Labour MPs’ ‘tears’ won’t keep the elderly warm this winter

Posted on September 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

Cold-hearted: the House of Commons chamber on Tuesday, where most Labour MPs toed their party line

Why were Labour MPs threatened with losing the party whip, and what does it mean? ANDREW FISHER on how Croydon’s MPs voted over the removal of pensioners’ Winter Fuel Payment

Voted to cut Winter Fuel Payment: Natasha Irons, Labour MP for Croydon East

The decision to cut the Winter Fuel Payment for 9-out-of-10 pensioners has proved controversial for Labour, has seen MPs’ inboxes deluged with correspondence, while a petition raised by charity Age UK attract half a million signatures, in what has become the first major skirmish for Keir Starmer’s new government.

Britain has the lowest basic state pension in Europe. Our housing is also among the least well-insulated across the continent. The Winter Fuel Payment was brought in by Tony Blair’s Labour Government in 1997. It was a policy intended to help pensioners with extra heating costs in winter.

This week, Labour MPs voted to cut the allowance for more than 10 million pensioners. The political reporter Lewis Goodall said after the vote, “Am told there were several Labour MPs in tears in the voting lobbies when voting for the winter fuel changes this afternoon.” Those tears won’t keep pensioners warm this winter.

If you’re a Labour MP and you were that upset about voting for it, then you probably should have voted against it.

Continue reading →

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Signalling works mean only a ghost train service at Halloween

Posted on September 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

Signalling disruption: Network Rail is shutting down most of the rail network in south London at the end of October

If you were hoping to plan any trips by train for the October half-term week – forget it.

There will be no train services on parts of the railway and London Overground network across a large part of south London for seven days at the end of October, as Network Rail conducts works to upgrade its signalling system.

Services to stations affected will include London Bridge, Crystal Palace, West Croydon, Gipsy Hill, Beckenham Junction, Streatham, Mitcham Junction, Carshalton, Sutton and Wimbledon. Continue reading →

Posted in Commuting, Transport, West Croydon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Police drugs raid on Church Road sees three men sentenced

Posted on September 12, 2024 by insidecroydon

Three men from what the Metropolitan Police call “a Croydon-based drugs ring” have been found guilty and handed sentences of up to 12 years in prison.

12 years: drug dealer Daniel Griffin

Daniel Griffin, 25, of Church Road in Croydon Old Town, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court after being found guilty of the supply and possession of crack cocaine and heroin, and possession of two firearms and live ammunition.

Two of his accomplices pleaded guilty to being involved in the supply of crack cocaine and heroin.

Sonny Panice, 34, from Brunswick Road, Sutton, was sentenced to four years six months’ imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court last Wednesday. Continue reading →

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Mayor Perry busts his unbalanced budget with £42m overspend

Posted on September 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: According to official figures, even with a £38m government bail-out, the Conservative-run council looks like spending £42m over budget in this financial year – and that’s £10m more than when it first went bust in 2020. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Big helping: Mayor Jason Perry may soon be asking for a bigger slice of government funding

Jason Perry, the Conservative Mayor who was elected on promises to “fix the finances” and “balance the budget”, is presiding over a forecast £24million overspend on the council’s budget in this financial year.

And that’s a £24million overspend even after getting a £38million government bail-out (alright, pedants, a “capitalisation direction”), as well as after using £5million from a contingency fund and £13million from the council’s reserves.

“Perry’s deep in the doo-doo,” according to one seen-it-all-before Katharine Street source.

“This is Section 114 territory … it’ll be our fourth in four years.”

Another veteran Town Hall figure told Inside Croydon: “There’s no way they can pull back from that now.”

The figures all come from the council’s own financial performance report ahead of next week’s scrutiny committee meeting, and cover “Period 3” of the 2024-2025 financial year, up to June. Continue reading →

Posted in Adult Social Care, Children's Services, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Housing, Improvement Board, Jane West, Katherine Kerswell, London-wide issues, Mayor Jason Perry, Section 114 notice, Tony McArdle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Town Hall boss Hibberd quits to take top job at Bristol council

Posted on September 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The £150,000 per year corporate director ultimately responsible for the council buying CCTV cameras that don’t work in Britain and who oversaw the procurement disaster over the borough’s bus shelters has now ensured the closure of four public libraries.
EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

‘Exciting opportunity’: Nick Hibberd at a recent council meeting, now off to lay waste to Bristol

Just 24 hours after he delivered the coup de grace to four of the borough’s public libraries, it has been announced that Nick Hibberd, the council’s £150,000 per year corporate director for “sustainable communities, regeneration and economic recovery”, is to leave Fisher’s Folly.

After barely two years in his job, Hibberd, one of Katherine Kerswell’s six “corporate directors”, is quitting Croydon to become chief executive at Bristol City Council.

Hibberd arrived in Croydon in 2022 after 30 years working in Brighton, where he had a track record of intractable disputes with trades unions.

In Croydon, Hibberd’s time has been marked by the failure to replace 180 bus shelters around the borough’s streets, as well as the deeply lacklustre year as the Borough of Culture, while spending millions of tax-payer pounds on special CCTV cameras only to discover that they would not work in this country.

And after yesterday’s belated publication of the council’s latest report, we can now add to Hibberd’s CV his “achievement” in closing four of Croydon’s 13 public libraries. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Nick Hibberd, Shifa Mustafa | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Crystal Palace Subway is ready to open after £3.5m restoration

Posted on September 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

160th birthday surprise: the Crystal Palace Subway will open its doors to the public on September 21

One of the highlights of this month’s Open House London weekend looks certain to be the opportunity for the public to get a first sight of the impact of the £3.5million restoration project to the historic Grade II*-listed Crystal Palace Subway, just ahead of its 160th anniversary in 2025.

A new roof over the east courtyard and extensive repairs to the walls, floor, steps and entrances have “breathed new life into the Victorian subway”, according to the Crystal Palace Park Trust. Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Community associations, Crystal Palace Park, Crystal Palace Park Trust, History, Victoria Pinnington | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cyber attack forces TfL to suspend all Oyster card renewals

Posted on September 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

Hang on to your bus and Tube tickets… Transport for London has suspended renewal applications for its Oyster photocards, including Zip cards, in response to the cyber attack the capital’s transport authority suffered earlier this month.

TfL announced the suspension last night, the first admission that the cyber attack has in some way affected the authority’s interactions with passengers.

TfL has overall operational control of the capital’s bus, Tube, Overground and Tram networks, setting fares and distributing cash-free Oyster payment cards. As was reported last week, TfL had become the latest public body or large corporation to be targeted by cyber criminals, prompting an investigation by the National Crime Agency. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, TfL, Transport | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

St Peter’s Church Book and Cake Sale, South Croydon, Sep 14

Posted on September 11, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Perry’s ‘cruel closures’ of one-quarter of borough’s libraries

Posted on September 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Residents’ groups in the south of the borough accuse the Mayor, and the council, of not listening, and raise serious doubts about proposals to transfer maintenance funds to other areas. By our libraries correspondent, GENE BRODIE

Facing the axe: Bradmore Green Library has one of the best value-for-money figures of all the borough’s libraries, but Tory Mayor Jason Perry wants to close the service in Old Coulsdon

Four of Croydon’s public libraries, at Bradmore Green in Old Coulsdon, at Sanderstead, Shirley and Broad Green, will all close in six weeks’ time, under recommendations from the borough’s Tory Mayor, Jason Perry, which are expected to be rubber-stamped by the pliant Tory councillors in his cabinet at a meeting later this month. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Broad Green, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Education, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Shirley North, Shirley South | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Croydon’s Super Size Me quest for town centre’s best burger

Posted on September 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Croydon’s answer to Morgan Spurlock, KEN TOWL, last week set off to discover where the best burgers are to be found in the town. His harrowing account is a testimony to fortitude and a strong stomach

Last month, Inside Croydon reported the redesign of Croydon’s George Street branch of McDonald’s, quoting franchisee Ian Stevenson’s boast that the changes would “create a more seamless and enjoyable experience for the customer”.

