Tag Archives: Brick by Brick

Hundreds turn out to protest against plan to close nurseries

Children as young as three or four are being threatened with the consequences of the crass mismanagement of the local council and the failed £1bn property gamble by the borough’s biggest land-owners. By education correspondent GENE BRODIE It was all … Continue reading

Posted in Children's Services, Community associations, Croydon Council, Education, Mayor Jason Perry, Old Palace, Schools, Selhurst, Socco Cheta Community Hub, South Norwood, South Norwood Community Kitchen, Whitgift Foundation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Squatters do a bunk as bailiffs smash Brick by Brick’s doors

Seven bailiffs, acting as “Representatives of the Owner”, wasted no time in descending on Brick by Brick’s former offices in George Street on Saturday afternoon to evict the squatters who had been occupying the building for almost two weeks. A … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Defiant squatters are ordered to leave Brick by Brick’s offices

While security guards peered from the windows of the empty Croydon Park Hotel on Altyre Road,  squatters and their supporters were erecting banners in the forecourt of Croydon County Court this morning. The group of squatters calling themselves Reclaim Croydon … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Housing, Stiles Harold Williams | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Squatters take over Brick by Brick’s abandoned office building

Perhaps this is the start of a people’s fightback against the Croydon Establishment. A group of squatters calling themselves “Reclaim Croydon” has moved in to the abandoned offices of Brick by Brick in the town centre, to show the high … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Community associations, Croydon Council, Housing, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Perry’s council refuses to name its design review panellists

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Mayor decided to re-boot Negrini’s Place Review Panel, but after almost a year’s delay, the identities of the ‘experts’ assembled remain closely guarded secrets. By WALTER CRONXITE “Just what are they trying to hide?” a Katharine Street … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon Council, Design Review Panel, Environment, Jo Negrini, Mayor Jason Perry, Place Review Panel, Planning, Whitgift Centre | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Brick by Brick’s unsold homes are costing Croydon a fortune

Despite there being a ‘housing crisis’, the council’s failed development company is struggling to sell dozens of its homes. As housing correspondent BARRATT HOLMES reports, £440,000 for a two-bed shared-ownership flat is putting off buyers There’s good reason that loss-making … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Coulsdon, Croydon Council, Fairfield, Housing, Old Coulsdon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Brick by Brick’s losses pile up even after selling £89m of homes

As the failed development company staggers towards its ultimate demise, it is maintaining its unwanted record of never making a single penny in profit, as our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, reports Brick by Brick, the council-owned housing company, sold £89million-worth … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Housing, Martyn Evans | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Homes report warns of ‘unsustainable’ shared ownership deals

Shared ownership risks becoming “financially unsustainable” for lower-income buyers, warns a report published this week. The report, Shared ownership: the consumer perspective, reveals how more than one-third of shared owners display indicators of financial vulnerability, with lower financial resilience and … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brick by Brick’s George Street offices are put up for rent

A lasting reminder of one of the principal factors that crashed the council’s finances could be about to be erased from Croydon town centre. Brick by Brick’s vainglorious sales suite and offices on George Street have been vacated and put … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Developers face £20m bill to under-pin East Croydon towers

After four very tall towers have recently been erected opposite East Croydon Station, residents are questioning whether three more will be too many, reports BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent The developers of the latest 775-flat residential scheme proposed for Croydon town … Continue reading

Posted in Business, College Green, Croydon College, Croydon Council, Delta Properties, Housing, Planning, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Developer consults on 775-flat proposal next to Fairfield Halls

Proposals for another 775 flats, including a 38-storey tower, on a two-acre site next to the Fairfield Halls are being laid out for public consultation tomorrow. The scheme is being brought forward by asset managers Delta Properties, who acquired the … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Croydon College, Fairfield Halls, Housing, Oliver Lewis, Property | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Ex-councillor Hall says: ‘Sorry to be direct, but this is a lie’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Only two elected councillors have so far had their roles in the council’s financial collapse questioned, and Tony Newman and Simon Hall are still not saying sorry. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Tony Newman and Simon Hall, two … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Kerswell condemns councils’ accountability as inadequate

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Yesterday’s meeting of the cash-strapped council’s disciplinary committee may have committed Croydon to tens of thousands of pounds of additional legal costs, with no guarantee of any success in the cases which might eventually be brought. And … Continue reading

Posted in Alison Butler, Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Shifa Mustafa, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Councillors agree to chase Negrini for golden handshake cash

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The same committee which met in August 2020 to agree the £437,000 payment to the departing CEO today decided to ignore the advice of senior lawyers and spend more council cash in trying to recover the pay-off. … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Callton Young, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lynne Hale, Mayor Jason Perry, Patricia Hay-Justice, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

MP calls for misconduct charges against ex-councillor Hall

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Home Office junior minister Chris Philp says that some of the council’s former leaders ‘committed such egregious breaches of public trust that they should be formally investigated by the police for the criminal offence of misconduct in … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

All you ever need to know about ‘misconduct in public office’…

… but couldn’t be bothered to ask. Here’s a potted summary taken from the Law Commission, Crown Prosecution Service and independent legal advisors on the prospects of a successful prosecution being brought against Croydon’s borough bankrupters using this arcane offence … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Chris Philp MP, Crime, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Croydon put in special measures: ‘Worst of all possible worlds’

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Announcements from Westminster and Whitehall today put the borough under the control of unelected bureaucrats who are answerable only to a Tory Government minister – in a scheme that the Mayor has helped plot for months. By … Continue reading

Posted in Council Tax, Croydon Council, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Section 114 notice, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

And here are the Labour councillors who broke their word over the 15% tax hike and abandoned the people of Croydon

STUART KING. Leader of the opposition Councillor King took over as Labour group leader in May 2022. Had spent previous eight years mostly holding senior positions, including cabinet posts, in the Labour council administration of Tony Newman, Alison Butler and … Continue reading

Posted in Alisa Flemming, Amy Foster, Brigitte Graham, Callton Young, Catherine Wilson, Chris Clark, Chrishni Reshekaron, Christopher Herman, Clive Fraser, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Enid Mollyneaux, Humayun Kabir, Humayun Kabir, Janet Campbell, Karen Jewitt, Kola Agboola, Leila Ben-Hassel, Louis Carserides, Maddie Henson, Manju Shahul Hameed, Mayor Jason Perry, Mike Bonello, Mohammed Islam, Nina Degrads, Patricia Hay-Justice, Patsy Cummings, Sean Fitzsimons, Sherwan Chowdhury, Stella Nabukeera, Stuart Collins, Stuart King, Tamar Nwafor, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Kerswell still holds out over Penn Report’s recommendations

CROYDON IN CRISIS: ‘Those with the biggest responsibilities and with statutory duties let the organisation down’ according to the investigation into the council’s financial collapse. The two-year delay in publication appears to have let down the borough’s residents and council … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Report in the Public Interest, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Newman breaks his silence to tell Mail: I did no wrong

CROYDON IN CRISIS: With the Penn Report into possible wrong-doing at the council expected to be released by officials shortly, the former council leader has responded to reports in the national press. By STEVEN DOWNES The Daily Mail today became … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Council Tax, Croydon Council, Croydon Park Hotel, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, Simon Hall, Stuart King, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Taxing times for Perry as he deploys Negrini as his ‘dead cat’

Try not to get your hopes up too much ahead of next week’s Penn Report meeting, suggests STEVEN DOWNES. The Mayor might be over-promising before under-delivering again Is Jo Negrini being used as a “dead cat” by Croydon Mayor Jason … Continue reading

Posted in "Hammersfield", Brick by Brick, Business, Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Mayor Jason Perry, Richard Simpson, RIPI II: Fairfield Halls, The Penn Report | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Kerswell finally prepares to publish long withheld #PennReport

CROYDON IN CRISIS: The council’s £193,000 per year CEO has descended into the realms of Alice In Blunderland with her latest excuses for ignoring elected councillors and the public. By STEVEN DOWNES Katherine Kerswell, Croydon’s chief executive, claims that it … Continue reading

Posted in Colm Lacey, Croydon Council, Guy van Dichele, Hazel Simmonds, Inside Croydon, Jacqueline Harris-Baker, Jason Cummings, Jo Negrini, Katherine Kerswell, Lisa Taylor, Mayor Jason Perry, Report in the Public Interest, Richard Simpson, Shifa Mustafa, Simon Hall, The Penn Report, Tony Newman | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

£495,000 for a flat – this is Brick by Brick’s ‘affordable’ housing

The argument that the council-owned property developer was somehow the answer to the borough’s housing crisis appears lost among the high cost of its properties in Coulsdon. By BARRATT HOLMES, housing correspondent Flats in Coulsdon that were built by council-owned … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Business, Coulsdon, Coulsdon West, Croydon Council, Housing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The end is nigh: Brick by Brick’s final tower block is sold off

Our housing correspondent, BARRATT HOLMES, on the council’s increasingly desperate efforts to flog off the last developments from its inept house-builder Flyover Towers, the final development by Brick by Brick, Croydon Council’s bankrupting building firm, has been sold as a … Continue reading

Posted in Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Housing, Jason Cummings, Property, Report in the Public Interest, Section 114 notice | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Perry LIED to council over Brick by Brick’s ‘stair-less’ house

CROYDON IN CRISIS: Opposition councillors demand an immediate apology and question whether the borough’s credulous Tory Mayor can be trusted. EXCLUSIVE by STEVEN DOWNES Officials from Croydon Council have been forced to admit that the Conservative Mayor, Jason Perry, lied … Continue reading

Posted in Andrew Pelling, Brick by Brick, Croydon Council, Croydon Greens, Libraries, Mayor Jason Perry, Ria Patel, Section 114 notice, Stuart King | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments