA baseball title

Posted on September 21, 2024 by insidecroydon

Champions!: the Croydon Pirates squad after their back-from-the-brink championship series victory last weekend. Championship photos: Jody Demay-Davies

Croydon Pirates are the 2024 British baseball AAA champions, after staging a thrilling a comeback in the championship series at Farnham last weekend.

The Pirates were 1-0 down in the best-of-three series against Bristol Badgers, and needed to come back from deficits in consecutive elimination games.

In the third game, the Pirates looked like they were sunk, at 6-0 down. But thanks in large part to a big triple by Jorge Florentino, they battled back to win 9-6 to take the championship, Croydon’s second in three years. Continue reading →

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‘Suspect device’ causes rush hour mayhem at East Croydon

Posted on September 21, 2024 by insidecroydon

Explosive situation: the scene outside No1 Croydon yesterday evening, just after the controlled explosion. Pic: ©SimonM

A package left outside No1 Croydon – the Threepenny Bit building on Addiscombe Road, next to East Croydon Station – caused a high-level security alert during yesterday evening’s rush hour, closing the railway station and seeing tram and bus services diverted.

The suspect device was subjected to a controlled explosion, but not before tens of thousands of rail passengers had their journeys disrupted during the incident.

Locals suggest that a delivery driver had left a parcel outside the building – despite No1 Croydon having a staffed reception desk.

George Street was closed off and trams suspended between Wellesley Road and Sandilands. Continue reading →

Posted in East Croydon, Policing, Transport | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

5,000 public transport passengers receive letters from TfL

Posted on September 21, 2024 by insidecroydon

More than 5,000 regular passengers on public transport in the capital have been contacted by Transport for London after their details were accessed by hackers in a cyber attack.

Card check: more than 5,000 TfL passengers have had their details hacked

Thousands more have also been written to, as TfL seeks to reassure them that their Oyster card and other travel passes will continue to function, without an annual renewal, until the organisation has rectified and secured its data and information systems following a security breach three weeks ago.

TfL has apologised, calling the attack “sophisticated” – which suggests that the teenager in Swindon who was arrested in connection with the cyber attack earlier this month is unlikely to be the instigating culprit behind the hack. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

London Fire Brigade: Woman dies after house fire in Carshalton

Posted on September 21, 2024 by insidecroydon

A woman died following a house fire on Pipewell Road in Carshalton on Thursday.

According to the London Fire Brigade, half of the ground floor was damaged by the fire.

“One woman was rescued from the building by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and was taken to hospital by London Ambulance Service, where she sadly later died,” the LFB said. The woman has not yet been named by the emergency services. Continue reading →

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Live Life To The Full exercise group, Ruskin House, every Mon

Posted on September 21, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Perry ducks scrutiny over council financials that don’t add up

Posted on September 20, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Elected Mayor didn’t hang around to face the music from councillors as the £42m overspend was discussed at the Town Hall this week. By STEVEN DOWNES

In the hot seats: Cllr Jason Cummings alongside council director Jane West, explaining to the scrutiny committee how very bad things have become

The council’s projected £42million overspend this financial year is “unprecedented”, and senior council executives and Tory councillors are “disappointed” and extremely concerned that Croydon could be heading for financial rocks yet again.

Inside Croydon reported earlier this month how figures for the first three months of this financial year – through to June – forecast a £24million overspend after getting a £38million “capitalisation direction” from government, as well as after using £5million from a contingency fund and £13million from the council’s reserves.

The figures all come from the council’s own financial performance report, written by Jane West, the council’s “corporate director of resources”, who faced a scrutiny committee of councillors this week and admitted that she and her staff had not predicted the increase in demand for housing, children’s social care and SEND transport that has stoked the council’s spending so steeply, so quickly this year. Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jane West, Jason Cummings, Katherine Kerswell, Leila Ben-Hassel, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

New bins deal sees tenants living above shops get extra service

Posted on September 20, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Despite being forced to go back to Veolia two years after they sacked the rubbish contractors, the council is claiming that their new contract is a better deal for residents. By STEVEN DOWNES

Piled high: contractors will now collect bin bags from flats above shops four times each fortnight

Croydon Council officials, forced to go back with their tails between their legs and re-hire Veolia, the rubbish contractors who they sacked in 2022, are now promising “cleaner streets, more regular waste collections and improved monitoring of service delivery” under the £40million, eight-year agreement.