New look, much like the old look: McDonald’s, George Street

If there is anything that I like as a customer, it is a seamless and enjoyable experience.

I decided that I wanted to see exactly how “the redesign of McDonald’s kitchens and dining areas as part of the Convenience of the Future [would] better integrate digital sales channels, the McDonalds App and make smarter use of internal space to enhance the dine-in experience”.

But why limit my dine-in experience to just one burger outlet? Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Ken Towl, Pubs, Restaurants, South Croydon, Wendy's, Whelans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Emergency services close High Street after vehicle collision

Posted on September 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Incident on Laud Street: Emergency services closed off a section of the High Street yesterday evening during an emergency rescue operation which included an air ambulance landing on the roof of a nearby multi-storey car park (top left of picture)

A collision involving a large SUV and a woman pedestrian on Laud Street yesterday evening saw a section of the High Street, just south of the Croydon Flyover, closed to traffic for almost two hours while rescue services did their work.

The air ambulance was called in, landing on the roof of a nearby multi-storey car park alongside the Flyover. Continue reading →

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Louise Minchin heads author line-up for Sutton Literary Festival

Posted on September 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Louise Minchin, the author and former BBC News presenter, will be headlining Sutton’s first literary festival next month, which will focus on providing access to literature and culture to people of all ages and backgrounds.

Talking books: Louise Minchin is among the authors speaking at the first Sutton Literary Festival

Organisers behind the female-led event, on October 12 and 13, have launched a festival programme which will include a series of talks by authors and roundtable discussions.

Also making appearances at the Sutton Literary Festival will be Vaseem Khan (The Lost Man of Bombay, 2022) to discuss her latest work, while artist and performer Sheba Montserrat will host a stand-up set exploring topics including women, ageing and technology.

The Sutton Literary Festival will also offer a selection of workshops focusing on wellbeing, using writing and nature as “tools to nourish the mind and unlock creativity”. Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Education, Honeywood Museum, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Full details of all events at this year’s Sutton Literary Festival

Posted on September 10, 2024 by insidecroydon

Carshalton ponds: two of the literary festival’s venues, Honeywood House and the ecology centre, are nearby

2024 Sutton Literary Festival
Programme of events

Continue reading →

Posted in Activities, Art, Education, Honeywood Museum, Sutton Council | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Labour Party chief’s consultancy business is in deep trouble

Posted on September 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: Might the failure of David Evans’s Croydon-based business offer some clues to the effectiveness, or otherwise, of his time running the party machine for Keir Starmer?
By our political editor, WALTER CRONXITE

The long goodbye: David Evans, out canvassing in Croydon earlier this year

Whatever might be planned by David Evans for life after his four years as the Labour Party General Secretary, it is almost certain that it won’t see him returning to his political consultancy business that he set up 20 years ago, after helping Tony Bliar to his second General Election victory.

Evans announced last week that he is to stand down as General Secretary of the Labour Party – with it being widely predicted that he has a place in the House of Lords lined up for him.

That £332 per day attendance allowance, travel expenses and subsidised restaurant facilities must be looking particularly attractive, given the state of his old consultancy business, The Campaign Company.

Previously based in rented offices in Croydon’s George Street, The Campaign Company (company motto: “Values first”) has been run since 2020 by Evans’s wife, Aline Delawa, under whose guidance the company has almost been struck off the register at Companies House. Twice.

Given that Labour lost 125,000 members (and their annual subscription income) in the first three years of Evans in the party’s top job, while annual expenditure had reached £44.45million, some might reasonably draw comparisons with Evans’ management of the party and his own limited company.

Since covid, TCC has become a “virtual” company, with a registered business address but with its staff mostly working remotely. Business-wise, The Campaign Company is barely limping along. Continue reading →

Posted in Alison Butler, Croydon Council, David Evans, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

All Hale the chief: £125,000 job ad raises laughs at Town Hall

Posted on September 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

EXCLUSIVE: Council is recruiting for director-level official to oversee the redevelopment of notorious Regina Road council flats. By our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES

Cash-strapped Croydon Council is recruiting again for another six-figure-salaried director, although whoever wrote the job ad for the “director of housing: new build and estate regeneration” either has a warped sense of humour, or they’ve never met Jason Perry’s deputy mayor, Lynne Hale.

This “circa £125,000” job is a new role, and is being paid for out of the £54million grant funding from the Greater London Authority towards the demolition and redevelopment of the notorious Regina Road towers and neighbouring council homes. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon Council, Housing, London-wide issues, Lynne Hale, Planning, Property, Regina Road redevelopment, Regina Road Residents' Support Group, Susmita Sen | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Charity’s fund helps theatre provide thousands of free tickets

Posted on September 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

Delighted audiences: the Polka Theatre’s free ticket scheme for school groups is being extended this year

The Polka Theatre is to give away 9,000 free tickets to schoolchildren this year, part of its Curtain Up! programme, thanks to a new commitment from The Garek Trust – a London-based charity dedicated to providing underprivileged young people with access to the arts.

The theatre giveaway is a 50% increase on the Polka Theatre’s previous number of free tickets – and comes after they had applications last year for more than 11,500 tickets, with some applying from as far away as Wiltshire and Hertfordshire.

The Garek Trust’s funding will also enable a subsidised schools tour of Polka Theatre and Beats and Elements’ remixed production of Romeo and Juliet. The production will tour during spring 2025, following its hugely successful previous run in Polka’s Adventure Theatre and pilot schools tour earlier this year.

Continue reading →

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Lights! Cameras! Amazon project has Addiscombe centre stage

Posted on September 9, 2024 by insidecroydon

Parts of Lower Addiscombe Road are to have traffic and parking restrictions today and tomorrow, as Croydon once again is providing the backdrop for the shooting of a movie.

In the spotlight: Lower Addiscombe Road is getting the Hollywood treatment today and tomorrow

London-based production company The Imaginarium are using a property on Lower Addiscombe Road and have made arrangements to suspend parking bays and some off-street parking spaces on Woodside Court Road to facilitate their shoot.

Today is a scheduled set-up day, with filming to take place tomorrow, when a bus stop will be suspended from 7am to 3.30pm. Access to other properties and businesses ought not be affected.

The crew will be filming scenes for an Amazon TV drama series, The Girlfriend, “a tumultuous relationship between a mother and her daughter-in-law”, apparently…

“Our crew will work quietly and remain conscientious of local residents and businesses,” a letter to residents from the production company has promised.

The Girlfriend is just the latest screen project to choose Croydon as a location for its dramas, following the likes of Made In Dagenham and The Crown, which had scenes for its final series shot at the Fairfield Halls. Surrey Street and some of the grimier bits of the Cronx have also become popular with directors of TV advertisements. Continue reading →

Posted in Addiscombe East, Art, Cinema, Fairfield Halls, Sanderstead | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Women’s suffrage at tea with the Bonnerjees of Bedford Park

Posted on September 8, 2024 by insidecroydon

SUNDAY SUPPLEMENT: An Indian family that settled in Croydon in the 1870s included brilliant, hard-working daughters who played a part in the struggle for women’s rights. By DAVID MORGAN

Women campaigners: Taken in 1913, this photograph shows Dr Susie Bonnerjee, left, with her sister Nellie, right

The brass plaque on the north wall of Croydon Minster, dedicated to Dorinda Neligan, attracts much interest from educationalists and those who are interested in the suffragette movement.

One hundred and fifty years ago, in 1874, Neligan was the first headmistress of Croydon High School, a role that she held for 27 years. Always an advocate for women’s rights, she was, in her later years, an active member of the suffragettes, attending protests at the House of Commons and having a silver teapot seized because she refused to pay local taxes.

During her time as headteacher, Neligan would visit some of her pupils and their families and take tea with them. One of her hosts was the Bonnerjee family. Continue reading →

Posted in Croydon High, Croydon Minster, David Morgan, Education, History, Schools | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adult dance and social sessions, Old Coulsdon, every Friday

Posted on September 8, 2024 by insidecroydon

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South Croydon Allotments open day, Carlton Road, Sep 14

Posted on September 8, 2024 by insidecroydon

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Legal battle expected as Perry to order four libraries to close

Posted on September 7, 2024 by insidecroydon

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Tory Mayor is about to rubber-stamp decision which was ridiculed by local Conservative MP as providing savings that represent ‘a drop in the ocean of the council’s debt’. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES

Legal issues: the council lawyers claim that covenants over Shirley Library no longer apply. Conveniently

Croydon Mayor Jason Perry will order the closure of four of the borough’s public libraries in a council report due to be released on Monday, Inside Croydon can reveal.

The public libraries in Sanderstead, Bradmore Green in Old Coulsdon, Broad Green and Shirley could be shut down by the cash-strapped council as soon as October.

That’s according to sources at a meeting held between a library friends’ group and Andy Stranack, Perry’s cabinet member for what’s left of Croydon’s culture, who was despatched to do the Mayor’s dirty work for him this week.

The latest libraries consultation was conducted at the start of the year, but the reports arising from that public exercise have been withheld for months by the Tory Mayor in case it might damage the General Election prospects of Croydon South’s Conservative MP, Chris Philp. Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Stranack, Broad Green, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Education, Libraries, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Shirley North, Shirley South, Stuart Collins | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

One year on, Elianne Andam’s killer named as Hassan Sentamu

Posted on September 7, 2024 by insidecroydon

Trial date: now 18, Hassan Sentamu is to appear at the Old Bailey on Nov 25

The teenager accused of murdering schoolgirl Elianne Andam outside the Whitgift Centre last year has been named as Hassan Sentamu.

The killing of Old Palace schoolgirl Andam, aged 15, made national headlines after she was viciously attacked as she got off a bus on her way to school on September 27, 2023.

Sentamu remained unidentified publicly during court appearances last year because of his age, but can be named now as he is 18.

When Sentamu appeared at the Old Bailey in March, he admitted being the person who inflicted the fatal knife wound to Andam, pleading guilty to manslaughter, but denying the more serious charge of murder.

He also pleaded not guilty to possessing a blade in a public place. Continue reading →

Posted in Crime, Knife crime, Policing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mitcham killing: police failed to deliver the ‘complete picture’

Posted on September 7, 2024 by insidecroydon

Three men were sentenced at the Old Bailey yesterday for the April 2023 Mitcham Common killing of Tyrese Miller, with the Metropolitan Police forced to concede that the outcome of the trial failed to provide the victim’s family “with the complete picture that they had wished for”.

Denzel Kwateng, of Parkway, New Addington, was jailed for a minimum of 16 years, for manslaughter, possession of a firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life, and perverting the course of justice.

The court heard that in 2021, Kwateng had killed another man, 17-year-old Denardo Samuels-Brooks, but then had been acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.

On this occasion, having shot Miller in the chest at point-blank range, Kwateng was convicted of the lesser charge, rather than murder, after claiming that the gun had gone off by accident. Judge Sarah Munro KC issued a life sentence, saying, “You showed a reckless disregard for the consequences of your actions.” Continue reading →

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Take a journey back in time with Bus Museum’s Heritage Day

Posted on September 7, 2024 by insidecroydon

Transport geeks can enjoy a bit of a busman’s holiday next weekend, when heritage London Transport buses take to the roads of south London to provide a ride back into the 1950s and ’60s.

Request stop: there will be a special service next Saturday

Harking back to an era of rickets and rationing, city-wide smogs and a title-winning Spurs team (these buses go back a verrrry long way…), the London Bus Museum is staging a Heritage Open Day on a couple of routes between Lewisham, Bromley and Chislehurst on Saturday, September 14.

Many of a certain age still hanker after the age of the Routemaster, with its open deck and two-person crew, including a cheery conductor to take your fares while the bus was on the move, and its predecessor the RT, and in between the regular 2024 services running on the day, these will be the heritage vehicles serving the 261 and 61 routes between 10am and 5pm. Continue reading →

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Live music at Ashburton Park Community fun day, Sep 22

Posted on September 7, 2024 by insidecroydon

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