“They must take Croydon’s residents for mugs,” according to one Katharine Street source.

Inside Croydon reported exclusively yesterday that Croydon and Sutton councils would both be going back to the contractor that they had decided not-so-long-ago wasn’t up to the task. After a two-year procurement process that cost hundreds of thousands of pounds, Veolia ended up the only company bidding for the work. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Environment, Fly tipping, Merton, Nick Hibberd, Refuse collection, Sutton Council, Veolia, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Civic mayor flies off to Arnhem for 80th anniversary events

Posted on September 20, 2024 by insidecroydon

Croydon is today “celebrating” 17,000 casualties among British and allied troops in a key battle of World War II, according to a press release issued by the council’s insensitive and ham-fisted press department last night.

Lasting memorial: two British soldiers killed in Arnhem 80 years ago, but only recently identified, have been buried in Oosterbeek’s war cemetery this week with full military honours

The council has also inadvertently confirmed that there will be no ceremonies taking place in Croydon this week to mark the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem. Not even one of their favoured, tokenistic flag raisings outside the Town Hall

Kola Agboola, the New Addington councillor who is this year’s holder of the keys to the Town Hall’s dressing-up box, together with his wife, Helen, have been flown out to Arnhem today. Fortunately for them, they are not in the back of a military glider nor being parachuted in to the Netherlands under enemy fire, as was the case 80 years ago for allied forces engaged in Operation Market Garden. Continue reading →

Posted in Community associations, Croydon Council, Education, History | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

University with campus in Croydon drops to 100th on UK list

Posted on September 20, 2024 by insidecroydon

The university with a “campus” in a listed building in Croydon town centre has slipped to a ranking of 100th among the country’s best higher education establishments.

Slipping back: London South Bank University’s ratings have got worse since opening their ‘campus’ in Croydon

When London South Bank University was unveiled in 2019 as the new occupiers of Electric House, on Wellesley Road, close to the Town Hall, they were rated the 95th best university in the UK…

Seems it’s been all downhill from there.

The latest university rankings have been released today as part of The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025, just in time for eager students to fill in their application forms this autumn. Continue reading →

Posted in "Hammersfield", Business, Croydon College, Croydon Council, Croydon School of Art, Education, Jo Negrini, Planning, South Bank Poly, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bromley does developer deal to secure Churchill Theatre

Posted on September 20, 2024 by insidecroydon

The future of the Churchill Theatre in Bromley has been “secured”, after discussions between the council, which owns the building, and operators Trafalgar Theatres, with a third-party bidder agreeing to come on board.

Thriving theatre: Bromley’s Churchill Theatre has a bustling schedule, unlike certain other, nearby venues

There had been growing uncertainty over the venue’s future, as the council has been looking at schemes to close or move the theatre and the public library, as part of property deals intended to boost the local authority’s flagging finances (sound familiar?).

The 781-seat theatre, built in the 1970s, is “nearing the end of its design life”, according to the council. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bromley Council, Theatre | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Two-year search to replace Veolia hands £40m deal to… Veolia

Posted on September 19, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: You could not make this up. After four south London councils sacked their waste contractors for poor service, and hundreds of thousands of pounds were spent on a procurement process, Croydon is about to follow Sutton in handing an eight-year contract to the company they sacked. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

You’ve bin done: meet the new rubbish contractors, same as the old rubbish contractors

Rubbish contractors Veolia are set to be handed an eight-year deal, worth around £40million, to keep Croydon’s streets clean and residents’ bins emptied – barely two years after the company was sacked by Croydon and three other south London boroughs for failing to keep streets clean and residents’ bins emptied.

An official council report to be presented at next week’s council cabinet meeting lays the groundwork for the decision, revealing that after a two-year procurement process that cost the cash-strapped council hundreds of thousands of pounds, Croydon was left with a Hobson’s Choice over its service provider.

Because while there were originally two approved bidders, one dropped out, giving the council no real choice at all over who might get the contract. Continue reading →

Posted in Barry Lewis, Business, Croydon Council, Croydon East, Environment, Fly tipping, Kingston, Merton, Natasha Irons, Nick Hibberd, Refuse collection, Sutton Council, Veolia, Waste incinerator | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments